Bryony

Experience

I have worked within Keystone for over 5 years providing tuition including exam coaching, homeschooling, confidence building and support when moving between different educational systems. Having previously been employed on a Full-Time Professional Tutor basis, I have recently decided to move to tutoring a small, carefully selected group of students to whom I can give my full attention and reliable support rather than maintaining a large cohort. I am Keystone's most experienced online tutor and have a large supply of materials and methods that, in my opinion, make online tuition even more effective than fact-to-face.

Overview:

• Primary English, Maths and Science (Key Stages 1 & 2)

• 7/8+ English, Science, Maths: School entrance exams

• 11+ English, Science, Maths: ISEB and public school entrance exams (inc. Pre-Tests)

• 13+ English, Science, Maths: ISEB and public school entrance exams

• GCSE Maths and Science

• A-level Biology: Edexcel, CIE, OCR and AQA

• A-level Psychology: Edexcel, CIE, OCR and AQA

School Entrance Exams:

• At 7/8+ level I have guided several children successfully through their 7+ examinations for competitive schools such as Latymer and Knightsbridge.

• At 11+ and 13+ level I have successfully prepared students for entry into a wide range of schools including Brighton College, City of London, Eton, Francis Holland, Harrow, Marlborough, Queen's College, Sherborne, Wellington and Westminster.

In General:

Additionally, I am a trained dyslexia and learning difficulties tutor and have an in depth knowledge of specific techniques to help in these instances. I have taught in a special needs school and am aware of the means by which to positively tailor learning to the individual and manage psychological, academic and behavioural difficulties.

In terms of pre-tests, I recommend building up a thorough knowledge of the 11+ Maths and English syllabus and focussing as much as possible on comprehension, grammar and cloze procedure and mental arithmetic and word problems. I use a variety of activities to target the time pressured nature of the tests and problem solving.

Biography

I was born in rural Kent to two archaeologists, gaining fantastic exposure to history and science throughout my childhood and young adulthood. I have always enjoyed academia, achieving highly across my 13 GCSES and 6 A Levels with a strong scientific basis. Following this I pursued a Bachelor of Science in Psychology at The University of Manchester where I attained a First Class grade, before working as an SEN specialist in schools and a psychologist in the NHS alongside my role as a tutor. I progressed on to achieve professional qualifications including a clinical diploma in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Mindfulness and full certification in Equine Faciliated Psychotherapy and Learning (EFP/L). I work as a Psychologist and run my own practice, Hevonen, specializing in EFP, relationship therapy and priority realignement. The skills this gives me lends a great deal to my work as a professional tutor, allowing me to support students and help find new ways to communicate information in memorable ways.

Personal Approach

When tutoring I believe that understanding and motivation rarely arises in the absence of relatability. As such, I aim to make seemingly mundane subjects personally relevant and interesting, rendering abstract concepts far more tangible. This is absolutely integral from Early Years to University education and I often find that a different way of approaching a topic, or a strong analogy is all it takes to make a difficult subject become simple and intuitive.

I also have a great passion for building confidence, and my tutees relate that my enthusiasm and positivity helps a great deal with making them feel positive about working and their own abilities. I am extremely patient and encouraging and will always make sure every child feels they have gained confidence to independently approach any topic I help them with in order to build their self-belief and autonomy.

I am able to help a lot with exam and essay writing techniques; scientific writing and essay construction are things I am very confident in teaching. Meanwhile, my studies into memory lend toward useful techniques in both remembering and understanding information.

What I do when I am not tutoring

In my spare time I am a keen horse rider. I adore cross-country jumping and, if allowed, will spend hours exercising and rehabilitating ex-racehorses. My husband and I enjoy being outside and spend a lot of time climbing mountains or exploring waterfalls with our little lurcher,- or taking an easier walk around our home in Surrey! I am also a trained skydiver which is an exhilarating way to spend a day challenging myself!

