Hello Positively Mad Team, I just wanted to say thank you for an excellent session delivered to our new A level students by Rachel Munns yesterday morning. She was brilliant and very patient with a lot of students on a very warm day at a busy college. We had excellent feedback from the students who really enjoyed the session and picked up lots of tips to help them make the transition from school. I discussed with Rachel an interest in an exam revision technquies session before Christmas and she will follow this up with you. Kind regards,

A really useful course, lots of fantastic techniques which we are hoping to embed into students and teachers practice. We will definitely look to run this course same time next year with our new students. Sophie was great! She dealt with the incident and obviously has lots of experience in handling groups of students! She was fun and made the training interactive and informative.

Thank you for taking the time to visit our school on Tuesday. Jackie, Rachel and I were very happy with both sessions; which will help ensure our Fifth and Sixth formers will be able to make strong starts to the new academic year. Thank you also for forwarding supporting resources, which will help us with our continuing guidance given to the pupils. They have fed back positively to all of us in recent days. Jackie and I would be very happy to work with you again in the future.

Bridging the Gap: provision of a number of practical ways to enhance learning and study were memorable. The ‘Success Sights’ and ‘Feedback Sandwich’ particularly good scheduling tools for sixth form, and ones I can return to with them in an assembly. Mind mapping is a proven goody and one I use as an English teacher; the proof of the Muhammed Ali mind map was hard hitting. Mastering Student Motivation: much better hearing it from another (“not someone in a tie”Jay) Carrot and Stick / Actions and Consequences are important messages. I like the variety of ideas covered and the repeated message that it is up to them. The Wheel of balance and goal setting was effective and well received by the students. Your comments on the day: smooth, efficient delivery; great stamina, anecdotes and engagement. A great learning day!

We felt the course was useful and very enthusiastically and energetically presented. Shenaz has a great rapport with the students and engaged even our most demotivated students.

Year 10 and 11: Super speedy study skills. Pacey delivery ensured the large audience stayed focused. Feedback from students has been positive with a general sense that there was some technique or method for everyone. Some have expressed confidence moving forward into the academic year and I will be directing tutors to have follow up sessions. From a parent: ‘My daughter …. advised that she was amazed at how much information she could quickly remember and recite using the skills and techniques provided during the workshop. …. usually has to read things a couple to times to be able to understand and recall she has read. She found the techniques very useful and I was delighted to hear how much she enjoyed the workshop.’ ‘Bridging the Gap’ Year 12: small group but they responded well to Jay’s banter and quickly focused on all the tasks. Again, positive feedback from all students providing a range of techniques for all to use. The time keeping and organisational elements were very useful. Thank you to Jay for an excellent day.

Steve is an energetic presenter and has a good rapport with the students. The mind map activity was particularly powerful as it was interactive and effective - good choice of topic aswell.

Great workshop. Students were really well engaged for the most part. (Same odd students who have to talk through anything!!) Some really good strategies. Well presented. 10/10

The students I spoke with briefly found Natalie’s presentation engaging and stimulating and a number of them spoke about the techniques learnt in their lessons today. The initial mind mapping exercise was particularly well received.

The Bridging the Gap session: very well received by students. Tutor feedback was that it was extremely useful.The Motivation session: very well received by students. “surprised at how good it was” “I was dreading it but the advice actually helped us.”Delighted by the two sessions and the student feedback. Sophie came across extremely well to both teachers and students. In fact Sophie was exceptional

Just had a fantastic couple of workshops from Rachel that went down very well with the sixth form. Rachel worked really hard to make sure the students got the absolute maximum out of both sessions and we are very grateful to her for helping us with our sixth formers.

Below is a paragraph written by students of Heathside for their Newsletter : Positively MAD (Making a Difference) is a study skills programme in which Sixth Form students participated to help when it comes to revision time. We learnt many different skills in order to remember information such as practical applications to revision like creating actions in order to remember words. We were also taught the key skills of speed reading, a very useful skill, and how to construct mind maps in a way that helps learning/memorising key information. This was a refreshingly useful and rewarding experience that captivated the attention of us all and of great benefit.

Appropriately pitched for the new students. Delivered in a vibrant and friendly approach. Natalie and Kim were very engaging through the whole day with the students. Both presenters were excellent!

The workshops were excellent and delivered well. They were very relevant and the students definitely got a lot out of the day. Our presenter, David Jerome, was super. He related well to the students and was so energetic. The workshops were excellent and the really great thing was how flexible our presenter was to provide our students with exactly what they needed and within our schedules. Thank you!

The bridging the gap course was extremely engaging and useful for the students. It had a good balance of interaction and theory. Really positive feedback from the students. Rachel was excellent, very engaging and well planned for the day. I would highly recommend her as a presenter.

