Who can Invicta help?

So who does Invicta set out to help? The short answer is: all students benefit from some form of student coaching.

Throughout my career, I am yet to see the perfect student. I’ve been fortunate to educate some very high achievers. They were straight A students who work hard, never miss a deadline and consistently ask for help. I’ve taught students who have achieved the best possible grades at GCSE and A-Level, who then went on to study at Oxford and Cambridge Universities. Using the metrics of the British school system, these students hit the ceiling of achievement. But, were any the perfect student? Some were close; however, they all had one thing in common: there was always a shortfall they could work on. 

I like to picture a class of students in the same way a person chooses a character in a video game. The player is presented with different characters displaying different qualities. Some avatars possess great speed, while others are blessed with power or accuracy skills, but no character has the perfect set of attributes. 

This is the same for students. Some students may have highly developed organisational skills, while they lack the resilience to receive feedback on a test. Others may have brilliant visionary skills, with big dreams and grand plans, but they lack the habit of regular hard work to bring those dreams to fruition. 

In my experience as a learning manager, students run into problems when they transition to new stages in their educational journey. Stepping up from middle school to secondary, moving into senior years, or the first year of university are typical times when students struggle. Each transition pushes students out of their comfort zone, with work loads increasing, skills and learning content rises in complexity and the deadlines get tighter. A student with undeveloped organisation skills, or inefficient study skills will soon struggle. 

This is where student coaching comes in. The job of a learning coaching is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of a student, and with regular interventions, provide the structure and support to make improvements in those weaker areas. 

Even the high achieving students can benefit from improvements in their studies. When I sat down with some of my high performing students, there’s always been something to optimise - more efficient study techniques, better structure to their organisation, or improved mindsets. 

These are the typical problems I have solved over the years:

Ineffective study techniques

Students who put in their hours, but don’t get the results. Often those students are using passive learning techniques which don’t lead to a deep understanding. 

Poor time management 

Students trying to balance too many things, while being unable to prioritize and manage their learning needs. 

Procrastination and avoidance 

Low effort learners who simply aren’t putting in enough work to meet their learning needs. Some people define this as laziness, however in my experience, other problems are usually the cause. 

Poor organization 

Students simply cannot access their learning efficiently because notes are piled up in a school bag, deadlines aren’t noted and instructions are forgotten. 

Difficulty managing stress and pressure 

Students need to be pushed out of their comfort zone to grow, but some have struggled to cope when the pressure rises. 

Low confidence and the fear of failure 

This is very common, and often gets labelled as lazy. Some students avoid challenges or give up quickly to protect themselves from disappointment. 

Students with a lack of direction 

Some students are unable to see the “big picture” of their learning. They drift through their schooling unable to link their everyday tasks to and clear goal or purpose. 

Learners who fear asking for help 

Too many have a negative view when mistakes are made or fear asking for help. The students who learn from their mistakes or regularly seek out help are those who make the biggest improvements. 

Students who fail to push themselves out of their comfort zone

I’ve sat down with countless numbers of students who simply aren’t pushing themselves out of their comfort zone. Their study consists of revising knowledge they already know, while ignoring obvious learning gaps. Others simply don’t practice the difficult skills needed to achieve higher grades. 

I’m yet to meet a student who doesn’t have shortfall in any of above areas. The best learners recognise there’s always something to learn and improve, and they constantly work on their shortcomings, that’s why they are the best. Invicta provides the help to work with students of all ages and abilities to lift the limits on their learning.