Francesca

I have a degree in English Literature (with Italian) from the University of York (2:1) and A-Levels in English Literature, History and Religious Studies from City of London School for Girls (all A grades) where I received a scholarship for the sixth-form. I worked for a number of years as a freelance theatre director and also in a variety of departments of the Medical School at King's College London.

Tutoring Experience

I work full time as an English tutor. I have been tutoring for over seven years now. I have worked as a classroom assistant at Harpley School for children with learning difficulties in Stepney Green, as a York Students in Schools classroom assistant at Fulford School in York, as an outreach worker at King's College London with secondary schools in the local boroughs for eight years, as a volunteer facilitator at Hackney Shed Children's and Youth Theatres and as a volunteer and official first aider for Kids Camp, a week-long residential holiday camp for thirty children from York.

Tutoring Approach

I believe that one to one tutoring is beneficial for every student. I create each tutoring session based on the individual student's needs, focusing on further enhancing their strengths and improving their weaknesses. I always focus on the requiremets and syllabus for the schools or exam board they the student is studying towards. I believe that every student is capable of succeeding, so I always try new ways of teaching to reach and enthuse a student about the texts that they are studying.

So that I can arrange tutoring as quickly as possible if you would like to contact me regarding tutoring, please include the following details:

the student's name, age, current school, the schools that the student is applying to or the exam board and texts the student is studying, and the days and times in the week that the student is available for tutoring. For A-Level students I can tutor during the day if the student has a morning or afternoon off from school.

Please note I charge an extra £5 per session to travel to the student's home.

School entrance exams:

My students this year gained places and scholarships at North London Collegiate, Latymer, Haberdashers, St Albans, Northbridge House and Portland Place.

I work through practice papers for English, Non-Verbal Reasoning and Verbal Reasoning depending on what the schools your child is applying for require. For English I also focus on increasing vocabulary, improving comprehension skills and creative writing. For Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning I focus on the techniques needed for the different types of questions and how to answer the questions as fast as possible so that your child completes the exam in the time set as accurately as possible.

GCSE:

All my GCSE students improved by at least one grade last year with one student improving from a predicted D grade to an A grade for both English Literature and Language GCSE.

For GCSE English Literature and Language in the first year we work through the texts you are studying for coursework and will work on drafts of your coursework together, improving the analytical skills required for English, as well as preparing for any exams that you may be taking. In the second year we work through the set texts in detail, then we progress to work on characters, themes and technical aspects of the texts, as well as how to approach and analyse poetry. We look at how to analyse exam questions, plan essays, structure essays, how to write an introduction, the main sections of an essay and the conclusion. Closer to the exams we revise the key texts and practice exam techniques and discuss timings. We will also work on spelling, punctuation, grammar and technical literary terms.

AS-Level and A-Level:

All my AS-Level and A2-Level students have improved by at least one grade from their predicted grade to their final result.

For AS-Level and A2-Level I structure the sessions partly as university seminars so that the student is really able to discuss detailed aspects of the texts to improve their understanding and practice close reading techniques. I always focus on how the student can achieve the grade higher to what they have been predicated, so we look at the techniques and detail needed to improve your grade. For AS-Level and A2-Level it is vital to score as highly as possible in the coursework so this is an initial focus, adding context and critics' viewpoints and ensuring that close textual analysis is included. I work through essays student's have written for homework, line by line so they can really understand where to improve.

I focus on working through past papers, preparing students for the exam questions I have predicted, mark schemes and examiner's reports.

I am particularly experienced in tutoring AQA English Literature Specification B both Aspects of Narrative at AS-Level and Texts and Genres at A2-Level.