Excellent – engaged the students and was put together with a fast pace Your comments of the day – very much enjoyed thank you

I just wanted to say that the Bridging the Gap workshop was fab! Thank you for arranging it! Not only did it benefit students but the staff supporting were enthralled. We have been able to take away revision/recall techniques to benefit all learners. The students who attended both workshops felt that they have been given support to effectively transition from KS4 to KS5 and all students felt the tips given yesterday would be useful to track their own learning and improve their grades.

Find it a very useful and engaging course. Good to get students to broaden their thinking about revision/ learning now doing it at a higher level than GCSE Good to have short snappy activities which gets students “moving” and time to defocus before refocusing! Good speaker (Sophie Stiddard) – enthusiastic, presented clearly and well with good humour

The course was well structured with interesting activities. The presenter really brought the activities to life with her style of delivery and ‘stage presence’. Our students were engaged and contributed well. The day ran very smoothly, and students seemed happy with the event. As said before, I cannot praise the presenter enough. She was excellent!!

Jay was excellent and there were some very positive messages; ideal for the first day of term for the new Year 12 students

The course was suitable for the students. This is set up to give students the skills needed to improve in their studies Shenaz was excellent, as usual! You have a really great members of staff here. The students reacted really well to her delivery and her personality is perfect for our students. I look forward to working with her again in the future.

An absolutely fantastic session delivered by Shenaz. Both the staff and students that attended were delighted by the pace, energy and enthusiasm that Shenaz put into the sessions for both years. The students found the workshop extremely useful and we have actually seen a massive difference in the students’ attitude towards learning already in these first days of Sixth Form. We really hope that we can use your services soon to carry on guiding and encouraging our students! Great organization and delivery overall; we could not fault anything!

The worksheets, resources and tasks provided to the students were very useful and will form a part of our tutorial programme moving forward. Jay was energetic, enthusiastic and pitched his presentation at the correct level for our students. He gave the students breaks when appropriate and struck a good balance between student led work and more directed work.

I felt that the workshop was well delivered and was pitched perfectly to support sixth form students. As always, thank you for accommodating our requests 10/10

We thought the course was extremely informative and a great learning tool. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the day and the teachers and pupils thought Sophie was very entertaining and knowledgeable, she is a great advocate for your company. You should be very proud.

Excellent really engaging. 10/10

Thanks for your efforts today - all was well received and I think that it gave the students a number of strategies to consider utilising in the coming months. The pitch and pace were fine so thanks again.

The workshops were tailored perfectly for the target audiences (Exam Busters with year 11, Bridging the Gap with years 12/13) and were exactly what we wanted them to be. The students all gained something valuable from their workshops, whether it was specific revision techniques, learning to learn more effectively, or for some them just advice for general exam preparation and wellbeing. Shenaz was an absolutely fantastic presenter and was very talented at keeping the focus of a large number of students (some of whom can be quite challenging) at the same time throughout the session. Her energy and enthusiasm were infectious, and her enjoyment of what she was doing clearly influenced everybody listening to her.

I saw the first ‘bridging the gap’ course – I thought it was extremely well delivered, very visual, very easy. Shenaz had hold of her audience even though here were 150 of them.

It went really well and the vast majority of students enjoyed it and found it useful Well organized and lived up to your publicity.

The workshop was fantastic and gave students practical tips on how to revise and tackle the increased workload expected at A-Level. Shenaz delivered the workshop in her usual engaging way. Great – we wouldn’t change a thing!

It was really good. The pupils were permanently engaged and the presenter changed pace and kept them on their toes. The tips were useful and perhaps the later techniques were more specific to the older age group. We enjoyed it and it was very useful.

Informative and inspiring in equal measure – a great start to the day/year. Thank you Steve was excellent – he was committed, professional, funny and engaging. A great day.

The course was excellent – Shenaz who was the presenter had a brilliant way of delivering the session. She built up a great rapport with the pupils. Our Year 14 pupils got a lot out of the session – they are into their final year of study and were able to see the real benefit of the independent work Our Year 13’s – were slightly different – they are just about to begin their post 16 studies and as a result the idea of independent study was new to them, plus they didn’t have the same level of maturity as the Year 14 pupils. In saying that they still got benefit from the course They are a number of things that the teachers even benefitted from – and in the future we might look at something related to our Junior pupils in relation to study skills. Our main issue is our budget and if we can afford to bring someone over. – overall excellent session. Very worthwhile.

The presenter was engaging and showed students a variety of ways to continue their learning beyond the classroom. What particularly stood out for me was how taking ownership for one’s own success was in the opening part of the gentleman’s address to the students. I was thoroughly impressed with the presenter’s enthusiasm and the quality of his presentation materials. I would highly recommend it and I have already sent a copy of the brochure given to me by the presenter to a friend and colleague of mine who heads up a Sixth Form in Lymm.

