Information About Catherine - Bray tutor -
(46 reviews)

References

This is how 3 referees rated Catherine:

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Subjects Taught

French	Price Guide
Senior Cycle	€50.00

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Personal Description:

I am a French native speaker. My parents are Spanish and I'm fluent in Spanish too. I was born in France where I did all my studies. I'm a French teacher and I did all my studies in France. I've been teaching French for many years (school language, primary and secondary school in Spain. In Ireland I specialized in French H.L in L.C. After my studies in France (degree and master in Spanish) , I moved to Spain where I taught French (Selectividad = L.C) in a Spanish secondary school in Madrid for more than 20 years . Now in Ireland, I'm teaching French Leaving Cert higher level and French and Spanish to adults who want to improve their French or their Spanish . I'm registered as a Sole Trader, so I can give an invoice for the lesson, should you want it. As a student I studied Spanish at the University of Lyon and the University of Toulouse in France . I have a degree in Spanish language from the University of Lyon, a Masters in Spanish from the University of Toulouse and diplomas in French . I received also a degree in Spanish whilst studying at the University Complutense of Madrid in Spain. Several years ago my husband obtained a post in Dublin, so the family moved to Ireland. Since living here I have continued to give private language lessons to both pupils still at school who wanted to improve their grades and adults who wanted for personal or professional reasons to improve their linguistic skills. But bit by bit I specialized in French Higher Level for Leaving Cert. Even having a good knowledge of the syllabus and exam structure in both languages since a few years I'm only teaching French Higher Level for L.C. This way I can provide my students with a better knowledge of the language for their exam.

Tutoring Experience:

As a professional teacher with more than 30 years experience, I recognize the importance of getting to know all of my students as individuals. In this way I can develop teaching methods and strategies to meet their specific needs and learning abilities. I have worked as a French teacher in Spain at both the primary and secondary school level and I am very familiar with the French and Spanish specifications followed by schools in Ireland (Leaving Certificate). I'm focused on preparing students for their Leaving Certificate. You can see references from students after having passed the Leaving Certificate.

Approach to Grinds:

The price given below is for a private lesson in French online via Skype video call for one hour.

Tutor Resources: (free to download)

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Native Language: French
Additional Languages: Spanish
Availability: Weekdays (all times)
References Available: Yes (✔ On File)

Qualifications:

Ministry of Education (2001) - Teacher of Secondary Education (Professional) (✔ On File)
University Toulouse (2000) - Spanish (Masters) (✔ On File)
Complutense University (2000) - School Education (Masters) (✔ On File)
University Lyon (1983) - Foreign Modern Language (Bachelors) (✔ On File)

Catherine's Feedback

Students Providing Feedback:	46
Students Providing Positive Feedback:	46 Av. 4.96/5.00

From Orla (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Catherine is an amazing teacher! I was unsure at first if the online classes would suit me but the classes are fast paced, engaging and I learn so much. I would highly recommend her classes to everyone in higher level French. My oral and grammar have improved greatly in just a few classes! Thanks Catherine!

Reply from Catherine: Thanks a lot Orla for your feedback. I'm very happy you've found the lessons helpful and have already noticed an improvement after the first lessons. Catherine

From Elisabeth (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) My French level was so low that I even thought of dropping the subject but then I thought of continuing in an Ordinary Level.

Catherine convinced me to prove and continue in the Higher Level. After a few weeks, I feel I've improved a lot. Now I can participate in the French class (somthing that I've never done before taking the lessons). I've improved my grammar, vocabulary, oral and aural skills.

I will definitely continue at Higher Level and I can say that right now French is one of my favourite subjects.

Cathy's Online lessons are not boring, you learn a lot, we do exercises to remember what we learned. After each lesson, she sends exercises to do and she corrects them very carefully.

When I read students' reviews after passing their Leaving Certificate, I am not susrprised that they say they've achieved H3, H2 or H1, starting form a very low level.

I am so glad I found Catherine. Before you think about leaving the subject or thinking about going into Ordinary Level, please contact Catherine. It will be the right thing to do and you won't regret it.

