Testimonials

Always impressed with Kate and her energy/passion. Thanks again for coming in to support our students. Some of the students are applying the strategies that you went through on the day.

The workshops were brilliant, very well run, with lots of energy and enthusiasm and really engaged our students! Kate was brilliant, very passionate and knowledgeable! Thanks - 5 stars

Kate was fantastic! She created a real energy around the students, particularly when sharing the stories and resources to support students in recalling information in their exams. In addition to this she was great at sharing this information with some of our parents who left feeling much more confident on ways to support their child in the future.

We look forward to the Positively You session every year.....pupils love it, teachers love it and parents feel the session in the evening is informative and gives them the confidence to deal with their sons & daughters for the next few months. It always marks the best start to our revision season in school. Pupils receive their revision plans detailing revision they need to do over the exam period on the same day. They have all come in on the Tuesday asking loads of detailed questions about this and seem more motivated to get started. We have also noted a 100% increase in the numbers attending revision sessions before and after school following Jay's session.

I wanted to extend a huge thank you for the fantastic Future Me sessions you delivered yesterday. The impact has been clear, pupils were fully engaged, they spoke incredibly positively about their experiences, and the feedback from staff has been equally strong. Your sessions didn’t just inform; they helped build character, confidence and aspiration in our pupils. Several commented on how inspired they felt, and it’s clear that the work you put in has made a meaningful difference. We truly appreciate your time, energy and expertise, and we hope to work with you again in the near future. Thankyou once again for your contribution and commitment.

We had another excellent Resilience workshop delivered by Kim for our Y12 assembly. Kim is a great presenter who connects well with her audience, offering some great tips and some memorable ideas for students struggling with revision. Our students were fully engaged with the workshop and came away with some useful strategies that can easily be implemented to support them with the workload of A levels. We would highly recommend!

Workshop - 5 Stars Presenter - 5 Stars

"I liked the mind map part of the session and believe this could have a real impact in my pedagogy."   "On being introduced to the mind map, has bridged a learning barrier that I have experienced with my apprentices."

Chelsea is enthusiastic and vibrant and she empowers the students to feel that they can revise effectively - 5 Stars

Kim delivered an engaging and enjoyable session - despite being on-line she got good engagement throughout - 5 Stars

Kate was very enthusiastic and engaging with our students. She presented very well and was full of energy. Our Year 10 and 11 students responded well to Kate's delivery in the two sessions during the day. This is the third time that we have had 'Positively You' come in to work with our students and we will look to use them again in the future I am sure. Thank you!

Kate was extremely engaging and personable - 5 Stars

Please can you pass on my thanks to Chelsea – She was brilliant! The students really liked her and her energy and enthusiasm was infectious.

The sessions were engaging for the students and it really helped them to learn different ways to support their memory when learning and revising. The way the workshop was delivered was interactive for the students and students who don’t usually contribute, got involved - 5 stars!

Kate was brilliant and engaging, this feedback has come from staff, pupils and parent that attended the session.

We had Kate leading the workshop sessions, and she was fantastic! She was really approachable and friendly, which made a great impression. The students were engaged and responded exceptionally well - 5 stars!

Both pupils and parents praised the evening. We are already looking forward to the Year 10 session in a few weeks time.

We thought the training and trainer were excellent, staff got so much out of the day and have already started to implement what they have learnt. Thank you to Matt, he was engaging and as a result the children and staff really bought in.

Shenaz was incredible - very inspiring, enthusiastic and amazing with our students. There was a mix of students aged 14-19 and Shenaz was able to engage with all ages and keep the session interesting for all. She is brilliant!

Chelsea was engaging, friendly and interested in the attendees and they responded accordingly. She was very well organised and professional and quickly developed a relationship with the more challenging students and those that most people would miss. I would highly recommend Positively You and Chelsea for these workshops.

A well prepared and informative session, with useful techniques to support and guide young people through year 11.

