Shani

I’m a highly experienced A Level, GCSE and KS3 English teacher with a BA in English from the University of Cambridge and a prizewinning MA in Victorian Studies from Birkbeck, UoL. With 15 years of teaching experience and an excellent track record for ‘value added’ in student grades, I am also a working poet and a funded PhD researcher with links to the academic world of universities and extensive experience in offering mock interviews for successful Oxbridge applicants.

I believe that the skills honed by the study of English- analysis, independent thinking, intellectual resilience and an appreciation of complexity and nuance- are not only necessary to achieve excellent results, but also vital to face the uncertainties (and embrace the opportunities) of the modern world. I am excited about developing these skills in students, and in getting to know them as individuals so that they can find their place and pursue their passions in life.

Tutoring Experience

• Fifteen years of teaching experience in English Language and Literature in the independent sector, teaching students with different needs and aptitudes.

• I have taught A Level, KS3 and GCSE throughout my career, and my students typically gain excellent value added on their baseline scores. The department I work in at present is second in the country for value added and each cohort typically achieves over 85% A*-A at GCSE.

• Experience teaching a creative writing module to undergraduates at Birkbeck University of London.

• I have individually mentored many students over the years, both in terms of GCSE and A Level exam content and in conducting mock interviews for Cambridge.

• I have delivered public-facing talks about my research at the National Association of Victorian Studies, Kew Gardens, and devised and hosted a series of online events as part of a poet’s residency I won with charity walk-listen-create. I therefore have a wealth of experience of adapting material to different audiences, devising creative learning strategies, and delivering multiple projects at once.

Tutoring Approach

My approach is student-centred and warm, but still intellectually rigorous; I tailor tasks responsively to the needs of the student and their learning preferences.

To achieve our shared goals and bring out the best in students, I use many types of task- discussion and annotation, audio-visual stimulus, adaptive questioning, writing tasks, modelling, scaffolding, written and verbal feedback, and ‘flipped learning’.

In my years of experience, I have encountered many students who thought they ‘hated English’, and who changed their minds under my care. However, I do not believe in spoon-feeding, but in intellectual investigation together. I look forward to meeting you!