Maths is the subject parents worry about most, and often the one they feel least able to help with. Methods have changed since most of us were at school, and a child who has lost the thread in one topic can carry that gap forward for years without anyone quite noticing.
St Hilda’s Hub exists to close those gaps early. It is our after-school maths tuition programme for children in Years 1 to 5, open to families across Harpenden and the surrounding area.
What St Hilda’s Hub offers
The Hub is small-group maths tuition, run on our own site by a member of our highly experienced teaching staff. Groups are deliberately small, adult support is high, and the teaching is tailored to the children in the room rather than delivered from a fixed scheme.
The aim is straightforward: accelerate progress, build confidence, and help every child thrive in a subject that rewards being understood rather than endured.
Who the Hub is for
- Children in Years 1 to 5
- Boys and girls — although St Hilda’s is a girls’ school, the Hub is open to both
- Children from any school in and around Harpenden
- Children who need to shore up the basics, and children who are ready to be stretched further than a full class allows
Why small groups make the difference in maths
Maths is unusually sequential. Fractions depend on division, division depends on place value, and a child who is shaky on one will struggle with the next regardless of how hard she works. In a small group, a teacher can see precisely where the sequence broke — and that is usually a much smaller problem to fix than it looks from the outside.
The confidence effect matters just as much. Children who believe they are “bad at maths” stop volunteering answers, then stop attempting difficult questions, and the belief becomes self-fulfilling. A few weeks of getting things right in a small, supportive group tends to unpick that faster than anything else.
What a session looks like
Sessions last an hour and follow a steady shape: a short warm-up on number facts, a focused block on the topic the group is working through, and time at the end to apply it to problems. Because the teacher already knows how each child works, very little of that hour is spent settling or explaining the rules.
There is no homework attached, and no pressure to keep pace with anyone else in the room. Parents get an informal update on how their child is getting on and what would help at home — usually something small and specific rather than a worksheet.
Practical details
- Wednesdays, 4pm–5pm, during term time
- Ten-week terms — the Autumn term began on 16th September and runs to 2nd December
- No sessions on 21st and 28th October (half term)
- £250 per term of ten sessions, payable at the start of term
- Registration is through the online form on our St Hilda’s Hub page
This term and next
The Autumn term group is now full and we are not able to take any further children this term. If you would like your child to join us in the Spring, do register your interest now and we will be in touch before places are confirmed.
When you register, we ask for a little detail about where your child is with maths at the moment. That is not a test — it simply means the first session can start in the right place rather than spending a week finding out. If you are unsure whether the Hub is right for your child, do get in touch and we will talk it through with you.