A thoroughly worthwhile and informative event. We have used Positively You for a number of years and will continue to do so! They always kickstart our revision season.

Fabulous session which encouraged our Year 11 learners to think about their own resilience and organisation regarding their upcoming exams. Once again, Shenaz delivered a highly motivating and inspiring workshop. Would highly recommend.

The Exam Busters workshop was full of excellent, engaging content. The Parent Twilight session was also really good, helping to create a 360 degree approach to learning. We would absolutely be looking to book Positively You again in the future - 5 stars!

This Resilience session was amazing! Nat is an inspiring individual who really engaged with the students and held their attention. We've already received feedback that the students found the content really useful - 5 stars.

Both Matt and Shenaz were passionate and enthusiastic. They made the topics interesting and relevant to the students, who left the sessions feeling more open-minded and prepared for their future studies. 5 stars, without question!

Matt was very engaging and used his personal experience to add to the already great content. He was great at keeping the students' attention and it was honestly one of the best sessions I've seen.

The students enjoyed both the Super Speed Study Skills and Resilience workshops and were very responsive to the presenters, Matt and Shenaz. We have used Positively You for our last two summer schools, both times working with our new Year 7 intake. The presenters were fun, informative and highly motivational. They were adept at dealing with mixed abilities and have helped to set the students up for a great start to their first secondary school term.

Shenaz delivered two really useful and informative workshop to our students. She was charismatic and energetic and really connected with the students. We would 100% be interested in booking more Positively You workshops in the future.

A really engaging and enjoyable session. Dave was really funny and our students loved being asked to create acronyms for certain subjects.  The workshop we had was Creative Approaches to Learning and we would absolutely be interested in more workshops in the future! "I enjoyed seeing the students engaged in the presentation. They were able to see the importance of studying and were keen to complete any tasks required of them."

Lots of positive feedback from the sessions that Matt delivered, he was positive, friendly and motivational - 5 stars for him!  Also, 5 stars for the Mastering Student Motivation and Resilience event. "We've had sessions before with Positively You and never had a bad experience. Matt was great with the students and received really positive feedback from each session that he delivered (3 in total). We had college staff in some of the sessions and their feedback has been lovely. Our Early Years Tutor Rachel said, "Matt was brilliant, very engaging and the magic tricks were a bonus. Our students loved it". Thank you so much!"

5 stars for Jay who was engaging, knowledgeable and inspiring. He presented our Mind mapping, Exam Busters, Parent Twilight Sessions. 5 stars for the event as it was engaging and informative for the pupils. "Great session by Jay. Have used him for 15+ years and will be booking next year!"

Shenaz presented our Exam busters, we rate her 5 stars! I enjoyed that for two hours, the attention of the room was held and I felt it really made a great point about how to remember information. I thought the techniques discussed were useful, 5 stars for the event. "I felt the session was really worth while."

Matt presented our Super Speed Study Skills; 5 stars!  "I really enjoyed the enthusiasm of the presenter (Matt) and the variety of activities on offer. I enjoyed the atmosphere in the Hall and I appreciated the way that Matt handled issues with inappropriate behaviour. We were very happy with the content and delivery of the session. Our Year 11's came away with thoughtful reflections about how they spent their time and how they could make quick progress with their revision (including difficult subjects)." He was calm, confident  and cool.

Matt presented our Super speed study skills workshop. 5 stars; "The magic and activities kept the pupils interested and the overwhelmingly said they have taken away a better understanding of study habits and skills". Matt was confident, knowledgeable and engaging. "Pupils found the session very useful and took a variety of techniques away that they felt they could apply to their own studies."

Matt presented our Exam busters, Super speed study skills and Creative approaches to learning workshops, he was enthusiastic, engaging and firm & fair; 5 stars! "Very engaging, I really enjoyed the hour I was in with the students."

Natalie was an excellent presenter of Goal Mapping, Mastering Student Motivation & Resilience - very engaging and knowledgeable, 5 stars! She was engaging, expert & energetic. Another year of fantastic induction week workshops. Great feedback from the students. Will be doing this again next year!

