Talent 100 – HSC Tuition | Tutoring | Coaching | Tutors

If you are currently in Year 9, you may be thinking there is no need to study this year. Since the HSC is three years away, whatever you study now can’t be possibly relevant, or improve your final HSC marks… or so the thinking goes.

In fact, there are some small steps you take now that will provide for a successful and easy transition into Year 11. In particular, a solid foundation in Mathematics and English is the cornerstone to succeeding in the HSC’s highest scaling subjects:

The Importance of Mathematics

Developing strong numeracy will not only enable you to take the higher levels of Mathematics (i.e. Mathematics Extension 1 and 2), it will also provide a platform for you to excel in the other highest scaling subjects of the HSC, such as Physics, Chemistry and Economics. That is, when you are good at mathematics, you will naturally find subjects that have a large amount of mathematical content that much easier.

For instance, in Physics, you will be constantly using mathematical concepts and equations in topics such as Motion (Newton’s Laws); in Chemistry, you will need to perform calculations, and properly balance equations and in Economics, you will need strong numeracy to perform calculations on concepts such as growth, inflation and unemployment.

Hence, developing strong mathematical skills early can help provide a strong competitive edge in non-English based courses that can often count for 80% of your final HSC. For this reason, the Talent 100 Steps course is focused on developing and improving strong mathematical foundations.

The Importance of English

English is the only compulsory subject in the HSC and it is crucial to excel English in order to secure a top ATAR. Developing strong analytic reading skills, and being able to write structured and concise essays are also essential to succeeding in humanities–based subjects, like Modern and Ancient History, in which written essays count for almost half of the exam.

However, developing these skills takes times, so if you’re looking to secure top marks in HSC English, it’s important to start early.

The philosophy behind the Steps course is:

1. Understand Scaling. At Talent 100, we ensure that every student has a practical understanding of scaling. That is, that they are able to translate their ATAR goal, into subject-specific benchmarks.
By understanding scaling from an early age, Steps students are able to focus their studies on developing skills relevant to their likely subject choices.

2. Develop a strong foundation in Mathematic and English so that students have the opportunity to take and excel in the HSC’s highest scaling subjects in their later years.

Click on the subject headings to learn more:

Mathematics

English

Mathematics

The Steps Mathematics Tuition course aims to help Year 9 students develop strong proficiency in Mathematics, and is designed to build strong foundations for students seriously considering the Mathematics Extension 1 & 2 Courses (the HSC’s highest scaling subjects) in Year 11 and 12. Strong fundamentals in Mathematics not only helps students succeed in the highest scaling Mathematics subjects (Maths Extension 1 & 2), but also help students perform well in other high scaling subjects such as Physics, Chemistry and Economics that have a high level of mathematical content. Mathematics, hence, serves as a “cornerstone” subject and one in which a small investment of time can help prepare you for success in up to 8 units of your HSC.

The Steps Mathematics course develops proficiency in the fundamental topics of Mathematics, including Algebra, Coordinate Geometry, Trigonometry, Plane Geometry, Probability and helps students develop mistake-free processes when setting out solutions.

Our course helps students:

Develop a solid first-principles understanding of mathematical principles that teaches student to understand formulae, rather than to memorise them.
Reviews the work they will cover in Year 10 (Algebra, Geometry, Coordinate Geometry, Trigonometry) and extends them to the Year 11 Level.
Familiarise students with the typical range of questions that are encountered in exams, so that they can select appropriate methods to solve them.
Breakdown typical question types into easy-to-follow steps that students are able to repeat and internalise.
Provides challenge questions akin to 'last questions' of exams to stimulate and advance students.
Present solutions in a logical fashion, with the correct setting-out, so as to avoid careless mistakes.

Students of the weekly success program receive:

A Talent 100 Mathematics Tutoring Workbook that methodically covers the topic area, with clear explanations of the key theory and skills required in the syllabus. During the seminar, the teacher will explain the theory and introduce typical question types, showing students how to attack such questions in step-wise fashion. Students are then required to perform examples to re-enforce their understanding and to give them sufficient practice to internalize these methods.

Talent 100 Steps Homework that reinforces that helps students consolidate the theory and practice answer typical question types at home. Steps Homework takes between 30-40 minutes each week.

Topic Tests, at the end of each topic, which students sit under exam conditions. This forces students to integrate their learning in an exam situation, and gives the student critical feedback on the type and variety of mistakes BEFORE they sit their tests at school.