Erika

Cambridge University * Experienced maths and science tutor * Former university lecturer * Qualified Chartered Accountant *

I have extensive experience of training and tutoring across multiple subjects, cultures and age levels. I achieved top grades in A-Level Maths, Chemistry, and Physics, before studying at Kings College, Cambridge and later obtaining two postgraduate qualifications in accounting and finance from the University of Cape Town. My experience includes several years tutoring maths and science at secondary level (including GCSE and A-Level), during which I helped my students to significantly improve their grades and get into the universities / courses of their choice, and two years working as an assistant lecturer and course examiner in accounting at the University of Cape Town.

I’m a qualified chartered account and I have had a successful career in professional services, during which I’ve worked with and for some of the world’s best-known companies, including adidas, Spotify, IKEA and EY. I’ve worked as a head of learning and development for a specialist audit firm, where I’ve trained and coached teams of professionals remotely via Microsoft Teams and Zoom, and I’m currently completing a Professional Diploma in Digital Learning Design. I believe that this additional experience gives me an edge as a tutor, as I have real-life experience and insight to share with my tutees beyond just helping them with the studies.

I’ve worked across multiple industries and in many different countries, which has taught me to adapt my communication style to different audiences and learning styles. Although I’ve worked with many high-performing students to get them the highest grades, I’ve been just as successful working with those who struggle in the traditional classroom environment, including students with ADHD and autism. I’ve worked with many home-schooled learners, including as a live-in tutor, and can accommodate their specific needs. My goal with all tutees is to build their confidence and develop a genuine interest in their subjects, rather than just rote-learning and cramming for exams. This approach not only makes the tutoring experience more enjoyable, but also helps students to reach the top grades.

My tutoring specialism is in science, maths and accounting, and I can tutor the following subjects for all UK syllabi, as well as their Cambridge International (CIE) equivalents:
- Accounting and Physics at GCSE and A-Level.
- Chemistry and Combined Science at GCSE level

In addition, I can use my unique academic and career experience to assist students and professionals with the following:
- succeeding in their undergraduate accounting and finance courses
- studying towards their professional accountancy exams (e.g. ICAEW ACCA, CIMA, SAICA board exams, etc.)
- completing their university applications, including helping them to craft the perfect personal statement. Having been accepted to multiple top-tier universities, including Cambridge, I can demystify the process and give insights into what admissions departments are looking for.
- applying for graduate and professional jobs, including helping them to identify appropriate roles and graduate schemes, prepare for interviews and assessment centres, etc.

As standard, I can help my tutees to develop study skills, plan revision schedules and structure their workloads. This ensures that they can maximise their revision time and study more effectively.

As I’m relatively new to First Tutors, I have included references from some previous students below:

“In secondary school my low physics and chemistry grades were preventing me from getting into veterinary school. Erika’s brilliant tutoring helped me to understand and apply the concepts I found challenging and together we were able to turn my grade average from 60% to 95%. I got into vet school and have been qualified for the last 5 years, and I will be forever grateful for her help in achieving this”. Ashleigh, former chemistry and physics tutee.

“Erika is incredibly knowledgeable. She taught me multiple Cambridge International AS-level subjects and helped me make it through my final years of home schooling. She was patient and dedicated throughout this time. I definitely recommend her.” Sonia, former maths, physics and chemistry tutee.#/k#

Tutoring Experience

My career path has given me unique experience of teaching , as I’ve had the opportunity to teach, train and tutor others at all levels, both in academic and professional settings. Teaching in various guises has always been a part of my life since I graduated from university, whether as a tutor, lecturer, volunteer or manager, and it’s something I’m incredibly passionate about.

I spent several years tutoring math and science full-time, and during that time provided around 2,000 hours of tutoring to approximately 100 students. This exposed me to a range of exam boards, including Cambridge International (CIE) iGCSEs and iA-levels. My students significantly improved their results and were accepted into their universities of choice. A number had previously failed their exams (particularly for iGCSE and iA-level) and required remedial help; I helped them identify and address their weaknesses, and to successfully pass their resits. I also worked with several home-schooled students, adding structure to their learning and supporting their individual needs. Working with such a wide variety of students taught me to adapt my tutoring style to their individual needs. It also gave me an intuitive understanding of marking grids, which I used to help students achieve top marks regardless of which subject or exam board they were studying.

I also spent two years working at the University of Cape Town, supporting undergraduate and professional accounting students. The first was as an Assistant Lecturer teaching corporate governance (audit and controls) and Business Analysis and Governance, a broad-ranging course that teaches students to solve complex business problems using financial analysis and strategic thinking. I tutored four classes of approximately 30 second and third-year students per week, and was heavily-involved in exam-setting and marking, including developing marking schemes. During this time, I wrote the official Corporate Governance notes for UCT’s APC Board Course, a course that prepares accountants for SAICA’s professional exams (equivalent to the ACA, ICAS and ACCA qualifications). The second year was as a part-time course examiner for the UCT Board Course, marking prospective accountants’ assignments and mock exams while providing detailed feedback on how they could improve. During this time I helped to edit a revised edition of one of South Africa’s most seminal textbook on Financial Management.