Shenaz's energy, positive attitude and ability to tailor her message to our high achieving pupils was outstanding. It didn't feel like she was peddling the same old. The pupils felt it was their morning.

I just wanted to extend my thanks for making it such a wonderful week. It really is a team effort - your hard work and enthusiasm in supporting workshops including Resilience or keeping us fed and watered helped to ensure that the week ran smoothly and it was a pleasure to work with you all. The feedback from children and parents has been excellent and the week helped many of the more anxious students with a smooth transition to Weatherhead.

It was great to work with Natalie beforehand to tailor the sessions to our live online delivery needs. Natalie’s enthusiasm is infectious. Her delivery is so engaging. The content was so useful and relevant and we plan to run these sessions again next year. 10/10

The online sessions were engaging and extremely useful. Natalie tailored the online sessions to our students and setting really well. The staff who sat in on the sessions also enjoyed them and got something from them too. We had good feedback from students following the online events. Natalie was a pleasure to work with! Natalie was amazing. She really connected with the students and was lively and engaging despite delivering the same session four times with little break in between – what a professional! 10/10 - I’d give her higher if allowed!!!

The involved and immersive session led by Steve, the practical techniques he introduced to students, and the enthusiasm he brought to our school. Steve’s communication was excellent prior to the event. He paid careful attention to COVID-19 regulations, and he was keen to discuss the contents of the session beforehand to ensure that he was able to deliver the most appropriate session and material to our students. I would be very happy to hear from Positively Mad in the Spring term, from January 2021.10/10

Support, delivery and enthusiasm from Shenaz and Steve was fantastic. Both engaged pupils and parents which was a main purpose of the workshop. Amazing! Could not have been better. 10/10

I would just like to thank Shenaz for her brilliant sessions. Her ability to connect with students and relate to their stage in education was impeccable. Her delivery was engaging, relevant (almost as though she worked with us daily), the language she used to explain her workshops couldn't have been more on point. Students have left with lots of new methods to revise and tips to manage their emotions and be more resilient. I will be booking next year. Teachers were blown away and loved every minute of the workshops.

The Super Speedy Study Skills workshop was delivered to our Year 10 girls, then the parents session with Year 10 and 11. Both sessions were absolutely superb. In particular, the content provided students with accessible strategies they could deploy across the curriculum which promoted processing, rather than passivity. Not only were the activities explained, they were demonstrated and applied. The facilitation of retention was tangible for every single student. As such, students finished feeling equipped and confident in the skills they had developed. They were keen to adopt these strategies in their independent study due to the enthusiasm invoked in them during the sessions. Complete buy-in was also supported by the scientific evidence provided and approach taken in delivery. Furthermore, parents were completely engaged and delighted with the progress they observed amongst their children. They were also extremely grateful that the messages conveyed were consistent with the advice given by themselves and teachers. As such, at home, they felt confident they would be able to enable effective study. The resources used were absolutely appropriate, however what really made these sessions was the competence and tone of our presenter, Shenaz. Her manner with the students and parents was spot-on. She instantly read the audience and ensured that every member was able to fully participated. We will certainly be booking again in the future!!!

Steve was well prepared and the material was delivered at an appropriate pace and with enthusiasm. He engaged the pupils. Met our needs and will use again! 10/10

An outstanding workshop that engaged and motivated our pupils. Shenaz really engaged with all our pupils and they were all very motivated following the session. An excellent day and excellent presenter.

The workshop was very engaging and helped the students unpick the mystery of revision. Many of the students reacted very positively to the workshop and it was exactly what they needed at this point in an important year.

The session was very good. The boys had a good session and we hope they start to revise more now and use mind maps to revise.

