Verity

Hello! I'm Verity, I'm based in Surbiton, and I'm an English tutor and a qualified teacher of English as a foreign language (TEFL). I work with people who are learning English as an additional language as well as native English speakers who need extra support to achieve their academic goals.

I graduated from the University of Leeds in 2009 with a Masters degree in History of Art. I also hold a BA(Hons) in Fine Art from the University of Leeds.

I used to be a General Manager of gastropubs, and I worked for ten years in hospitality management until the beginning of 2020. I honed my craft as Nurturer-in-Chief, an effective communicator and a dedicated sharer of my acquired expertise. My career change isn't actually the pivot it might seem to be. In teaching I have found the natural expression of all the things I loved the most in my previous roles: championing people in their acquisition of knowledge and in the consolidation of new skills, and the stimulation of working in a live environment where being flexible, adaptable and resilient provides the framework for a fun and safe space that is mutually beneficial.

Tutoring Experience

I have experience and proven success delivering academic support for students working towards their SATs and their GCSEs. Since 2020, I have been working as a volunteer English tutor for an education charity whose work is focussed on closing the attainment gap between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers, and helping them achieve meaningful academic outcomes in key benchmarking examinations.

Tutoring Approach

I am a fun and compassionate teacher, and I create a safe space for my students to learn in an environment where mistakes are an opportunity to grow.

I believe that your secret weapon as a learner is knowing your personal learning style. From my 19 years as a student in formal education, ten years of continued professional development, and leading learning as a teacher, tutor, trainer and coach in both business and academic environments, I know that people are best able to grasp, digest, consolidate and retain new information when it is presented to them in a way that feels aligned with how they experience and interpret the world. One of the first things I will do with you/your child is to establish what kind of learner you/they are so that the process of learning feels like a natural onboarding rather than a dissonant experience to be endured.