Catherine A

At the crux of a good teacher is great communication. Recognising this value early on, I have been able to help my peers and win competitions in distilling complicated information into succinct, interesting messages attesting to my excellent ability to empathise with students. It is true that everyone understands concepts uniquely, however, we all learn through active recall and spaced repetition. I can offer real, science-backed study methods that are proven to work, not only by literature but also by my own personal experience. Being a student myself and having experienced, first-hand, the learning environment of today's world, I can relate to tutees and in many cases share stories of encountering and overcoming the same shortfalls of understanding. It is key to treat each person as the individual that they are which is often where schools fall behind. I can offer personalised tailored teaching which is thorough and consistent yet still open to flexibility when and where needed to ensure success.

I am privileged to have academically excelled through school, and therefore, my peers have often looked to me for help and advice which I have always appreciated giving. I want students to smash their academic goals and look at formal education as a positive experience that they can look back on with confidence, a sense of achievement and as evidence that perseverance does pay off. I am also a realist and I realise that not every syllabus is particularly stimulating. As human beings, we don't have unlimited attention spans. In these situations, it is of utmost importance to make learning fun and if this is, for some reason, impossible then it is always all about working smart not hard.

Adaptations obviously need to be made depending on the subject as well as the age, ability and personality of each student. In the first lesson, academic goals will be established. For students working towards exams, a realistic and organised plan will be created from the first lesson to instill calmness, control and confidence in tutees. Planning lessons thoroughly following the syllabus is important as well as regular, exam-relevant, informal testing which forces students to gradually memorise and understand information more rapidly. Targeted independent work is important as repetition is key to doing well. My preparation for teaching the lessons will include compiling large amounts of relevant information from a range of resources to refer to during and after the session. For students looking to improve without an exam in mind, personal goals will be established in the first session and a make-shift "syllabus" will be drawn up. Lesson plans will be constructed using this to ensure scrupulous, thorough coverage.