An absolutely fantastic session delivered by Shenaz. Both the staff and students that attended were delighted by the pace, energy and enthusiasm that Shenaz put into the sessions for both years. The students found the workshop extremely useful and we have actually seen a massive difference in the students’ attitude towards learning already in these first days of Sixth Form. We really hope that we can use your services soon to carry on guiding and encouraging our students! Great organization and delivery overall; we could not fault anything!

Thank you for taking the time to visit our school on Tuesday. Jackie, Rachel and I were very happy with both sessions; which will help ensure our Fifth and Sixth formers will be able to make strong starts to the new academic year. Thank you also for forwarding supporting resources, which will help us with our continuing guidance given to the pupils. They have fed back positively to all of us in recent days. Jackie and I would be very happy to work with you again in the future.

Steve is an energetic presenter and has a good rapport with the students. The mind map activity was particularly powerful as it was interactive and effective - good choice of topic aswell.

The Resilience INSET Day was an excellent course and staff were energized and motivated by the training. Kim was a first rate trainer who judged the mood of the staff well and ensured that the day met their needs. The resources provided were spot on and supported Kim’s delivery well. I would not hesitate to recommend this training to anyone. The day was well organized and passed really quickly. Momentum was kept up throughout the day and I can honestly say staff enjoyed every minute.

Shenaz was very flexible and was able to adapt the courses towards different subjects. The students gained some practical and useful skills that they can use across different subjects, it was very helpful to link the strategies to GCSEPod. The students were really positive, enthusiastic and every single one of them participated in each session. A big thank you to Shenaz. Shenaz was an excellent presenter, she was organised and communicated with the students really well.

The course was highly attuned to the needs of the children and demonstrated the learning capacity, skills and attitudes to learning clearly and in a highly engaging way. Tools were shared which pupils could access regardless of ability, language, skills or age.

These are the comments of one Year 5 teacher who was in the CA2L session – Links were constantly made to areas of the brain and how ‘we’ use our brains in and out of class. Also emphasis was made towards the children making an active choice(s) to be pro-active with their learning eg not to sit with friends in class, taking their coat off before entering the classroom, wearing the school uniform, leaving break times for chatting and working at home without lots of distractions from technical devices.

The usefulness of a course is its application and useability – the morning session staff had, by the afternoon incorporated the ‘map’ in their session and pupils take their coats off ‘ready to learn’ before entering their class. Therefore a highly successful day was had.

We are regular users of your presenters and this year was to the usual high standard. Steve was engaging and interesting – he delivered a useful and relevant session and we were particularly impressed that he has included the physics equations as requested by one of our staff! 100% positive.

Students and staff alike were enthused. As always the mind map stole the show. Tips about memory where valued and the relaxation techniques were appreciated. The presenter was full of energy and wisdom. They established an excellent relationship with students, staff and parents too with all stakeholders really valuing the inspiration they received on the day. A worthwhile day. The school was buzzing with excitement and energy with students and staff feeling charged up to prepare well for exams.

Hi Shenaz, I have some feedback from the last session for you: The Creative Approaches to Learning session was an enjoyable and educational experience for our year 7 pupils. The event was delivered over two sessions with approximately one hundred pupils in each. Shenaz was energetic and engaging throughout as the pupils got to grips with memory techniques and organisational skills. The staff were very complimentary about the content and pace of the delivery with many looking forward to seeing the benefits of these sessions carried through to the classroom. The behaviour of over 200 pupils was excellent, which shows the level of commitment from Shenaz to engage and earn the respect of the pupils. Cheers, Ryan

Very engaging and easy for the students to relate to. Fun and dynamic the students should have got a lot out of it Shenaz was very motivational and gave the students really valuable tools to take away and use in their studies.

As always, Shenaz was fantastic. The INSETT session for staff was extremely well received - a great way to start the year, motivate staff and get them really thinking of practical ways we can adapt teaching and learning to raise boys achievement. Staff feedback from this session was entirely positive. The student workshops for KS4 & KS5 were equally well received with all students gaining a great deal from the experience. - Thank you very much.

