Good Schools Guide Review

A local stalwart, this family business was founded by its namesake, Susan Daughtrey, back in 1987, with her son James taking the reins in 2013. Susan has a master’s in education and is a qualified teacher with decades of classroom experience – as well as having authored books on English and verbal reasoning. Tutors tell us she is ‘amazing, a force of nature’ who ‘really cares about the kids’.

James, who previously worked as corporate solicitor in a City law firm, now oversees the seven-strong support team at the SDE head office in Beaconsfield (covering customer support, admissions, HR and finance, teaching resource development, project management, web development and mock exams), as well as taking a strategic role. ‘The business is constantly evolving – that’s what I love about it,’ said one of their 21 tutors. Recent innovations include the introduction of flash cards to help children memorise vocab, as well as mini mocks in the January and March of year 5 for more nuanced feedback.

There’s huge staff loyalty – most have worked here over five years, and no tutors have left within the last two years. ‘I love the whole ethos that James and his mum have created – it’s full of warmth and the staff are treated so well.’ ‘James is such a good bloke – a really nice man who is ridiculously good at his job.’ ‘You feel so listened to – I see my job as more of a hobby than actual work!’ James explains. ‘Because I’m not a teacher, SDE has to be teacher led – in fact, we make the teachers partners in the business, rather than just giving them an hourly rate.’

Parents say the organisation has a ‘real family feel – a world away from their more impersonal competitors’. They told us it is ‘highly organised’ and run by ‘lovely people’ who are ‘so responsive’. ‘It is excellent in every way.’

Highly structured, well-taught tuition classes for 11-plus – which is big (enormous) business in Bucks. Nearly 600 youngsters in years 4 and 5 take these courses every year, attending one of the three self-contained SDE tuition centres in Amersham, Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross – with smaller numbers attending classes in Aylesbury, Langley, Bushey and Earley (the latter two are franchises) in classrooms in schools or community facilities. The purpose-built Amersham centre attracts the biggest numbers by far – commissioned by SDE in 2022, the classrooms have a lovely contemporary feel – ‘hi-tech but also homely,’ as one parent put it.

Classes – which take place either after school or at weekends – are capped at 12 students, with most signing up in autumn, January or April start (for year 4) or autumn (for year 5). With 25 classes (one-and-a-half hours per week) for year 4 and 35 (two hours per week) for year 5, families say there are ‘plenty of time slots to choose from’. A few (three per cent) attend the classes online – and the number is growing. All classes have a non-teaching admin assistant (typically sixth formers from local grammars who attended SDE themselves).

Parents say the ‘nurturing’ tutors ‘teach at pace’. They feel kept informed via written reports and are encouraged to ‘have a quick word with the teacher before or after the lesson if needed’ – with tutor callbacks also possible during the week. One told us, ‘SDE communicates at every stage to keep parents up to date on syllabus, child progress and additional ways they can help. They have all the relevant technology to be able to identify weak areas and then act to implement additional classes to help improve these areas.’

One of the most recent additions is the weekly (30 minutes) book club ‘to help with comprehension’ – ‘such an innovative idea and run by a brilliant teacher,’ said a parent. There are also English and maths booster classes (one hour online in the summer term for any year 5s who need it) and a long list of summer courses and workshops in maths, English, VR and NVR. Mocks exams are hugely popular too – thousands of students sit these over the spring/summer (some are SDE students, some aren’t – and many sit multiple ones).

Parents say the ‘sophisticated’ website provides a ‘useful’ portal for them to keep up with homework, feedback and results of tests and mocks – ‘with a video tutorial for every question the child has answered incorrectly’.

No specialist SEN offering but they can ‘make special arrangements for students with learning requirements’. Some of the teachers have SENCo positions in school.

SDE also runs specialist 11-plus courses for Reading School (which sets its own 11-plus tests) and for SW Herts (which uses GL assessment tests, but only tests maths and VR).

Most (70 per cent) of the students are state educated at schools such as Butler’s Court, Gerrards Cross CofE and Little Chalfont Primary School. The rest attend local private schools including Maltman’s Green, The Beacon and Gayhurst.