Reply from Catherine: Hi Elisabeth. Thanks a lot for your feedback with so many details about my work . It's much appreciated. You are doing very well. Still going like this and I'm sure you'll be rewarded with good marks in your L.C French exam. Thanks again. Cathy

From Kate (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Catherine is working with my son for him to achieve Leaving Cert French outside of school. He has just begun 5th year and was going to do the Ordinary paper but Catherine has helped him realise he can go for the Higher paper. Catherine is really very organised and is hugely encouraging and supportive to my son. He is responding very well to Catherine and likes her a lot. He is doing the work and seems to be progressing and this is definitely due to Catherine’s style and encouragement. Catherine’s communication with me as his mother is very clear and helpful. I am fully in the loop and can encourage my son at home. Catherine is exactly what I was looking for in a tutor. It is early days but I have high hopes that together they will achieve a good result.

Reply from Catherine: Hi Kate. Thanks a lot for your review. I'm very happy Ciaran is enjoying our lessons and he is improving. He'll definitely do well in his French L.C. He's in 5th year and improving every week. So it was a good decision to go for Higher Level. The best reward for me is when a student is improving and suddenly is enjoying French, a subject he didn't like before our lessons. That's great. Thanks again. Cathy

From Grant (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Catherine is a really good teacher. Cathy has been helping me with French since the beginning of 5th year and I have recently been awarded a H3 in the LC. Cathy covers all aspects of the French syllabus, and is very familiar with the Leaving cert curriculum. She does a lot of work around the oral and aural part of the exam. She is very thorough and patient & I would highly recommend her to anyone needing help with French in the LC. Daniel

Reply from Catherine: Hi Daniel. Thanks so much for your feedback. Your work paid off. It was a pleasure to teach you. Best of luck. Catherine

From Tanya (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Catherine is an excellent teacher. We highly recommend her online classes.
When we went to her for help back in March 23 after my son failed his French mock exam, he only had few weeks left before he had to sit his oral exam in April and his written exam in June. Catherine assessed my son’s French level at the time which turned out to be quite poor. I don’t know how she did it. Within a space of 8 weeks (one online class per week), she has helped my son to achieve his highest ever result in French. I was shocked to see his result. He got an H2. We are so glad that we have found Catherine. We are so grateful for Catherine’s help. She is a great tutor, very reliable and responsible. Thank you so much Catherine.

Reply from Catherine: Hi Tanya. Thanks for your kind words. I'm so happy Andrew got H2. He was a good student who followed what I said, applied the rules I gave him and the tips I gave him to improve his French. It's easy to get it when the student works so hard. He really deserved his H2. Best luck.
Catherine

From Dermot (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) I started french grinds with Catherine at the beginning of sixth year as my primary source of french lessons throughout my leaving cycle. My grades improved from a H6 to a H2 purely from our weekly online classes together and her persistence with all of my exercises pushed me to work harder and enjoy the subject as a whole. It was very clear the time, effort and care Catherine put into my work and grade and I couldn’t recommend her enough to any leaving cert student. Ingrid

Reply from Catherine: Hi Ingrid. Thanks so much for your kind feedback. Your case was very challenging as you were not having French in your new school. But you worked hard and it paid off. Enjoy a new adventure in the University. Bonne chance. Cathy

From Marie (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Catherine is an excellent tutor, her skill is making even the most resistant student enjoy and want to work at their French, my son has learnt so much ,building on what he previously learnt each week, rarely has he praised a teacher so generously. We plan to continue tuition with Catherine throughout senior cycle and are delighted to have found her

2/9/2023

My son was delighted with the improvement in his higher leaving cert higher French leaving cert result 2023 .He had Catherine for LC cycle and went from struggling to pass French to a H3 in his leaving cert.He did all the grinds online and it was just as effective as in person.Catherine has a very comprehensive plan of how to approach LC french building on the pronunciation,vocabulary,structure and oral weekly.l would highly recommend Catherine, she is a truly dedicated teacher.

Reply from Catherine: Hi Marie.
Really it was a big challenge because Harry didn't like French at all and he had to work a lot to catch up. But he did it and it worked. I'm very happy for him and his French result was the achievement of his big study. Best of luck Harry. Cathy

From Laura (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) I am in sixth year and I have been doing online classes with Catherine for the past few weeks and I already have noticed a big difference in my confidence in French. Catherine’s teaching caters for your french ability and focuses on the aspects of the language which you may find difficult. Catherine’s work is really thorough and spends a lot of time helping me both in class and outside classes. So far I have really enjoyed the online classes and I find that they have helped immensely, even in a short space of time! I would highly recommend her online classes!

