Free Resources | Torchlight Tuition

Free Resources

Free Resources

At Torchlight we are just as passionate about great resources as we are fantastic tutors and brilliant courses, and this is why we write all of our own. On this page you will find a selection of some of our recent, popular, resources.

Activities

Activities to do at home with a parent, sibling or your tutor. All designed to build into a programme of study and give some structure.

Games

Games to keep you all occupied, with enough of an educational slant to make you all feel good but not so much it spoils the fun.

Tests

Progress tests, Stop-you-getting-rusty tests, Mock entrance tests, Cunning tests and a few Frankly-very-silly tests.

Lists

From reading lists to lesson plans and vocabulary sheets to sing-a-longs, you'll find a little bit of everything. Start clicking!


Lists

Reading Lists

We believe that a good regime of reading is one of the best ways to boost a student's levels of English comprehension and composition. Regular reading promotes passive learning: a student absorbs ideas, techniques and good habits, all whilst being distracted by an entertaining plot and relatable characters. Finding books that engage and enthuse a student is not always easy, though, so we hope that the following reading lists will help.

We are very lucky to have Isla Dawes, the former proprietor of everyone's favourite independent bookseller, The Barnes Bookshop, and a children's literature specialist, gives us her top tips for books to stretch, inspire and in every way occupy young minds.

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Year 2 Reading List

Books to challenge and inspire; a great selection for students preparing for 7+ exams.

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Year 3 Reading List

Books to challenge and inspire; a great selection for students preparing for 8+ exams.

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Year 4 Reading List

Books to challenge and inspire; a great selection for students preparing for 9+ exams.

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Year 5 Reading List

Books to challenge and inspire; a great selection for students preparing for 10+ exams.

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Year 6 Reading List

Books to challenge and inspire; a great selection for students preparing for 11+ exams.

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'Reluctant' Girls List

This is a list of books to lure reluctant readers, in particular there should be something for the daughter who doesn't enjoy sitting down with a book.

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'Reluctant' Boys List

Some reading suggestions that should pique the interest of even the most book-shy of boys.

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'Adult' Books for Kids

Some ideas for 'adult books' that should appeal to young teenage readers. It's worth reviewing the plots, as the occasional adult theme will naturally crop up!


Tests

Mock Tests

Our Mock Tests have been a vital and popular component of our primary support for the past 7 years and we make all our tests in house, so that we can have complete control over the product. Attached below are some tried and tested mocks that have recently been retired from frontline use.

Each test consists of maths, English comprehension and English Composition and we have included model answers and mark schemes to further assist you.

Head over to our mock pages to book a test and benefit from our brilliant marking, advice and feedback.

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7+ Mock

Consists of:
* Maths paper (45mins)
* English Comprehension (25 mins)
* English Composition (20 mins)
* Maths worked solutions
* English model answers / comments

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8+ Mock

Consists of:
* Maths paper (45mins)
* English Comprehension (25 mins)
* English Composition (20 mins)
* Maths worked solutions
* English model answers / comments

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9+ Mock

Consists of:
* Maths paper (45mins)
* English Comprehension (35 mins)
* English Composition (25 mins)
* Maths worked solutions
* English model answers / comments

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10+ Mock

Consists of:
* Maths paper (60mins)
* English Comprehension (45 mins)
* English Composition (40 mins)
* Maths worked solutions
* English model answers / comments

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11+ Mock

Consists of:
* Maths paper (60mins)
* English Comprehension (45 mins)
* English Composition (40 mins)
* Maths worked solutions
* English model answers / comments

15 Minute Maths Tests

This group of ten, 15 minute challenges are aimed at 11+ students but can also be used for bright 10+ students or as revision and consolidation for students in Year 7 or Year 8.

Improvement in maths is so often about practice, practice and more practice. It was explained to me when I was a maths student, that the aim of maths revision and practice was to do practice questions not until you got the answers right but until there was no way you could get an answer wrong.

I use these 15 minute maths papers throughout the year to build speed and confidence, to identify and isolate where a student is making mistakes and to provide valuable small doses of exam-style practice.

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15 Minute Maths


Great practice to improve your core maths skills and to build up speed whilst trying to stay accurate and neat with written workings. These are tough, particularly within the time limit. Papers 1 to 5.

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15 Minute Maths


Great practice to improve your core maths skills and to build up speed whilst trying to stay accurate and neat with written workings. These are tough, particularly within the time limit. Papers 6 - 10.


Games

A selection of interesting, unusual and entertaining activities, all of which engage the student or students and the teacher in a game.

We love making learning into something memorable, and everybody loves a game! We have loads more game ideas over on the blog, so do check those out too!

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English Dice Games


Transform your creative writing with these fun games; designed to help students appreciate variation in sentence length and learn the impact and uses of short sentences.

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English Faces Pack


Transform your creative writing with these fun games; designed to help students appreciate variation in sentence length and learn the impact and uses of short sentences.

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Random Title Generator


Some fun ideas for keeping your creative writing fresh and unpredictable. This is always one of the most popular activities whenever I run a writing course.


Activities

Narrative Puzzle Activities

The following two narrative puzzle stories were written at different points of the 2020/21 pandemic lockdowns as a free resource and some extra structure for students homeschooling.

They both centre on stories and use these to tie in comprehension, creative writing and maths challenges, as well as games, arts and crafts, and puzzles. They are both unfinished (mostly as their creator is always short on time) but I'll be hoping to add to them over the coming weeks and produce finished versions.

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Very Cross Numbers

Written by Toby Steedman with illustrations by Hayley Steedman

The story of a boy called Milo and his dog Pythagoras (or Pi, for short). They are bored and frustrated, caught in a lockdown with nothing to do - until they find themselves whisked onto a seemingly deserted island and have to brave a host of challenges to find where they are and how to escape!

Each chapter contains a maths challenge in the for of a CrossNumber puzzle with extra resources providing ideas and prompts for comprehension and creative writing activities.

Click the links below to see a preview and download the challenges:

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Download All

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Curse of the Captain's Coin

Written by Toby Steedman with illustrations by Hayley Steedman and extra resources by Toby Dalton

Sam is an orphan who dreams of being a pirate, but that means finding a way onto the pirating school on Little Gasparilla run by the secretive Raider's Guild.

Luckily, Sam has a coin that will gain her entry to the school. But how long can she keep hold of it in the mad, bad and dangerous Port Johnson, particularly when there's a thief on the loose…?

In addition to the story, each chapter contains activities and challenges suitable for students in Year 4, 5, 6 or 7.

Click the links below to see a preview and download the challenges:

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Download all