English tutor - GCSE & IGCSE English Language and Literature - all exam boards covered. KS3 English Curriculum. KS2 SATS.

Find out more about Deborah

• When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  When my eldest daughter, who has been diagnosed with high functioning autism, decided she wanted to attend Grammar school, I had to help her prepare for the Eleven Plus exams.
  
  My first challenge was to fully research and understand all aspects of the Eleven Plus exams.
  I spent several days fully immersing myself in the Eleven Plus curriculum and the requirements for our regional area.
  
  Once I had gained a full understanding of what would be required to successfully pass the exams, I did further research to establish the various resource options.
  
  This was a particularly daunting task, as there are endless amounts of choice available for the Eleven Plus market.
  
  Once I had obtained my resources, I spent time familiarising myself with the core skills and concepts. I did this to ensure my full understanding of each area, so that I could clearly explain it to my daughter.
  
  Becoming competent enough, to successfully teach my high functioning daughter, was a steep learning curve, especially with regards to Non-Verbal Reasoning.
  
  Once I felt confident enough to teach my daughter, I devised a study schedule which was planned out over one year and involved working for 2 hours each week.
  
  I strongly believe that by creating the study schedule, we were able to stick to a regular routine, which enabled us to cover all areas of the Eleven Plus exam, with plenty of time for practice and revision.
  
  My daughter achieved the highest score, in the history of her school, and consequently I was asked by several parents to tutor their children for the Eleven Plus exams.
  
  Since then, I have tutored many children, and have even successfully set up my own tutoring service.

• Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  I have now been a private tutor for over ten years and have gained a vast wealth of experience working with children, helping them to prepare for entrance exams for Grammar and Private Schools, SATS, and overall academic success.
  I really enjoy working with all my students, I don’t really have a favourite topic, but if I had to pick, I would have to say creative writing, as I really enjoying reading my students stories, and seeing just how imaginative they can be.

• Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  I had an amazing Primary school teacher, who instilled in me a love of reading. I remember her reading The Hobbit in class, I used to really look forward to her story time.

• What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  Obviously excellent content knowledge and understanding of all the different exams boards and different curriculums.
  
  You have to be a passionate teacher, because some of the techniques you have to teach are really complex.
  
  Loads of patience as sometimes it takes a lot of attempts before a skill is fully learnt by a student.
  
  You have to be kind and empathic because 11+ preparation can be very stressful.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  One of the core requirements for success in the 11+ is strong vocabulary. So it is vitally important to get your child engaged in a love of reading at an early age.
  
  My love of reading was fostered at primary school by an amazing teacher.
  However, parents can ensure their children develop a love of reading by making it part of their relationship with their children. Reading to your child is a very precious time for the both of you.
  
  Parents tend to stop reading to their kids as they get older, I would encourage parents to read to their children every night all the way through primary school.

• What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or still facing in your subject?

  Probably the biggest challenge is parent awareness. I still come across a lot of parents who think that they can just send their children to sit the 11+ exams without any preparation.

• Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?


  My passion is reading and writing poetry and short stories.

• 
What makes you a Superprof (besides answering these interview questions :-P) ?

  I think what makes me a Superprof is the fact that I really care about each of my student’s success.
  I am invested in their future, and I give 100% of my effort to make sure they are successful in their exams.