Jayden and Judith's MyEdSpace story

“As a mother, I worry a lot, especially about Jayden because he finds revising on his own very hard. I'm a nurse, so I'm busy coming off night shifts. I don't have time to follow up what he's doing” reveals Judith, mum to MyEdSpace student Jayden, who studied for his GCSEs with us and is now studying for his A-levels.

It’s a story that’s repeated up and down Britain; children struggling in an educational system which is no longer fit for purpose, and parents feeling unwarranted guilt for being unable to do more to help them fulfill their potential.

“The UK education system has been underfunded for years and the system isn’t working for children,” insists Sean Hirons, co-founder of MyEdSpace, going on to point out: “Only recently, The Guardian announced that almost three in 10 secondary school children avoid going to school because it makes them anxious. This isn’t that fault of parents like Judith, but it is their problem. It’s all of our problem.”

One night, unsure where to turn for help, Judith was scrolling through Facebook when a Maths tutorial video from Neil Trivedi, the Head of Maths at MyEdSpace appeared in her feed.

“The way he spoke about the course was so interesting, you couldn’t just ignore it. I was like, ‘okay, this is interesting, let’s try it and see what happens’,” she remembers.

That September Jayden was heading into Year 11 and the final year before his GCSEs. A bright kid, Jayden, his mum and his teachers felt he’d do OK, but perhaps not as well as he could. “I was predicted all sixes, just quite average,” he admits. 

As the new academic year got underway, Jayden’s previous struggles with revision returned.

Judith picks up the story, “When he started in September he was still doing his swimming and not coming home until 8 or 9pm. And so we found it hard for him to get into studying.”

Jayden agrees with his Mum’s assessment, “it began quite slowly and begrudgingly because I found revising kind of tough.”

It was here that MyEdSpace’s teachers and staff stepped up in a way his school teachers wouldn’t have the time to. By sending Judith regular progress reports, all the people supporting Jayden were kept on the same page, and able to push him appropriately. 

“The staff are very helpful. They're dedicated to helping everyone as much as they can,” Judith explains.

“I got messages kind of saying, ‘this needs to be done’ and ‘Jayden hasn't finished this’. Having someone sending you something to say your son hasn't done what’s required relieves a bit of stress on me because then I know there is someone, somewhere keeping track of what he's doing. It helps to push your son if you know that they need to be pushed. Whenever I got those messages, I forwarded them to him. I told him, ‘Jayden, this is not going to work. You've got to put in the work. I know you predicted 6s or 7s. But you’re better than this’. I think that's when he realised”.

Sufficiently nudged, Jayden started to knuckle down and quickly began to feel - and see - the fruits of his labour.

“Over time I learned to love it,” Jayden sheepishly admits, adding, “it became enjoyable, especially with the MyEdSpace teachers. The way they taught was really helpful. Some subjects I didn't really get when we covered them in class at school, but the MyEdSpace teachers would go over it in their lessons and just give me clarity.”

Interestingly, for Jayden it was the subjects he struggled with most at school, which he enjoyed most with MyEdSpace. “Biology was my weakest subject, but Laura (Head of Biology) was my favorite teacher because the way she explained most things, it was really clear, and I understand everything.”

“During my exams, I felt more confident answering the questions knowing that I've revised a lot, I had put in my time and effort into revising. I felt like I could feel the MyEdSpace work coming through. And then on results day I could actually see it in front of me.”

“I was predicted all 6s. But after I joined MyEdSpace, it boosted my grades and I ended up getting 8s and 9s, which was really a good result for me,” smiles Jayden.

“The teachers were literally so impressed,” beams his mum.

We ask Jayden how he would describe MyEdSpace to his friends, or anyone who has exams coming up in the next year or so. 

“It's like an investment in your future because you pay now to help you get better grades in the future,” he begins. “Studying with MyEdSpace is basically investing in your future to get where you want to be." 

Judith agrees, and - smiling at Jayden - adds an all important point, “MyEdSpace is something that I would really, really recommend. But. The kids have to remember that it’s their learning and they need to put in the work.”