James F

My Passion & How I Inspire

First and foremost, a positive, open and honest relationship between the tutee and myself is very important for progress; through understanding the tutee, I will attempt to tailor the learning to their specific interests, goals and needs. I aim to create an environment in which the tutee is comfortable in making mistakes, where they are comfortable to question and be questioned, and where they are comfortable to work hard. In addition, learning has to be fun and interesting; I have years of experience with students who actively avoid learning, so I know how to keep learning engaging.

I believe meticulous planning is important for success. I will design a short term, medium term and long-term scheme of work for each pupil; this will make it transparent where we are in the tuition journey, and where we are heading. Each lesson will have a clear and achievable lesson objective; in addition, there will be clear objectives for our medium and long term plans. It is my primary aim to give pupils the independent skills and knowledge to drive their own learning; this is because learning of course continues outside of our tutorials. I will often focus on developing reading and writing skills in particular, whilst speaking and listening skills will be used to support learning. For example, with one tutee, we quickly improved their grade for English Language by mastering two effective reading strategies, alongside developing the application of high-leverage vocabulary and sentence starters as a platform for powerful essay writing.

Ultimately, each tutee is an individual; with this in mind, I aim to facilitate a growth of independence, confidence and ultimately success in their academic journey.

My Experience

I am a professional tutor with experience teaching students from the ages of 11 to 18. I specialise in English Language and Literature up to A-Level. I began tutoring while working as a teaching assistant at an outstanding secondary school in London. Here, I learnt how to motivate, support and stretch a range of pupils at a 1:1 level. After this, I joined the Teach First programme, through which I qualified as a classroom teacher at a challenging secondary school in London. I have worked extensively with SEN pupils, EAL pupils, and pupils who require stretch and challenge.

Subjects That I Teach

  • English
  • English - 11+
  • Excel
  • Excel - 11+

My Qualifications

A Levels: English, History, French

University: English (1st class degree)

PGCE (distinction)

My Video Introduction

Fun fact

I have cycled 15,000 miles around the world.