The aim – almost exclusively – is for them to get into one of the Bucks grammars or Reading School, Langley Grammar, QE Boys, Henrietta Barnett, Parmiter’s and the two Watford Grammars (girls and boys).

Of the parents we surveyed, an impressive 88 per cent said their child succeeded. But SDE is not academically selective and inevitably some students are identified (either from the initial assessments or during the first few weeks) as unlikely to pass the 11-plus or, at best, scrape through. ‘This happened with my child and I can tell you that SDE is incredibly transparent around this,’ said a parent. Whilst a few decide to withdraw their child at this stage (when direct debits are stopped immediately), most decide to carry on ‘because the classes are so helpful’. One told us, ‘As a result, she has flown in her maths and English in her comprehensive school.’

Parents like that all tutors are qualified, experienced teachers. Most are well known on the local school/teaching circuit, with 20+ years’ experience (making the average age 52) although they welcome ‘young stars’ too (eg current of head of English at Maltman’s Green School). In addition to being interviewed, they must provide two references from their last two teaching jobs – and there’s a detailed induction and training process. Barely any seem to leave and most newbies come to SDE through referrals from existing tutors (for which there is an incentive scheme).

‘It’s the most enjoyable and least stressful teaching job I’ve ever had,’ we kept hearing. ‘The office team are so organised and caring, and you feel so valued – and there’s a sense of community too with staffroom catchups and Christmas and summer parties.’ All appreciate the ‘meticulously detailed and structured teaching manual for every single lesson’ which ‘ensures standardisation’.

Parents say SDE ‘lives up to its very strong local reputation’ – a whopping 69 per cent of those we surveyed said another parent had recommended them. ‘All the staff are so pleasant, experienced and you feel they are genuinely interested in the child and available for the parents,’ said one. Another told us, ‘A few times, we had some challenges – aspects of the teaching that my son just wasn’t getting and I always had such a prompt and supportive response.’ Some parents told us they moved over from different local providers – ‘like night and day’.

One parent felt that ‘if you had a child who had no motivation to go, it might be difficult’ and others point out that it’s up to them to them to mark homework – ‘this is not done by SDE’.

Parents stopped short of calling the learning fun or exciting. ‘But they do make it as likeable as possible – the teachers know how to engage them,’ said one.

Unlike most tutor companies we review, SDE is not a member of The Tutors’ Association. ‘Other than Ofsted registration, we have never felt it necessary or beneficial to consider enrolling with an outside organisation,’ explains James.

SDE fundraises for charities including the Honeypot Children’s Charity and supports its own students where it can too, with reduced or zero fees (eg they have funded Ukrainian students and been sympathetic to existing families who fall on hard times).

Not the cheapest 11-plus provider in the area, ‘but you get what you pay for’, say parents – and because SDE is an Ofsted-registered childcare provider, they can accept childcare vouchers and tax-free childcare payments at their Bucks and Langley tuition centres. Current prices are £3,155 for the year 5 course (paid over 11 months) and £1,980, £1,700 or £2,030 for the year 4 foundation course (depending what term you join). SDE asked us not to publish the specifics of tutors’ pay (commercially sensitive) but they are the market-leader in the area, according to tutors we spoke to. Clients agree to the usual T&Cs; teachers sign a written contract.

‘We have developed an integrated, technique-focused approach to learning for the 11-plus, with our students targeting the top grammar schools in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Hertfordshire and north London. We aim to establish strong relationships with both students and their families and provide full support throughout the child’s 11-plus preparation.’

Gold-standard 11-plus tutoring in grammar-obsessed Buckinghamshire. ‘They were thorough and efficient at identifying my child’s weaknesses and provided extra support on these areas from the outset, which enabled her to be successful,’ said a parent. Tutors tell us it’s the most ‘well organised’, ‘forward thinking’ and ‘dynamic’ company they’ve worked for – and that it’s like ‘one big family’. ‘A wonderful community that gets results.’