It was exactly what the children needed for the day in order to prepare themselves for their return to year six Each child was catered for as they learned more learning approaches to help them with their memory and techniques to increase productivity from the children.

Steve was very good lots of energy and dealt with the pupils well The content was well focused and geared towards our needs Pupils were very positive about the session and some stated that ‘ now I know how to revise’ The pupils enjoyed the session and got a lot from it. Thank you

Staff were delighted with the fun and interactive nature of the day. Key premises and strategies for making a difference in pupils’ ability to learn and make progress were delivered in an inspiring and enlightening way. All present said they thoroughly enjoyed the INSET provided by Shenaz and gained a great deal from it. The day was well run and well organised.

Hi Jay, Thank you so much for the work you did with our children last Thursday. With all activities similar to yours it can be hard to measure the effects and even justify the time off timetable. In this case I truly feel that the children benefitted immensely from your inspirational and thought provoking sessions and that the time out of lessons was extremely well justified. Our year 10 cohort are a tough bunch and you kept them thinking and concentrating for a full day. More importantly the feedback that we have had from the pupils has been extremely positive with many pupils stating that they have already used the strategies in their studies. Thanks again, Fraser

Shenaz was really amazing, she got down to a level with the children right from the start. Her behaviour management was impeccable and the children really understood everything she had to say. They have remembered everything she taught them and I have tested them today.

We would like to thank Shenaz from Positively Mad for coming in to deliver sessions to our boys, staff and parents. The techniques she used have been implemented since and are having a very positive impact on learning in the classroom. Both teachers and parents were bowled over by her dazzling personality which made learning fun. We would highly recommend Shenaz to any school who wants someone to come in and have a genuine impact on their learners.

Sophie was a great presenter – the strategies were extremely useful, students were completely engaged throughout. The course was appropriate and Sophie took the time to check out what we were already doing in school so that she could complement this with her presentation.

Feedback from students and staff alike has been good. Students enjoyed the fast paced style and varied techniques demonstrated and were impressed by the facts they had remembered during the day. Resources were clear, easy to follow and very engaging. Shenaz quickly developed a rapport with the students and engaged them in the activities. Shenaz was punctual, enthusiastic and well prepared. Session timing was good as run up to second mock week is in progress.

Another excellent day with Positively Mad. Shenaz, the course leader, led the year 11 and year 10 students through the ‘Exam Busters’ and ‘Super Speed Study Skills’ courses respectively with her useful infectious enthusiasm and sense of fun as well as including hard hitting facts to encourage students to study effectively to get the right grades for whatever they want to do post 16. The students left armed with a wealth of useful ideas about to learn and revise effectively. We will certainly be looking to book the courses again next year

I thought Shenaz was really engaging and she worked well with the young people that came to the session, she kept them engaged (which isn’t easy) and it was an enjoyable session.

The presenter was engaging and showed students a variety of ways to continue their learning beyond the classroom. What particularly stood out for me was how taking ownership for one’s own success was in the opening part of the gentleman’s address to the students. I was thoroughly impressed with the presenter’s enthusiasm and the quality of his presentation materials. I would highly recommend it and I have already sent a copy of the brochure given to me by the presenter to a friend and colleague of mine who heads up a Sixth Form in Lymm.

I saw the first ‘bridging the gap’ course – I thought it was extremely well delivered, very visual, very easy. Shenaz had hold of her audience even though here were 150 of them.

Very positive and motivational. Students seem to be engaged and get a lot out of it as they were taught new techniques and how to think about things differently.

The sessions were very enjoyable. The students where very positive about the information they had learned and the activities they were taking part in. The showed in great pride how they had stored information during the mind mapping session. The mix of class room based and physical activity kept the girls happy and interested. Shanaz and Laura who ran the activities where absolute brilliant. The staffs were very intuitive and picked up issues with the girls and along with staff put steps in place to work with the girls. They built great relationships with students and staff. I would highly recommend then again. The ladies time management of activates really kept the summer school on track. The students enjoyed working with them so much they wanted to bring the staff on the trip with them.

