Case study
Online Homeschooling for a Junior Tennis Player in Spain
Mallorca, Spain
Location
Online Homeschooling
Category
The parents of a 15-year-old student approached Witherow Brooke after their son was offered the opportunity to train full-time at a tennis academy in Spain. He was competing at a high junior level and his training had reached the point where combining tennis with a conventional school timetable was becoming increasingly difficult.
His weekly schedule included several hours of court training each day, alongside fitness and conditioning sessions, while tournaments regularly required him to travel within Spain and elsewhere in Europe. His parents were determined that pursuing tennis seriously should not come at the expense of his education and desired an onliine solution towards a full set of iGCSE qualifications.
Role of the Tutors
Witherow Brooke created an online homeschooling programme covering English Language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Spanish and Business Studies. Lessons were arranged around the academy timetable, with the bulk of academic teaching taking place between training sessions and on lighter training days.
Witherow Brooke oversaw the programme as a whole, coordinating the tutors and managing the student's weekly timetable as his training and tournament commitments changed. His academic progress was reviewed across subjects to ensure that tutors were working towards the same overall objectives and that the demands of individual subjects remained balanced.
The student's sporting commitments also shaped the way he studied. With less time available for independent work than most GCSE students, tutors used one-to-one lessons to cover material efficiently and were selective about homework, concentrating on work that would have the greatest academic benefit. As he moved into Year 11, the programme placed increasing emphasis on examination preparation and ensuring that syllabus coverage remained on schedule.
Tutor Profiles
We assembled a team of subject specialists with experience teaching GCSE and IGCSE courses online. As well as academic expertise, the tutors needed to understand that the student's education had to coexist with the demands of elite sport rather than compete with them.
We therefore looked for tutors who were organised and academically demanding, but sufficiently experienced and prepared to adapt their teaching plan when a tournament or change to the training schedule required the week's lessons to be reorganised at short notice.
Outcome
The student was able to remain at the academy and continue competing internationally without interrupting his GCSE education. He completed his courses online and sat his examinations as a private candidate in Spain, achieving strong results across his subjects, including grade 9s in Mathematics and all three Sciences.
The family subsequently asked Witherow Brooke to continue overseeing his education at A-Level as his tennis commitments increased.