Ella inspires her family by completing the Kumon Maths Programme

At fifteen years old, Ella has a good reason to be proud—she has completed the entire Kumon Maths Programme! Having started with us at level 2A, Ella has now completed every stage of the programme over the course of her Kumon maths journey. We spoke to this alumna of the Kumon Whetstone Study Centre, in North London, who told us how she felt about her fantastic achievement,

“When I found out I had passed the final test, I was so happy! My Instructor, Michelle, and I had planned for me to sit it during the summer holidays, and she was able to tell me on the day that I had passed. I’ve kept in touch with a girl from my primary school who also recently completed the programme. I sent her a text when I’d finished, and it was nice to know someone else who knew exactly how I was feeling!

“At the beginning, in the early levels of the programme, I found the work was quite simple, and it became a nice challenge as it went on, and I found it really helped me. There were some stages and topics that I found hard, but the questions were enjoyable to do because I was working them out for myself. When I’m studying, I feel like I’m solving problems on my own – I don’t need to wait for a teacher to explain it to me and I can do the task on my own.”

Kumon students are required to demonstrate mastery of key topics, from learning addition and subtraction through to functions and calculus, so it’s no wonder that maths is now one of Ella’s favourite subjects at school. Her Kumon study has given her the knowledge and mastery she needs to succeed,

“The most challenging parts were towards the end of the programme — there were some very difficult topics, but I got them in the end. Integration was quite challenging for me but, when we covered it in school, I felt so much more confident because I already understood it from working through my Kumon worksheets.”

There are many benefits to Kumon beyond academic performance and Ella has been enjoying the outcomes of that every day,

“Kumon has helped me with becoming more organised and knowing how to persevere. I preferred to do my study when I’m fresh after waking up, so I’ve trained myself to have a routine where I would do Kumon in the mornings, and that’s what I’ve done ever since. I’ve become so used to my daily study routine, now I won’t know what to do in the mornings without my Kumon study! Studying Kumon during the summer also helped me, where it kept me thinking and learning. That meant my brain didn’t go blank when I got back to school! It’s kept me on my toes, which has helped in daily life as well.”

Ella’s mother, Chetna, is delighted with her daughter’s achievement and with what Ella has learned from Kumon,

“I’m so proud of Ella! Kumon has really helped her build a good foundation for her education, which was evident when she started at secondary school. Ella enjoys a good challenge and has developed her study routine. She is very much; wake up in the morning and complete her Kumon, mark it straight away – everything on time. There are times that she’s missed her Kumon classes and has been chasing me to make sure I pick up the worksheets from the centre so that she doesn’t miss a day!

“Shreya, Ella’s younger sister, has just gone into Year 9 and she wants to finish the maths programme as well – seeing Ella finish it has really inspired her, so she tries to follow in her sister’s footsteps. I also have quite a few nieces and nephews that are also doing Kumon – they’ve always seen Ella doing her Kumon and it’s really encouraged them to get their work done too. Ella has been a really great role model for them.”

Ella’s Instructor, Michelle, also had kind words to share concerning Ella’s success,

“Ella’s progress through the maths programme was truly remarkable. She didn’t stumble with any of the difficult topics and even seemed to enjoy the higher levels more than the foundation levels! Ella worked diligently and never had a backlog of worksheets to complete and I am sure she will go on to great success when she sits her GCSEs.”

We asked Ella if she had any advice for current Kumon students who were aiming to complete the programme as well,

“Keep going because it’s all worth it and keep trying because you’ll be so proud of yourself when you do complete the programme. Sometimes it really was hard, but I didn’t give up and I made it through! I believe in Kumon so much that I intend to help out as a Kumon Class Assistant soon.”

Ella has achieved fantastic things with Kumon and it’s already giving her access to new opportunities and improving her confidence and ambitions to know she can achieve great things. With the knowledge and skills she has gained from her regular Kumon study, she can be confident of future success with her GCSEs and beyond. Good job Ella and thank you for speaking with us!