Sheena

A committed private tutor for over 10 years. I studied Economics at Cambridge University and completed my Masters at SOAS. I specialise in primary education and 11+ school entrance preparation. I also tutor A-Level Economics, mentor and support students with Oxbridge preparation (in Social Sciences and Economics) and university applications. Alongside working as a tutor, I make independent documentary films. I initially started my career in investment banking and then moved into international development where I worked for NGOs and intergovernmental organisations.

Tutoring Experience

Over the last 10 years I have helped students from both state and private schools gain entry to a wide range of prestigious schools such as NLCS, City of London, Highgate, Haberdashers and South Hampstead, Beth's Grammar School (Bexley). I have also had positive results supporting struggling primary school students (including those with learning difficulties) who find that classroom lessons do not meet their individual needs. Besides covering 11+ English, Maths and Reasoning, I also support students in school entrance at 7+, 8+ and 13+.

Here are some testimonials from former clients:

11+ and Year 7 students (Maths, English, reasoning)
Sheena has tutored both of my daughters who are aged 11 and 13. My youngest has just completed her 11 plus examinations and it was in no small measure thanks to Sheena that she obtained offers from NLCS, SHHS, Francis Holland and Highgate. In my opinion Sheena possesses all of the qualities that a parent looks for in a tutor. She is extremely diligent, organised and reliable and clearly has both a strong grasp of the subjects she teaches and an ability to explain difficult and complex concepts. I couldn’t recommend her highly enough and in fact I have already recommended her to a number of my friends.

11+ (Maths)
Sheena worked with our son weekly for an hour in Maths for a year before he applied in 11+ from a state primary school to some of the top academic private schools in London. Her tutoring was always very focused and calm and the range, and depth, of the Maths taught by Sheena was excellent. He learned how to explain his process of working it out and how to tackle challenging questions. It was always quite an intensive but every week much enjoyed the hour of really getting into complicated Maths. He learned very good methods and explanations with Sheena. He succeeded in getting into all the schools he applied for and looks forward to more Maths.

11+ (Maths and English online)
Sheena Sumaria prepared my daughter for the 11+ exam and she had an extremely positive experience and was accepted into her first choice of school, Roedean School. I strongly recommend Sheena as a Mathematics and English tutor for the 11+ exams.
At the outset, Sheena was prompt at responding to my request and immediately reached out to me to set tutoring times. As we live in Mumbai,India and Sheena is based in London, it was important to us that the tutor be somewhat flexible with her schedule. Sheena was organised and immediately set aside a times during the week that would work for my daughter. I provided Sheena with areas that I wanted my daughter to focus on in Mathematics and Sheena very diligently worked through those topics in the limited time that we had (2 months).
We used an online chat service and over the course of the first lesson, my daughter became very comfortable with Sheena, who was communicative, polite and personable.
Prior to every lesson, Sheena would send documents for us to print out and have ready and would also create an online document ahead of time which Samira could view and write into at the same time as Sheena. Sheena spent the time upfront to ensure that every minute of the lesson was then utilised effectively.
As my daughter progressed in Mathematics, she then began English lessons with Sheena too (comprehension and writing) and in a matter of just three lessons, my daughter's ability to tackle a comprehension and write a composition improved.
Sheena's style of teaching is to teach a skill and then immediately provide a lot of examples which she would have my daughter work on during the lesson. Sheena would push my daughter to think even if it meant spending more time on a particular problem and I think that helped her gain a lot of confidence.
We were extremely happy when my daughter gained admission into her first choice of school and she could not have done it without being tutored by Sheena.

11+ and Common Entrance (English and Maths)
Sheena has been a tutor for my son since August 2017, to help with English and Maths, and preparing for his 11+ common pre-test. We have found Sheena to be friendly and patient and my son has really taken to her. He has improved in confidence in his abilities and has been moved up a set in maths. His English comprehension work has also improved, all thanks to Sheena.

11+ (Maths, English, VR, NVR)
I am writing to you with regards to Sheena. She tutored my daughter in Maths, Verbal and Non Verbal Reasoning and English in preparation for the 11+ exams, Sheena gave my daughter the confidence she needed and helped her in all the above subjects and raised her academic standard of work.
I would definitely use Sheena again in the future.

Tutoring Approach

I believe that good tuition is about inspiring confidence and enthusiasm in the student as well as developing their core skills in the subject. Besides helping them achieve their particular goals, I get a lot of satisfaction from seeing a positive change in my students’ attitudes to learning - one that can have longer term benefits for their lives ahead.

While I like to stretch my students, I also like to provide a learning environment that is encouraging and that allows students to make mistakes without feeling discouraged. This enables them to develop more confidence, grit and a capacity to think more independently.

I like to make my lessons fun and use a range of creative resources to spark interest.