Kirsty

English has been my 'thing' since I was at school myself and I have always loved to read, watch film and TV adaptations of books, and attend the theatre. I am married and have three children, my twenty-five-year-old son is now a maths teacher, my twenty-two-year-old daughter is at York University studying English literature and I have a fourteen-year-old daughter at Lancing College. I also have a dog and three cats.

Tutoring Experience

I have been an English teacher since 2004 and I have taught children from KS2 through to KS5. I can offer tutoring to help with SATS, Common Entrance, 11 plus, GCSEs, iGCSEs, Functional Skills, A-Level and Pre-U and to fine tune any degree difficulties with specific essays or texts. I have a 100% examination pass rate for children I have taught/tutored. My results throughout my teaching career have always been excellent and I am especially good at getting the best out of children (often exceeding their own and their parents' expectations). I am also experienced at tutoring children and young people with special educational needs such as dyslexia or slow processing.

Tutoring Approach

I believe (and my experience supports this) that anyone can 'do' English, no matter what they have experienced at school, or been told by teachers. For children at GCSE age and younger, understanding and enjoying English is a matter of confidence and accessing the curriculum in a way that suits their needs and interests. Teaching well is all about positive communication. I have a great deal of experience as a teacher and tutor, and I form positive, effective relationships with young people which encourage them to achieve their best through self-belief. Often my tutees or students have reported that they hadn't even realised that they were learning and absorbing skills and information because they were enjoying themselves and did not feel under pressure. This does not mean that my lessons are disorganised or ill focused; I plan extremely carefully and with specific learning outcomes in mind but my approach is to remove the pressure from the individual student so that they can perform at their best.
My last tutees' results which were externally assessed (2022) were all excellent, with two students moving from level 5 to 7.