ARCH Education: bridging the gap in our kids’ learning

In a city known for its Tiger Moms obsessed with children’s grades, and admissions into top schools, Jennifer Yu and Jennifer Ma have started ARCH Education to cater to every need.

These two phenomenally successful educational entrepreneurs are committed to bridging the gap between what is taught at school and what is not… and they believe that the difference could be a make or break for your child’s admission into a school of their choice. We’ve got Sassy Mama Sooni on the case to find out more.

Q. What exactly is ARCH?

A. ARCH helps students to bridge their educational gaps by teaching them the necessary skills and experience needed for successful entry into their top-choice schools or universities.

Q. Why did you found ARCH Education?

A. We were inspired to go into education because we found that many children had top grades, high test scores and great extra-curricular activities but ultimately, while they looked good on paper, they couldn’t think critically or creatively and had poor communication skills. The schools they were attending did nothing to address these problems, so we decided to help them.

Q. How does ARCH guide children (and parents) about what they need?

A. Parents usually don’t know where to start so they come to us for advice on their child’s education path. We assist them with choices such as: local or international schools? What about boarding school options? US or UK? How to prepare for overseas entrance? What school is the best fit in terms of your child’s interests, academic capabilities, background and profile? We take into account all of this and help identify the necessary options so that we can prepare them for whatever they want to take on.

Q. What does ARCH offer that other “tutorial” colleges don’t?

A. That’s easy to answer! We created ARCH to help children to be inspired to learn. We are passionate about education, and we were worried that the school system doesn’t do enough to stimulate them. So we offer great programmes that actually enrich their skills in thinking, speaking and writing, as well as of course, the essential academic tutoring through an e-tutoring platform, with highly trained staff from a variety of academic institutions around the world. This can include everything from SATS strategies to Common Entrance prep to Oxbridge Aptitude Tests and more. We have over 250 tutors globally; 150 of them hold Oxbridge degrees and we have many discipline-specific tutors guiding a wide variety of subjects.

Q. What age group do you cater to?

A. It varies from younger kids during the summer programmes to all age groups during term time. First term focuses a lot on teens applying to universities.

Q. For our Sassy Mamas with younger kids, what would you suggest to get children really interested in studying or looking further than their school curricula?

A. Actually, our current programmes target 9 and 10 year olds because we believe that critical thinking should start from a young age. Our Socrates Programme is for this age group and teaches about global issues plus lateral thinking. We have also piloted our Critical Reading programme because so many kids read a lot of books but in a very superficial way. We compile reading lists based on the UK and US requirements and train students how to read in-depth with skills that’ll help them in all subjects across the board.

Q. What is next for ARCH?

A. It is really exciting being in our position, to actually see the trends and insights in education, plus what is missing, the gaps – and these are what we try to fill and bridge at ARCH. Top schools in HK have started to recognise our work, which is very satisfying. Many of our students started through primary school, stayed with us through secondary school and applied to college with us. That’s a whole cycle that we’re very proud of!