All of the staff and children I spoke to enjoyed the day and had a lot of fun. It was evident form the sessions I was involved in the children learnt lots of new facts they couldn’t recall prior to the strategies used in the sessions. I think the staff and children actually shocked themselves in how many facts they could recall! Some of the comments shared by staff and children ‘A very energetic and enthusiastaic teacher’ ‘Had lots of fun’ ‘I loved it’ ‘I remembered a lot of new things’ ‘I wish she was my teacher’

Excellent course – outstanding presentation and engagement from Jay – feedback from pupils outstanding. Parental feedback very positive both from their children and those who attended the twilight session.

The exam busting workshop was both engaging and relevant. The majority of staff and students alike found the course very useful with some excellent tips on how to revise for their G.C.S.E exams. Student engagement was high throughout the course, mainly due to Shenaz’s outgoing personality and the fast pace of the course. An excellent and worthwhile day which provided pupils with useful revision tools for their final examinations.

Thanks for everything last Friday. I thought you were really likeable in your interaction with the students (and to me and the staff too, of course!) and we enjoyed having you in to deliver the students. Great sessions!

English session – really pleased with this, worked very well and both students and staff involved enjoyed it.

Steve was a great presenter and really enthused the pupils. Parents at the parent session all said how useful and valuable their session was. Brilliant day that thoroughly engaged and invigorated our pupils. Thank you.

The course was lively and Steve did well to keep their interest and the girls learnt or reinforced some good memory skills. The delivery was lively and exciting again and we have had a very positive response from the girls. All in all a very good day, we just wonder how Steve can perform at that level all the time even watching him was exhausting!

The course is very beneficial to the students; the students enjoyed the mind mapping activity and have started to use them in lessons as a revision resource. I enjoyed the learning about the revision techniques too, such as the illustrations to help revision, different colours and mind mapping. I will be implementing them into my teaching and ensuring recap over work at least 5 times throughout the course so students remember it. The day was good, all students were engaged and behaviour was good. With the large amount of students in the hall the day went extremely well considering. All students took a lot from the day.

Great presenter, very enthusiastic delivery with valuable techniques the students can take away with them. I liked the flexibility of what to include in course material.

Generally the feedback was very positive from the students and they were introduced to some new techniques which I know that staff who were in the presentation have used with their groups

The vast majority of the pupils involved in the course were very positive about it. They found Karim to be an entertaining and thought provoking teacher/presenter and they were fully engaged for the whole of the sessions. I have also received very positive feedback on the session from the staff that were involved and I personally am very impressed. One pupil asked his teacher if he could go into the second session as he had enjoyed it so much and was worried in case had missed something. I have attached a summary of a survey that I carried out on a sample of the pupils involved in the day.

Informative and very useful information for young people to revision techniques to help them in their exams and young adult life in fact. Students loved it so here’s hoping they use these techniques to better themselves and their results and school work in the future. As ever Rachel “Positively Fab” on presenting to the young people. I was on the same bus as some of our students that afternoon going home and all they talked about was what they had learnt and how easy it was to learn the “Rachel” way!! Music to my ears as I knew this was productive after all taking them out of lessons all day! Thank you for Year 10 at Our Lady’s and myself, Lynne Whitaker.

Mark and Steve were very professional and very skilled presenters. We really enjoyed the course and most of the students got something out of the day. The nature of the cohort that we asked Mark and Steve to work with, meant that some of the students were disaffected and reluctant to engage. I would recommend them wholeheartedly. The techniques and the course content were high quality. I’m sure we’ll book the course again, Incidentally – we booked this course because of the recommendation of a colleague.

Can I just say many thanks – Jay was in school with us last week and it was a really positive experience for our students. Please can you pass on thanks to Jay. We are focusing this week on building on the workshops from last week with Years 8-11 students. We will definitely be booking again for next January.