I can say now after getting my results less than a week ago, I couldn’t recommend Catherine more! I had originally only planned on getting help with oral work but after realising how great the online grinds were, We continued with written work. I was a h2 student and I struggled to get over that grade boundary as I never knew what else I needed to do to improve my grade and french level. Catherine designed lessons which pushed me and broadened my understanding of the language. I am delighted to say I achieved a h1 in french in the leaving certificate and I am really grateful for all of Catherine’s help!

Reply from Catherine: Thanks a lot Laura. You had a higher level in French. I only helped to polish it and you were so a good student you applied the rules I taught you. And it works. H1. What a nice achievement in your French L.C. So happy for you.Catherine

From Mary (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) I would highly recommend taking classes from Catherine. I’ve found them incredibly helpful. There’s a lot of work involved but everything has a purpose and my French has definitely improved as a result.
Niamh

Reply from Catherine: Thanks a lot Niamh. I'm glad to be helpful. Cathy

From Margaret (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Catherine is an excellent tutor. Each session is really well planned and followed up with additional emailed resources, support and advice. My son really enjoys the classes and we are very happy to make this recommendation.

Reply from Catherine: Merci beaucoup Daniel. Thanks so much for your kind feedback. I'm really happy you are enjoying the lessons, that's the first step to being able to improve a subject and it works. Catherine

From Anita (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Catherine is an exceptional tutor who provides clear and well organised materials to help with grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. I am a sixth year student who has been working online with Catherine since September 2022 and have found that my confidence in speaking and understanding of written french have improved greatly since working with her.

Reply from Catherine: Hi Hannah. Thanks a lot for your kind words. I'm so glad I have been helpful and your French has improved.

From Ross (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Catherine is without a doubt one of the best tutors around. She is highly organised and patient . She single handedly saved my Leaving Certificate french grade. With her work plan and lessons since the start of 6th year, Catherine managed to help bring me from a H4 to a H2. You would be doing a great service to yourself if you needed help and choose Cathy.

Reply from Catherine: Thanks a lot Ross for your kind words. You did a hard work and you deserved the marks you got. I'm so happy you got your first choice. Enjoy this new adventure

From Andrew (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Catherine was a great tutor to my son who did his leaving Cert in 2022. Catherine worked hard and tirelessly to help my son get good marks. She used a smart strategic approach, teaching him exactly what he needed to know to do well in the exam. My son did very well in the oral and written thanks to Catherine. And overall he got the marks that he needed in a subject he was struggling in before he got Catherine's help. My son got his first choice course in UCD. I highly recommend Catherine for LC French help.

Reply from Catherine: Thanks a lot Andrew for your kind words. As you know it was a big challenge and hard work but we did it. So happy he got his first choice. He did a big and good job and he deserved his first choice. Cathy

From Salma (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) I would highly recommend Catherine, her lessons and notes are very helpful and engaging and the language feels less daunting than it had before. She provides homework and feedback regularly every week along with preparation for the oral. I did my LC this year and I jumped two grades from receiving the tutoring and overall couldn’t recommend her more!

Reply from Catherine: Thanks a lot Najila. I'm very happy my lessons helped you in your French L.C and you have been able to study what you wanted. You worked very hard. Good luck for the future.

From Janet (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Cathy has been tutoring me since the beginning of 5th year and I have recently been awarded a H1 in French (pre-marking adjustments)!! She is very familiar with the LC syllabus and my French has improved immensely especially my aural & oral French. Cathy covers all aspects of the French syllabus, Grammer, Vocab for listening & reading comp and written pieces. She also sets out weekly homework which helps reinforce the material covered during each lesson.
Cathy is a very patient & thorough teacher & I would highly recommend her to anyone who is seeking a high grade in the Leaving Cert. Thank you Cathy :-) Molly

Reply from Catherine: Thanks a lot Molly. But you did the hard work: learning, memorising and doing the exercises. You always followed my indications and did what I said to do. It was a pleasure to be your tutor. I wish you all the best. Cathy

From Diane (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Excellent tutor, I felt I got everything I wanted out of my sessions with Catherine and my oral French has improved greatly.

From Talla (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) I’ve been doing lessons online since January with Catherine, she’s great at explaining and is really helping my confidence grow.

