Rebecca

English Literature graduate from University of Warwick (BA Hons, High 2;1), specialising in World Literatures. I am a part time secondary school English teacher at an independent school in Islington and completing my Qualified Teacher Status with St Marys University, London. I have been working in Education for almost 10 years and have been a secondary school teacher for over 3.5 years. Based in North East London, I am an energetic, adaptable academic tutor supporting students from KS2 & Common Entrance through to A-Level and University.

I'm also a creative and writer with the rewarding and exciting experience of having some of my work performed and published.

Extra Academic and Wider School Achievements: Sixth Form Scholarship for English, School Prefect, Winner of the Hansen Cup for Debating.

Tutoring Experience

Since March 2021, I have been working as a full time and part time secondary school English teacher at selective independent schools in Hampstead and Islington. My current school was recognised with the top award of 'Double Excellent' for quality of education in a 2023 ISI inspection with our 2024 GCSE cohort with 100% gaining a grade 5 or above and 74% receiving grade 7 or above.

Currently, I'm studying with St Marys University, London to get my Qualified Teacher Status and hoping to complete this by the end of the year. I have taught KS3-KS5 supporting students across multiple curriculum and learning abilities - I relish the opportunity to create innovative and constructive lessons that have a methodical approach. This provides students with a unique toolkit to build students confidence and academic resilience.

Since 2014, I have been working as a professional tutor with highly prestigious, selective agencies, and freelance, across Buckinghamshire, Kent and London. Supporting a plethora of varied ability-level students from KS2 up to A-level and beyond, I have drastically improved their academic grades, nurtured their potential, confidence and creativity, alongside perfecting their exam essay technique.

I have a wealth of experience both with home-schooling and creating my own diverse curriculum, alongside students who are still in school and in conjunction with their own syllabus’. l thrive in helping my students to achieve their unique potential, with a majority achieving Level 8 and 9/A and A*’s at GCSE and A Level. As a secondary school teacher and tutor, I have years of experience supporting children with learning needs including dyslexia, ADHD and autism and regularly employ a diverse range of different teaching techniques to inspire my students’ passion and confidence. More recently, I have also supported students at 11+ (English and Verbal Reasoning) with students gaining entry into selective independent schools including Queensgate, St Pauls Girls, Epsom and UCS. Over years, I have mentored many students to achieve entry into many highly selective schools including Harrow, Eton, Westminster, St Pauls Girls, Godolphin & Latimer, Kings College School, City of London including scholarship admissions.

Equally, many of my A Level students have achieved entry into elite Russel Group Universities including Oxbridge, Bristol and Warwick.

After completing my 186 hour TEFL programme, I have also supported EAL/TEFL students, providing them with training at the highest level of Business English.

Couple of recent testimonials:

We tried a number of different English tutors for 8+, 13+ and GCSE before we found Rebecca. She sets herself apart by having a clear, no-compromise strategy for getting the best from her students. Rebecca understands the marking schemes and the precise set of tools needed to achieve exceptional results. More than that, she is engaging and inspires students more broadly to be confident, mature and think independently. We were thrilled that both our son and daughter achieved entry into their selective schools of choice (St Pauls and Kings).

I started tutoring with Rebecca in October after getting my end of Year 12 English Literature result (D) and apprehensive that I needed a B to fulfil my university requirements the following year. Not only did Rebecca aid the dramatic change in my writing capability and encourage me to reach further than I thought I was capable of, she transformed my learning style so that I received an A* in my final result. Rebecca was always there to support me, answer any questions I had about various literature, poetic or linguistical issues, and whenever tedious, Rebecca made the learning experience fun and enjoyable. Rebecca was able to encourage me to look at things in other ways whilst retaining my original ideas. She never made me feel as though an idea was wrong and always helped me transform it into A* essays and exam practices. I couldn’t recommend her more as a tutor as each time I left a session, I felt more confident in my assertions within English and likewise, I felt positive that I could do better than my predicted grade. I will forever be thankful of the skills she has provided me with, and I know that any student would be lucky to be taught by her!

Tutoring Approach

My approach focuses on demystifying the study of English at all levels by providing a targeted and practical approach. Often I found students felt overwhelmed both by the content they're learning but largely by the core skills they need to write a good essay or piece of creative writing.

Working smart as well as hard, I utilise my experience and perspective as both teacher and tutor to help students create a full proof exam and essay technique that is transferable and easily adaptable to each student. Every lesson to targeted towards clear learning objectives and assessment objectives, so that students can feel that their own learning is easily measurable and achievable. I used practice papers as a big part of my targeted learning focusing on timings and exam technique.

Alongside my practical approach, I'm also a passionate lover of my subject. I make sure that my lessons are lateral in their approach - discussing how texts and writers connect with history, geography, art and culture. This helps inspire and engage students to foster their own love of learning to help build a wider understanding of the subject and its relevance today. My lessons are highly structured with plenty of engaging starter tasks and fun challenges to keep the lesson dynamic, especially for students who struggle to concentrate or need regular breaks.

Academic rigour is also something I chase and love to provide this opportunity to stretch and challenge my students. This helps them be accountable for their learning and ask interesting questions.

I have taught all the main curriculum and syllabus including: AQA, Edexcel, OCR, CIE and WJEC. Texts at GCSE that I have taught include: Macbeth, Inspector Calls, Christmas Carol, Jekyll & Hyde, Poetry - Power & Conflict / Love & Relationships, The Crucible, Jane Eyre and many more. Texts at A Level vary too: The Gothic (Dracula, The Bloody Chamber & Frankenstein), Ibsen's 'A Doll's House', Christina Rossetti's Poetry, Hamlet, Adichie's Purple Hibiscus, Williams' Streetcar Named Desire, Duffy's 'World's Wife' Paradise Lost, Duchess of Malfi, Othello, Dr Faustus, Sylvia Plath's 'Ariel', Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby...

⧫ FREE CONSULTATION ⧫

I offer a free 30-minute free consultation in which to discuss what kind of tuition you are hoping for and plan how to help your child achieve their goals (this is indicated as 'free first lesson' on the First Tutors website).