Name change but the same high standards

IN September 2009, Julie Staley and Jay Herons opened the Kip McGrath Education Centre in Son Quint Golf in Palma.

It wasn’t long before I got to know and respect them for their professionalism, standards and ambitions. They set out to offer a high standard in educational tutoring for children who either spoke English as their mother tongue and needed help maintaining a good level, or children who were learning to speak English as a second language.

I’m guessing that the first few years were challenging; it’s not easy to establish yourself on this little island, so many people come and go, and you have to keep working hard.

But these gals certainly did that as they have just celebrated five years in business and rebranded themselves in the process.

Just last week Kip McGrath renamed them-selves Mallorca Tutoring Academy (MTA), with a new logo and new ideas.

“We learnt so much about running a business here on the island,” said Julie. “Together with this knowledge and support from the franchise, we have been able to develop the business you see today, and become a well-known part of the Mallorca educational community.” 

The business formerly known as ‘Kip’ manages to cater for a diverse range of clients from the age of four up. Over the years of taking my daughter La Gidg to have educational support sessions there I’ve met kids who hail from all over the world that are now living in Mallorca. The reason I take my girl to the centre is to get some help with her reading and writing in English. I didn’t want her growing up spelling things phonetically as that’s a difficult habit to get out of.

She can get help with  maths, Catalan, Castellano, sciences, study skills, take her SATs and Cambridge language exams or study for A levels. MTA are now developing new services which include drama classes, a cinema club, and an expanded Senior Academy with a wide range of exams available for the students to take.  All of this as a support and supplement to normal school activities.

One of the things I really love about this service is that it means Gidg gets the benefits of being part of our local community as she goes to her fantastic local school where she’s taught in Catalan, Castellano and (to a lesser extent) English.

She has Spanish mates as well as all the inter-national kids who seem to live in Port Andratx. We also have kids from all over the world studying at her primary school. But because of MTA she gets the benefits of 1:1 tutoring and bags of confidence.

They’re celebrating their rebranding this Saturday  January 17 from 2pm at their centre when you can meet the MTA team, and loads of other educational specialists who will be available for free advice.

More info on www.familymattersmallorca.com