From Orla (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Just say “ leading into sixth year my french was dreadful and I was struggling immensely, I had already tried grinds yet none of them were as effective as Cathy. She makes it clear what you need to do to succeed and makes sure you stay on top of your work. I would highly recommend her to all students doing french in their leaving cert, I went from wanting to drop to ordinary level at the start of sixth year to getting a h2 in my leaving cert.”

From Sundarrajan (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) I have been doing her tutoring for a long time. It has been an excellent way to progress my French. We work on all aspects of the course in depth every week. I receive a lot of homework to keep me engaged in what i learned during the week. Her tutoring has been particularly great at improving my oral and aural skills. I think this is the best way to become proficient at French both as a language and as a subject.

From Dara (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Catherine was a superb French grind. We did all the lessons through Skype and the interactive documents she gave me were extremely helpful. Very kind and exam-focused I would recommend her to anyone wanting to get ahead in French LC

From Julia (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) My daughter is in 5th year, she fell behind in her French and we decided to try online classes with Catherine. Catherine has been very organised from the start, she assessed my daughter's level in order to work out a plan for her. There is a clear guidance for each lesson with all work planned and organised, homework is expected to be submitted in time for the upcoming class.
My daughter is making a good progress and her confidence in the language is improving greatly with Catherine's help and guidance.
We are planning to continue with the lessons up to the LC exams, I can highly recommend Catherine.

From Rachel (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Catherine is an excellent tutor. She is highly organised and expects her students to be the same. She provides good feedback on how the classes are going. My son, who is in 5th year, has really benefited from her lessons and is much more confident in his ability in French than before. Catherine tackles the basics first and moves the classes along at a good pace so there is lots covered. She expects the homework to be completed on time for each class which ensures the student is always progressing. I would highly recommend her.

From Orfhlaith (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Catherine has been an excellent communicator; very well-prepared and sensitive and understanding with our 15 year old, who enjoys her classes very much. As a lanugage teacher myself I can very highly recommend her.

From Sinead (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) At first I was apprehensive about doing online lessons however Catherine has definitely proved me wrong. She shows dedication and organisation throughout each lesson and is always ready to help with any concerns I may have. I can see my French improving more and more each week with the help of Catherine. She is a very friendly and helpful tutor and I would 100% reccomend!

From Susan (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Catherine is really helping my son with his french for leaving cert! Would highly recommend her! Thank you Catherine

From Carmel (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Catherine has given me grinds for Leaving Cert French for both 5th and 6th year. She is a very enthusiastic and organised teacher. I found her lessons to be of great benefit to me in understanding all aspects of the language. She really helped to motivate me to do well in this subject. During the lockdown she was very accommodating and helpful and ensured that I kept on track by doing her lessons face to face on SKYPE.
I would strongly Catherine as a Tutor for French.

Gavin

From Donna (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Catherine is an excellent tutor.

My son has gone from feeling like a weak higher level LC student to confidently approaching his classwork and papers.
She gives a lot of work but with clear explanations and expectations. She also devised a course plan specifically for my son from the first couple of weeks. She works very strategically.

During the Covid outbreak, Cathy continued to provide grinds for my son over Skype. The online sessions were just as effective as the in person sessions and the quality of the grind never dropped.

Very reasonably priced (slightly extra for a home visit). Would absolutely recommend her even in a global pandemic.

From Alan (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) My son started French lessons with Catherine at the beginning of 5th year. He has now just finished 6th year. French was an extra subject for him that he was not studying in school.

Catherine has been absolutely brilliant. My son was never interested in languages and indeed always struggled. Catherine changed all of that. He made great progress with his French and looked forward to all his classes. We have of course been through some odd times the last few months but Catherine kept the lessons going each week via Skype.

I could not recommend Catherine highly enough. Reliable, professional and a really great tutor!! Thanks Catherine.

From Rachel (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Catherine has a very thorough and organized approach to preparing students for Leaving Cert. She finds the weaknesses in each area and works on them methodically, and if the student puts in the work, they make great progress. She is also very friendly and approachable, it's easy to ask questions (even for a shy and anxious student like my son). When Coronavirus meant the lessons couldn't be held at her home, she switched to skype and **E-mail Address Removed**docs. The skype lessons were set up in a structured way, and were very successful. I would have no hesitation in recommending Catherine as a teacher - I wish I could find more like her in other subjects!

From Helen (4/5): (Senior Cycle French) She had great knowledge of the course and showed great dedication to her students.

