Sarah

My name is Sarah and I am a qualified teacher who has been tutoring pupils from all backgrounds and ability levels for many years. I worked for over twenty years in schools and further education colleges and now work solely as a private tutor. I thoroughly enjoy my work and see it as a privilege to guide pupils, seeing them develop and flourish. I am professional and approachable and pupils know my expectations, but I am also keen to make learning enjoyable. I am a very reliable and methodical person which makes pupils feel confident and secure. I am also patient and nurturing, taking care to treat every pupil as an individual with their own specific needs.

Please note: I prefer to tutor A level students during the daytime on a weekday when possible.

I am able to offer online (Zoom) or in-person lessons at my home

Tutoring Experience

I gained teacher status in 1996 and have been teaching in secondary and further education ever since, in a wide range of schools and colleges within the state and private sectors.

I teach 11+, common entrance, primary and secondary level English (including GCSE) primary maths and literacy and numeracy to adults. I have experience of examining for AQA and OCR, in all the A level subjects I teach. I have been head of Sociology and Philosophy in previous posts.

I have over 10 years experience in tutoring pupils for the 11plus exams, in Verbal and Non-verbal Reasoning, Maths and English for both Herts and Bucks schools. I offer small group sessions for the 11+ for children who work best with other children in the same position. I also offer 1-2-1. I tutor pupils from year 3 for 11+ prep or general skills boosting or confidence raising.
My success rate is excellent, with pupils getting into their preferred schools. I have received very positive feedback from parents and testimonials are available. My 11+ tutoring is skills based, meaning pupils learn the required skills in the subjects which they can then apply to the questions. I work on building confidence and speed, working through test papers in addition to skills based workbooks. I set homework which consolidates learning. My pupils are confident by the time they sit the tests, having done plenty of test practise.

I also tutor primary level Maths and English for pupils who may be falling behind at school and need to go back to basics. I teach Maths up to year 6 and English up to and including GCSE. I teach a creative writing group for primary pupils in years 4-6 who need to build confidence and improve their skills in that area.

Tutoring Approach

I treat all my students as individuals, finding a style of teaching which specifically helps them learn. I am very professional and have high expectations, and students find me approachable and caring. I have helped many students achieve and exceed their own expectations, enter university and achieve successful careers. I find my work extremely rewarding and enjoyable. My examining experience and years in the classroom helps me teach in an exam focused manner. I focus on study skills such as essay structure and exam technique which students greatly appreciate. In lessons, I impart and test subject knowledge, teach revision techniques and help students plan and complete exam questions. By exam time, students feel well prepared and experienced at approaching exam questions.

Both myself and my tutees need to feel that tutoring will be beneficial. In order to ensure this, I meet with tutee and parent in the first session where we discuss aims, objectives and mutual expectations.

Progress is constantly reviewed and feedback given to parents. I encourage parents to be as involved as possible with their child’s learning and offer advice on how to do this.