Ellena

I am an A-Level Biology specialist I live and breathe the OCR and AQA specifications every day. I have decades of experience as a senior examiner and question setter writing exam questions and mark schemes, so am best placed to coach my tutees on exam technique.
I am about to take bookings for the Easter holidays 2025. I will put up my schedule in the next few weeks. I may also have some spaces left over February half term - I will post these soon too. I'm afraid I am booked up now for regular weekly sessions this academic year 2024-2025.

Over the Easter holidays, tutees often book in for a condensed course of 1 hour each day at the same time. This is perfect for fitting in with revision not only for Biology but for other subjects too. My Easter holiday dates are Mon 7th April - Fri 11th April (week 1) and Mon 14th April to Thurs 17th April (week 2)

I deliver face-to-face teacher training for Tutor2u and I visit schools for bespoke inhouse training days, for OCR spec A and the AQA spec, so teachers can achieve more success with their classes.

I want my tutees not only to get their top grade but also to love Biology as I do!

I find it a privileged position being able to work closely with tutees to cover their specific learning needs. I divide my time between tutoring, assessment work and authoring A-Level Biology resources. These all complement each other very well. Each tutee is different and it is always a pleasure to watch them grow in knowledge, understanding and confidence.

I support every tutee in a bespoke way to support their specific needs. I often focus on exam technique, the importance of the practical skills in written exams and the use of specialist terms.

Whether on Skype or in person, I will guide each tutee through topics to enable them to clock up marks on exam papers.

I tutor Monday to Thursday. After school prime times are at 3.15pm, 4.30pm and 7pm. I am available to tutor during the school day as well for students with non-contact time.

Tutoring Experience

I am an experienced teacher of 25 years, previously head of Biology at a local grammar school. My PGCE comes from studying at Cambridge University.

I am a Principal examiner and senior examiner for 2 exam boards. I have set exam questions for A-Level papers for many years and work with assessment material daily.

I am also an author of A-Level Biology educational resources for several publishers.

I give Webinars for students and teachers and deliver teacher training workshops for Tutor2u. I was a Hodder Education trainer for many years before they stopped this service in Nov 24.

Tutoring Approach

A Level Biology is a very demanding course. There is so much content to learn – some of it is quite challenging to understand too. Many exam questions involve application of knowledge and understanding and skills are needed to be successful with these questions.

When I go over a topic I emphasise the specialist terms needed to get marks in exam questions. The mark schemes can be very specific! We look at exam questions together - I teach my tutees how to interpret the information given along with the question, and then to make a specific and concise answer.

As well as a focus on exam technique, we look closely at the importance of the practical skills. A minimum of 15% of exam questions test the practical skills, so being confident in the language of measurement, science methodology, data interpretation and analysis and evaluation is a grade changer.

I use a graphics tablet and Microsoft OneNote as my whiteboard. My tutees tell me this is really useful to refer back to all the session notes. I also send through resources ahead of each session. Using Skype with a Webcam allows me to share my screen and we can look at resources together. These can be diagrams, past paper questions or video resources.

I have a friendly approach with my tutees and quickly build up their confidence. My patient demeanour means tutees feel able to ask questions and contribute and I always endeavour to let my enthusiasm rub off onto them. As my tutees improve in confidence, that translates into top grades. I am lucky to often see those precious lightbulb moments when a tutees’ understanding is solidified.

It is very satisfying to receive calls on results day and to hear of the wonderful successes.