Deborah

CURRENT AVAILABILTY- I HAVE A FEW SPACES FOR EITHER YEAR 12 OR YEAR 13 STUDENTS FOLLOWING AQA- WEEKLY SESSIONS (NOT FORTNIGHTLY) AND ON LINE ONLY.
I am an experienced examiner for a leading exam board and have recently retired from being Head of Psychology for over 25 years in a large 11-18 secondary school, following the AQA exam board. Psychology was extremely popular and I was very proud of our results. I am passionate about my subject and loved teaching my inspiring and hard-working students-having also tutored students individually in the past, this is something I very much want to continue doing as I feel I have a great deal to offer. All my three children ( now grown up) were in my classes at school, so I am familiar with the subject both as a teacher and a parent. I would describe myself as very hard-working, always focussed on the student’s needs and building high levels of support, challenge and feedback into my lessons.

Tutoring Experience

I introduced psychology to the 6th form curriculum in the mid 1990s and built the department up so that eventually we became the largest 6th form subject and one of the most successful in terms of grade outcomes. I hugely enjoyed teaching psychology and building supportive relationships with the very many students whom I had the privilege of teaching. I frequently ran 1:1 and small group sessions and enjoyed seeing students progress with some extra, focussed attention and detailed feedback. I would say I specialised in raising students from a D/C grade to at least a B grade. I have gained immense satisfaction from seeing the aims of my students being realised and was particularly gratified with the number of my A level students who were successful in applying to study psychology at some very prestigious universities including Oxbridge. This was achieved at least in part by ensuring students have solid and meaningful revision strategies, which I always attached huge importance to, and would place great emphasis on in our sessions. Equally, I believe that the key to a student's success often lies in their own level of self-confidence, and I work with students in supporting them to translate what they can often verbalise about a topic into a sound, written answer.

Tutoring Approach

As an experienced examiner I have always emphasised how students need to be able to "think like an examiner" to be able to succeed in their exams.
My lessons are aimed at developing a student's strengths, building their skills in tackling exam questions and encouraging confidence in their ability to succeed. I focus particularly on enhancing an understanding of research methods, which accounts for 25% of the overall grade, and also on application questions, where students must apply their knowledge to a novel scenario. I am offering tuition for AQA A level students only as that is where my experience lies. At the initial free introductory session, I will be able to assess the student's needs and prepare individualised lessons based on our conversations. There will always be space for questions from a student, which I actively encourage. I aim to be supportive but also will offer challenge to a student to move them further forward in their journey towards exam success. I have a current DBS check, and currently offer on line lessons only. In terms of availability, I can offer tuition during the daytime which can suit some students.