My experience at UCT further developed my ability to explain complex and technical topics in an accessible way. Although all my students were extremely smart, many faced challenges in achieving their full potential, either because they came from disadvantaged backgrounds or had English as their second (or even third) language. I spent extra time with these students to build their confidence and technical understanding of the course content, and in many cases they were able to outperform their peers.

I successfully trained as a chartered accountant at EY, one of the world’s most respected audit firms Since then, I’ve taken on progressively more senior roles and managed many high-performing teams of professionals, which has required me to coach and train others on how to apply complicated concepts in real-life working environments. I spent several years working as an internal auditor at WPP, one of the world’s biggest marketing agency networks, where was lucky enough to travel to over 20 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa. This experience developed my ability adapt quickly between languages and cultures, and to explain complex concepts in simple business English, including to foreign-language speakers. I also worked as a director in a specialist audit firm, before deciding to follow my vocation as an educator and moving into a Head of Learning and Development role. In this role, I successfully delivered 90% of my training online via MS Teams, which has convinced me that remote learning can be incredibly effective when done properly and with a human touch.

All of my experience has taught me to bring out the best in the people I work with, whether they’re my students or my employees. This ability to connect with and inspire others sets me apart from the many tutors who focus purely on content and passing exams. Although exam success is obviously important, I believe that private tutoring has the opportunity to achieve so much more, namely creating confident, independent thinkers who feel confident and empowered to reach their full potential.

Tutoring Approach

My experience has profoundly affected the way that I teach and coach others, as I encourage all my tutees to challenge themselves, be intellectually curious, and develop a deep understanding of their subject areas. Some tutors can force students to rote-learn information in a robotic way, whereas I prefer to encourage them to understand the bigger picture and develop a genuine interest in their subjects. In the past, I’ve been able to teach myself almost anything by developing frameworks and breaking complex concepts into smaller, simpler pieces, whether for maths, physics, business or accounting, and I encourage my tutees to develop this skill for themselves so that they don’t feel overwhelmed by their subjects. This approach has not only helped my students to achieve top grades, but has also reduced their stress and anxiety levels going into exams.

My sessions are always highly interactive, as I encourage my tutees to participate and discuss the subjects they’re working on. My aim is to model successful thinking, problem-solving and analytical processes for them to learn from, and to inspire them to challenge themselves. This approach works well just as well for those wanting to achieve top marks as it does for those who aiming for pass marks, and prepares tutees for the next stage of their education, particularly for the transition from A-Levels to university and the greater independence and responsibility that comes with it.

I always try to incorporate an element of fun into my sessions and to encourage a friendly, conversational environment, even for subjects that are generally thought of as ‘dry’ (like chemistry and physics). I use humour and empathy to build a genuine rapport with my tutees, treating them as distinct individuals, identifying areas for development, and leveraging their unique strengths to help them reach their potential.

In practical terms, I focus on the following:
- ensuring that students have a genuine understanding of the subject content (key ideas, concepts, and methods).
- doing extensive practice questions so that students know what to expect and how to answer each type of question. This approach helps build confidence and to ensure that there are no nasty surprises in the exams.
- identifying and addressing each student’s individual weaknesses, to overcome them.
- helping students to understand marking schemes, so that they know what’s required to achieve their desired grades.
- improving study revision skills, including helping students to structure and plan their revision timetable, prioritise areas to focus on, etc.
- improving exam technique by helping students to better manage their time, plan their answers etc.

My approach when working with undergraduates and professionals is much the same as with secondary students. However, here I can also add additional value by sharing the knowledge and skills I’ve learned during my career to date, such as knowing what employers and recruiters are looking for in candidates, what life is actually like in a variety of jobs and industries, and how to wow during interviews. I can also help to develop all-round professional skills, such as presentation, communication and report-writing skills.

Every tutee has different requirements, so I adapt the structure of sessions depending on what those requirements are. I offer a free 30-minute consultation to those looking for ongoing help, which I see as an opportunity to find out more about the student, their goals, and how they learn best. For secondary students, my sessions have historically tended to be once a week for one to two hours, and then more frequent in the run-up to exams. However, I’m flexible when it comes to arranging sessions and am happy to fit in shorter, troubleshooting sessions or to provide emailed feedback to assignments if required. Ultimately it comes down to what works best for the individual, which really is one of the benefits of one-to-one tuition. However, I tend to see the biggest results when I’m brought in early (rather than just before exams) and have some advanced notice on the areas that a student would like to cover in their next session. This allows me to plan the session and prepare custom resources to ensure we make the best possible use of our time together.#/k#