British curriculum families at Qlive
The UK is one of the largest countries in our student community, and many British schools in the Gulf follow the National Curriculum for England too. Some families come to us for school subjects like maths, science and English. Many families of Indian origin also want a language their children do not get at school, such as Hindi or Malayalam. We do both, with the same one-to-one approach.
How the National Curriculum is structured
Schooling in England is organised into key stages, counted in years rather than grades. The year number usually runs one ahead of the grade number used in many other systems, so Year 7 is roughly Grade 6.
Early years and Key Stage 1 (Reception to Year 2). Phonics, early reading, writing and number. Children take a phonics screening check in Year 1.
Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6). Reading, writing, grammar, times tables, fractions and the start of more formal maths. Year 4 includes a multiplication tables check, and Key Stage 2 SATs in reading, maths and grammar come at the end of Year 6.
Key Stage 3 (Years 7 to 9). The first years of secondary school. Students study a broad set of subjects, and maths and science become noticeably more abstract.
Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11). The GCSE years. Students usually take English, maths and science plus a range of options.
Sixth form (Years 12 and 13). Most students take three A-Levels, sometimes four, chosen with university courses in mind.
How GCSE and A-Level assessment works
GCSEs are graded 9 to 1, with 9 the highest. Assessment is mainly by exams at the end of Year 11, and some subjects include non-exam assessment. Maths and the sciences are tiered: Foundation tier covers a lower range of grades, and Higher tier reaches the top grades.
A-Levels are graded A* to E, assessed mainly by exams at the end of Year 13, with coursework or non-exam assessment in some subjects. Each exam board, such as AQA, Pearson Edexcel or OCR, publishes its own specification, so two students taking “A-Level Chemistry” may be preparing for different papers.
What students commonly find hard
- Key Stage 2 maths: fractions, times tables recall and reasoning questions
- The jump into Key Stage 3: more independent work and more abstract maths and science
- GCSE Maths Higher tier: algebra, proof and problem-solving questions that combine topics
- GCSE sciences: required practicals, six-mark answers and calculations
- A-Level Maths, Physics and Chemistry: the large step up from GCSE in the first term of Year 12
How a one-to-one teacher helps
A teacher who teaches your child’s key stage and exam board knows the specification, the style of question and what examiners give marks for. In class, your child works through activities and problems in Qlive Space, Qlive’s AI-powered learning platform, and the teacher goes through their working with them on Google Meet and corrects mistakes.
Lessons follow what your child is doing in school. As exams approach, teachers bring in past papers, timed practice and mark schemes. Between classes, worksheets in Qlive Pulse give practice, and a checkpoint every two to three weeks shows what has stuck. Written answers are photographed and marked by the teacher or Qlive’s academic team, with comments.
Your Student Success Partner is the person at Qlive on your side, focused on what you want for your child, whether that is keeping up in class or a good GCSE grade, and they bring in what helps. They set classes around UK school hours and keep you updated in the Qlive Learn app. Reminders and class times in the app always show UK time, and each class has a chat with the teacher and the Qlive team.
Home languages alongside school
For many families, the reason to start is a language rather than a school subject. Children growing up in the UK who hear Hindi, Malayalam or Tamil at home often understand it well but cannot read or write it, and grandparents notice. A one-to-one teacher can start from wherever your child is, whether that is learning the script from the beginning or reading and writing with more confidence. Classes are live and conversational, and our Foundation programme gives Hindi and Malayalam learners a structured path through levels.
Subjects we teach
Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Science, English, Computer Science, Economics, Accountancy, Business Studies, History and Geography, plus languages: French, Spanish, German, Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Urdu and Arabic.
Getting started
We have taught 100,000+ hours of live classes to families in 30+ countries. Start with the free assessment: about 40 adaptive questions, guided live by a Qlive counsellor, with a report on your child’s strengths and gaps. Fees are shared after the assessment, and you can pay in GBP.
