Francesca

I am a fully qualified Secondary School Biology teacher currently working at Hall Cross Academy in Doncaster teaching KS3 Science, GCSE Biology and ALevel Biology. I have also worked at Kip McGrath Education Centre tutoring both GCSE Science & Alevel Biology students. I am 34 years old and hold a 1st class BSc degree from the University of Hull.

My students show marked improvement and achieve excellent results.
I enjoy tutoring as it is immensely rewarding to see students achieve a thorough understanding of the theory and then apply their knowledge to answering questions.

Tutoring Experience

I am now in my 11th year of teaching Biology, I qualified as an outstanding teacher through the Graduate Teacher Programme which provided me with hands on experience of teaching in a Secondary School. I like single student tuition as the progress made is exemplified and much more rapid than the progress made in a larger classroom environment. I have also been involved in mentoring Biology trainee teachers and in 2024 I recieved an inspirational mentor award nomination which was a signifcant personal achievement.
Please see my excellent tutoring feedback from previous tutees :-)

Tutoring Approach

Initially, I would seek to find out the students strengths and weaknesses and use those to tailor my tutoring to their requirements. Exam practice and very targeted revision with an emphasis on building content confidence and application of knowledge skills through the structured use of past exam questions. Course content will also be re-taught.
I also ask open ended questions to probe knowledge and current understanding and often ask questions in a manner which makes it easy to eliminate misconceptions.
After a full explanation of the topic, I go through relevant past paper questions and try to coach what the question is actually asking, how it relates to the theory and how to phrase the answer for full marks.

With online tutoring I have immediate access to a huge range of exam questions, markschemes and teaching resources. Prior to the tutorial, I send resources - notes, questions and PowerPoints to go through either before or after the lesson so faster progress can be made.

Increased confidence
Stress relief
Increased focus
Improved memory storage
Increased memory recall
Happier student
Better Grades