Ashley

Cambridge ESOL-accredited teacher, educated to PhD level (History; not complete), with over 13 years experience tutoring all ages, from primary school to retirees. I’ve taught undergraduate seminars at university and, as a Senior Examiner for the British Council, managed entrance exam assessments for some of the top schools in China.
Many students come to tutoring because their needs aren’t being met by a one-size-fits-all approach in a class of 15-30 students at school. So it’s crucial to build on student’s prior learning and experience, meeting them where they are and taking into account their diverse needs. This involves an expert assessment right at the start which a bespoke course designed for the individual student can be based on. I design study plans with a focus on results, while including plenty of fun activities and games which put students in the right frame of mind for learning.
I focus initially on the core elements of a topic or skill to achieve rapid improvement, then later come back and practise and elaborate on for deeper understanding and longer-term advancement.

Tutoring Experience

I specialise in school admissions, mainly 11+ to 13+, including pre-tests - ISEB, Ukiset, CEM, CAT4, SATs. My students have won places at, for example, St Paul's, St Mary’s Ascot, Hampton, Abingdon and Winchester College.
My teaching is not only focused on achieving admission to your first-choice school but also giving students the skills to thrive once there.
Whether a student is in need of encouragement and confidence or is ambitious and needs challenging, I deliver results, liven up the content and inspire interest. I instil good practices of study skills and help your child develop higher-order thinking and pass entrance exams with flying colours. I effect a rapid transformation with students. My teaching approach is well-being informed and fosters a growth mindset.
Schools often create their own unique admissions process and don’t release papers or interview questions, so up-to-date feedback from exams is invaluable. I create bespoke papers to fit a school’s unique format and model answers to help students unlock the formula for success.
Lesson content is broken down into manageable chunks – addressing creative writing (including actionable processes for creativity), comprehension (developing the skill of inference and recognising writing techniques), persuasive writing (often this is a student’s first encounter with this skill) and critical thinking. I also address and fix any SPAG issues that crop up. Interview coaching involves practising typical questions and introducing them to more unexpected questions designed to show how candidates think. For these, I teach critical thinking skills. I don’t put words into a student’s mouth, rather, I give them the tools to express themselves confidently.
As a Cambridge ESOL-accredited teacher, I’m also trained to teach international students whose first language is not English. I’ve worked with students from all over the world.

GCSE and A-level Essays – History, English Literature, English Language

I help students excel at essay-based subjects - with coursework, going through past papers, and revision/preparation for exams (iGCSE, AQA, OCR and Pearson Edexcel). At university-level I also help with BA-MA essays, presentations, and dissertations.
As a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Manchester I have experience marking undergraduate papers, giving feedback, mentoring students through the process and teaching study skills, research methods, and essay techniques. During my PhD (not complete) I also presented a paper on 20th Century British Cultural History at Rethinking Modern British Studies conference in 2015, which received excellent feedback from eminent historians from around the world.
I help students achieve their best possible grade at GCSE or A-level and ensure they gain entry to their college/university of choice. I structure sessions to meet your individual goals. Moreover, I improve general study skills for all students, which raises their level across all other subjects.
For essays, we tackle structure and staying on-topic, how to be more analytical instead of narrative, how to organise and sequence your points, how to select the best evidence to reinforce your points, how to evaluate your points, and how to write concisely and with impact.
With essays, students often need to see with their own eyes how the process works, for it to click.

Tutoring Approach

My approach is patient and warm as I believe students thrive the most when they know their tutor is in their corner, encouraging them at every step. Seeing students grow in confidence and especially seeing those lightbulb moments when they suddenly understand something new, is why I love teaching. This positive approach gives students the best possible chance of success, which they can replicate in all aspects of their lives. I regularly teach students whose experience of learning this subject has made them averse to it and I enjoy turning this around - establishing enthusiasm and interest where there was reluctance and frustration.
We always review material at the start and end of every class to make sure it’s not just learned, but remembered. I’m also happy to mark work in between classes. I discuss the outcome of each lesson with parents so that everyone is clear on progress.