From Roisin (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) I find these grinds are extremely helpful. Every week we have a schedule which I like because then I know what we are doing. I find these grinds have helped improve my French as we do a lot of grammar and oral work. I find it helpful that Catherine is always organized, prepared for the lesson and patient with me.

From Celine (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Catherine was my son's French tutor in 6th year in preparation of his Leaving Certificate. Her classes done in our own home were structured, fun and got my son to improve his French. Although my son's French was good to start with, without Catherine's tutoring, no progress and proper preparation to LC's expectations would have been achieved. My son's confidence with his French increased greatly along the year and got him an H1 as a result! I thank Catherine for her help and would not hesitate to recommend her.
Celine

From Sundar (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Catherine is a brilliant teacher who is a native French speaker. She has helped my son in believing that he can get better grade in his leaving certificate French. She is very passionate about teaching French and has provided written notes to my son for revising at home. My son has done well in leaving cert French exams this year and got better than expected grades. I thoroughly recommend Catherine for anyone seeking a French Tutor.

From Joe (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Our son has found Catherine to be an excellent Tutor.She is very direct and organised.She clearly has set out her goals and then applies her own style/methods to achieve same. I would be of the opinion that you have to be focused and serious about progressing to benefit fully from her tuition.Our son is continuing to use this tuition.

From Ann (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Pierce is very happy with Catherine.

From Susan (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Catherine is working hard with my son for the Leaving Cert higher level. He has not had enough homework for the last 2 years in French so there is a lot of help needed. She is working with him on verbs, comprehension, preparing for the oral and working with him on his document. She has recorded material for him to practise which is a great idea. If the student is prepared to work Catherine would be a great tutor. As she is French it is brilliant for the students to hear the language spoken well.

From Emma (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Great teacher, very passionate and patient.

From Isabelle (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Class topics very well put together and a great understanding of a students indevidual needs, tailors the lesson to suit specific weak areas I struggle with for the Leaving Certificate French exam. Definitely would recommend Catherine to other students taking the Leaving Certificate.

Reply from Catherine: Thanks a lot Isabelle. You're a good student and a good teacher is useless when the student doesn't work for himself. You'll be doing well in your exam.

From Shelia (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Catherine is an excellent tutor. We work at my pace which is good for me as I am a mature student and do not always have a lot of free time to study. I look forward to our classes each week.

Reply from Catherine: Thanks a lot Shelia for your feedback. Not a lot of free time to study but your enthusiasm for the language is your best ally.

From Aidan (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Catherine is exceptional and brought a student with very poor French to passing with ease and getting the college course they wanted. Catherine gets the most out of her students with her friendly style and commitment from the student. Great feedback to both student and parents. Really cares about getting the best result!

From Sophie (4/5): (Senior Cycle French) Sophie appreciates that fact that you get the most out of every lesson and you are happy to go over the hour to make sure that progress is made. It is good that you can accommodate different work every week and cover what is needed depending on what Sophie doesn't know… You mostly explain things well and repeat the instructions as necessary. You are approachable and Sophie can ask if further clarification is needed. It is helpful that you switch between English and French when explaining. Very good structured approach.

From David (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) My daughter, Nicole, who is in fifth class, has improved in confidence since starting grinds with Catherine. We are delighted with her progress.

From Robert (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Excellent tutor. She gives me concise notes and she has a very good knowledge of the Leaving Cert French Curriculum. I would highly recommend her.

From Lucinda (5/5): (Senior Cycle French) Really enthusiastic and energetic teacher - feel safe in her hands!

Reply from Catherine: Thanks a lot for the feedback.
Catherine

From Shirley (5/5): (Junior Cycle French) Catherine has fine tuned each lesson according to my 3 children's different levels and abilities. She is very enthusiastic and follows the lessons with online exercises and feedback too. I would highly recommend Catherine

Reply from Catherine: Many thanks Shirley.
Catherine

From Jackie (5/5): (Adult / Casual French) A brilliant tutor! Class prepared to students individual requirements and a lot of work covered in each session. Conveys information in easy to understand manner. I would highly recommend Catherine.

Reply from Catherine: Chère Jackie,

Je tiens à vous remercier pour votre commentaire.
C'est très gentil de votre part.
J'ai beaucoup apprécié !
Sincèrement,
Catherine

Tags: Bray French tutor, Bray Senior Cycle French tutor