Amanda

I am working as a secondary school teacher in a private school, teaching GCSE Biology, as well as teaching in the Learning Support department. Prior to this I worked as a researcher at Royal Holloway, University of London, working on the biocontrol of Himalayan balsam, an non-native invasive weed in the UK. I am also a mother of three children aged 13, 11 and 7 and I am constantly talking to them about Biology, ecology and other environmental issues. I loved working as a researcher and enjoyed talking about my work to anyone who would listen! I gave several talks at my children's schools about the project I worked on, and more generally on being a scientist. These talks were tailored to the year group I was delivering them to. I love animals, and started off doing a zoology degree. After this I did indeed become a zookeeper at London Zoo before returning to university to embark on a PhD working on plants, fungi and insects! I currently have a dog and cat, but would love to get more of both, and we'll soon be acquiring a snake for my youngest.

Tutoring Experience

I am a Part-time GCSE Biology teacher and Learning Support teacher at Lancing College. I have also taught GCSE Chemistry. In 2014 I taught biology for 5 months at Lancing College, covering a teacher's maternity leave. This involved preparing lessons and tests and marking both. Even though this position showed me how much hard work it is being a teacher, I really enjoyed the experience! Much more than I thought I would. During my PhD I assisted during undergraduate practicals, which meant being directly involved with the students and answering any questions they may have had about the topic covered. I also helped the lecturers with their marking, writing notes on where the students had gone wrong and explaining certain ideas they may have got incorrect.

Tutoring Approach

I believe that no question is a stupid question! I constantly tell my own children this! Each student is an individual and tutoring must be tailored to their needs. I am happy to meet up first to see if you would be happy for me to tutor. Working through worksheets and exam question is important, as this helps to gain confidence in facing exam questions. I am happy to mark exam questions and give feedback. I am very patient and happy to go over topics several times if this is needed.