We thought this was really good. It was practical, active and really well pitched for our students. It engaged them and got them thinking and they left with lots of ideas to help them approach their 6th form studies. Really worthwhile, engaging and positive. A really enjoyable and productive atmosphere.

I arranged for PM to come to Gower College but unfortunately I was off sick when the event took place. Staff have told me they were very impressed with the event and once some get back to me with emailed comments I'll fill in the sheet and return it to you. I am definitely interested in booking with you again.

Enthusiastic presenter - helpful for research.

The course was well received by the students due in large part to Sophie’s lively and enthusiastic presentation. All elements were useful and relevant and there was good pace to the day’s activities. I am confident that students will make use of the various strategies introduced during their time in the sixth form. Many thanks for the ease of booking the event and for delivering the course itself.

Rachel was an energetic and skillful presenter. The material was helpful and explained well. The teacher meeting was a useful addition.

I would just like to thank Shenaz for her brilliant sessions. Her ability to connect with students and relate to their stage in education was impeccable. Her delivery was engaging, relevant (almost as though she worked with us daily), the language she used to explain her workshops couldn't have been more on point. Students have left with lots of new methods to revise and tips to manage their emotions and be more resilient. I will be booking next year. Teachers were blown away and loved every minute of the workshops.

It was upbeat and positive. It was nice that the students were engaged and shown just how they need to use techniques to their advantage. All staff involved were complimentary about the subject matter and the manner with which Mark conducted himself. It was nice that the students had the time to trial the techniques and had a reminder of what was covered with them when they left.

Generally the feedback was very positive from the students and they were introduced to some new techniques which I know that staff who were in the presentation have used with their groups

An engaging course containing very useful guidance and advice on effective studying. Staff who attended the sessions with students found its content very interesting and engaging. The course was delivered in a friendly, clear, respectful and purposeful manner. The day ran very smoothly, and all students responded positively to Sophie’s presentations; appreciating that the session was worthwhile. We appreciate Sophie’s willingness to accommodate our needs in terms of time constraints and numbers.

Excellent presentation which engaged the students, despite there being a large number in the hall. Your presenter was enthusiastic and untiring!

Natalie had a very good rapport with the students and they responded very well to her. We were impressed with her presentation, enthusiasm and commitment.

Kim was fantastic and controlled the room really well. The content was well structured and covered the areas that we had been focusing on during the term and therefore reinforced the message.

Very good content and the sixth formers learned a lot. Mark delivered the course very well, was approachable and the sixth formers related to him well. Looking forward to the next presentation. A very positive experience.

Jay was excellent in every way. Our students responded very well to his workshop, and we have received lots of positive comments from our students following the event. The content was appropriate and it met the specifications outlined in our brief. Jay’s communication was excellent in the run-up to the day also. I will certainly consider booking this event again for next academic year. Our thoughts will turn to organising next year’s Year 12 Induction Event in early 2019, and I look forward to consulting Positively Mad in due course. I would like to offer my thanks, and on behalf of everyone at Bradford Grammar School for a superb training workshop.

Well pitched, engaging, with lots of fresh ideas for students and staff. Really glad we arranged it!

Jay provided excellent training for our students. Nothing but positive comments so far.

I am delighted that Sophie was able to come and deliver both the Bridging the Gap and the Motivation courses to our students at Godolphin. The content of the course was excellent – very relevant, meaningful and practical. Sophie’s delivery was exceptionally good. She was undoubtedly in charge of her material and the room! She chose examples and references that our students could relate to, and kept their attention throughout. She was amazingly good at drawing their attention, dealing with individuals when needed and challenging the groups to make the most of their time at school. Extremely useful.

Very positive and motivational. Students seem to be engaged and get a lot out of it as they were taught new techniques and how to think about things differently.

Matt was excellent!

Natalie delivered the sessions with endless enthusiasm and professionalism. The students were positive about the day and everything ran very smoothly.

I thought Shenaz was really engaging and she worked well with the young people that came to the session, she kept them engaged (which isn’t easy) and it was an enjoyable session.

The workshops were interesting and interactive. Jay was very lively and relatable. The 2 different sessions were very useful to each year group and hopefully all students came away with some motivation for the coming year. Jay’s session on mind mapping was an excellent way to show student how they can revise effectively and proof that it works. The day ran very smoothing and Jay was very flexible with your timings and managed to deliver the sessions equally as well in a shorter time frame.

All good valuable revision tools, tips and techniques. The students were attentive throughout both workshops. Even the staff present said they had learnt something new! Jay was a lively and engaging presenter who pitched his delivery perfectly for our Y12 students. It was really helpful to be able to cover the whole year group across the three schools in one day.