Beyond leisure activities I run my own clinic, Hevonen, in Haslemere offering therapies including Equine Faciliatated Psychotherapy and Learning (EFP/L), Educational Support for Mental Health/SEN difficulties, Relationship Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT). I am passionate about reducing the stigma and confusion surrounding mental health, bringing families together and helping people lead more enriched lives. In time I hope to develop therapies using EFP to treat complex personality disorders, as I believe this high impact therapy may provide answers to managing such treatment-resistant disorders.

Testimonials

"My son had his first session tonight and it was fantastic! He really liked Bryony and the online system worked brilliantly." Mother of previous student.

"My daughter is very happy and motivated to work with Bryony. She tells me that she's finding the sessions helpful. Our aim for the tutoring is to help embed my daughter's school maths and also to give an extra stretch so that she is working to her full potential. I'm happy Bryony is supporting these objectives. I find Bryony very helpful, responsive and well prepared. Lessons are positive and not at all stressy but I feel my daughter is working hard." (Mother of Year 5 ONLINE student)

'The twins really enjoy their lessons with Bryony and always look forward to work with her. At the end of the lesson, they are usually very excited to tell me about it. Bryony always find a way to motivate them in their learning: she comes up with fun games and rewards.She always comes in with a smile and sets a very good example for the children.We really appreciate her monthly feedback report and are very happy with the progress made by the children so far. (Mother of Year 3 students)

"My son is very happy with Bryony and he never complains when it’s tutoring time. He actually says that he prefers tutoring with Bryony to football! She seems to be able to make the lessons full of fun and she manages to make him complete tasks that he refuses to do with us (e.g. writing a story)! Overall we are very happy." (Mother of Year 2 boy)

"We found Bryony to be a pleasure to work with. My son liked her very much and she was able to keep him happy as well as productive during relatively long sessions, a true accomplishment!" (Mother of primary student)

"Bryony has been delightful. Both my sons have thorougly enjoyed their sessions with her and thought it was all a bit of fun. We could easily have done another week! In English, there are some key areas in grammer, story writing and planning that they have both learnt and seem to have fully understood, appreciated and asked for more!" (Mother of year 5 and 13+ students)

"My daughter did really well and passed with 6 A grades so we are really pleased. Bryony was perfect! As I said before, a great role model for an impressionable teenager." (Mother of CE student)

"The lessons with Bryony have been a great success. I could not have wished for a better person to teach my daughter. She helped with revision technique and explained everything in a way that has, hopefully, helped my daughter to remember it all. Bryony was also full of ideas on how to help her improve in the subjects that we didn't have time to cover. My daughter is so much more confident now about her own abilities than she was before. Bryony was a delight to have in our home and a great role model for my teenage girls!" (Mother of 13+ student)

"We thought that Bryony was marvellous in every way. My son found her very helpful and we found her a delightful guest." (Father of AS/A2 Biology Student)

"We have really loved and appreciated Bryony, and wish her all the best, she is a wonderful patient girl with great skills." (Mother of 7+ student)

'Bryony has helped Chloe extensively with her dyslexia and difficulties with Maths. Whilst previously she was struggling to hold pace and had lost motivation, Chloe is now more confident, and happily in league with her academic peers.' (Paula, mother of 9 year old)

'We are very grateful for the effort and determination with which Bryony helped our son retake his Science A-Levels. Her knowledge of exam technique and ability to communicate concepts has ensured him a place in a leading University' (Jenna, mother of A Level student)

'An amazing ability to turn a distracted student's attention into pure focus- Thank you!' (Ben, father of 10 year old)

'Thank you so much for working with our daughter in a way that allowed her to enjoy whilst learning. She is no longer terrified of being wrong and has progressed to top reader in her class!' (Eleanor, mother of 6 year old)

'Bryony helped Harriet to success in her common entrance examination- the use of exam technique and patient motivation was priceless during this time. We are so grateful.' (Martin, father of 14year old'