Sunita

Experience

I have worked as a private tutor for nine years, and as an online tutor for four years. My experience includes:

11+ English: Entrance examinations (particular experience with St. Pauls, Wycombe Abbey and Francis Holland, among others). I also wrote the materials that Keystone uses for 11+ English preparation.

13+ English: Entrance examinations

I/GCSE English, English Literature and Language (AQA, Edexcel, OCR and WJEC)

IB English: Standard and Higher

A-Level English: AQA, Edexcel, OCR and WJEC

I have been teaching and tutoring since 2007.

I prepare students for examination entry to independent schools, as well as facilitating students in preparing for IB, I/GCSE and A-Level examinations.

Over the past nine years, all of my students have performed above their predicted grades, and all have gained entrance into the schools for which they were aiming.

Many of my students have achieved a 7 or a 6 for IB English, and A and A* grades at A-Level.

Many have attended Oxford and Cambridge, as well as other leading universities.

I have experience of working with especially gifted students, who need to be challenged, as well as of working with students with dyslexia, dyspraxia as well as psychological difficulties.

Nuance and interpretation: I am particularly well placed to assist students who struggle with opinion-based questions or ones that require them to interpret material.

My work and rigorous training as a writer gives me an advantage in teaching student both technical and creative skills, both of which are essential to comprehension as well as writing tasks.

Biography

I was born in London, and grew up near Hyde Park. I studied at Queen's College, London before attending St. Clare's Oxford, where I studied the International Baccalaureate. I also completed two A-Levels in my gap year.

I was offered a place at Oxford for my BA, and I opted to study at UCL, which held the top position in the league tables for English when I attended. I achieved a First Class Honours and stayed on to do an MA in English Literature: Issues in Modern Culture. I also have an MA in Creative Writing: Prose Fiction from UEA, which is the best Creative-Writing Department in Europe.

I have been a private tutor for nine years, an online tutor for four years, and I taught English Literature at a sixth-form college for six years, where I also established a Creative-Writing Department with the the introduction of the new A-Level three years ago.

Will Orr-Ewing also commissioned me to write the English materials that Keystone uses for 11+ preparation, so my knowledge of the the key skills is thorough.

Personal Approach

I have a flexible approach to teaching and I:

- take into consideration the needs of individual students, working with their abilities.

-am imaginative as a communicator, finding dynamic ways to convey ideas.

- encourage pupils to engage with me and I frequently check their understanding.

- am especially skilled at teaching children some of the subtler skills of interpretation and implication.

- am particularly good at helping students to understand emotion and tone. These can be very difficult for young people to grasp and they are essential for opinion-based questions, which are often the hardest ones on a paper.

- encourage pupils to think about topics for themselves and develop their own opinions.

- am rigorous about grammar and spelling. I wrote the English materials that Keystone uses for 11+ English, so my knowledge of the required skills is thorough.

- have taught many pupils with a range of learning difficulties, such as dyspraxia, as well as those with psychological illnesses, and so I am sensitive to their non-academic needs while maintaining a professional relationship.

What I do when I am not tutoring

I am a writer. My fiction is represented by Lutyens and Rubinstein, and my work has received strong praise from John Sutherland (Chair of the Man Booker Prize 2005) as well as from others in publishing. I am a short-story writer for the quarterly newspaper, 'Fitzrovia News' and my fiction has appeared in a range of other literary magazines. I was commissioned to write a series of lead articles for 'Five Dials', a magazine produced by Hamish Hamilton, an imprint of Penguin Books.

I also review fiction for a variety of publications, including The Times Literary Supplement. I have also been interviewed by The Times Educational Supplement to discuss creative writing.

When I am not writing or tutoring, I bake.

Testimonials

"Sunita is exceptionally good as I have managed to complete work that has taken an entire term to complete, I am beyond impressed." (Raphael, IB student)

I would like to say that I got a 6 in English in IB ( equivalent of an A at A level ) it is a fantastic result because i have beaten my prediction - all to my English teacher's shock and awe. I would like to thank you very much for the valuable tutoring you gave me and I will always remember the PEE method as it proved immensely useful during the exams. I am now looking forward to my new life at MCGill university in Montreal,Canada.

(IB English student)

''Sunita is the reason my daughter, who has specific learning difficulties, did well enough in her 11+ exams to leave special education and return to a mainstream school. Sunita is caring, intuitive and empathetic but never loses sight of the goal; she kept my daughter motivated throughout. She adapts to challenging teaching situations with a rare blend of professionalism, enthusiasm and creativity. I have no hesitation in recommending her unreservedly.'' (11+ parent)

'English Literature was one of my son Julien's A Level subjects and Sunita taught him for 2 years. He achieved an A*. Julien describes Sunita as the best teacher he has ever had. An able student, he had a tendency for rebelliousness and lack of discipline to get in the way of his learning. Sunita managed to engage with him in a way that no other teacher had managed to do. She transmitted her passion for the subject and encouraged him to work hard and aim for excellence. Beyond the subject matter, Sunita's knowledge of the exam system allowed Julien to hone his exam technique. My personal contact with Sunita at parents' evening was always very positive. I was impressed with the deep understanding she had of Julien's character, his strengths and weaknesses, and the caring way she spoke about him. Sunita is an outstanding teacher.' (A-Level parent)

'Victoria has decided to complete the rest of her secondary school education in HK. In March 2019, she would need to sit the examination for HK Diploma of Secondary Education. English is a compulsory subject. It is our sincere wish that you would tutor her till then. I believe time spent with you will be very beneficial to Victoria for all aspects.' (parent, Hong Kong)

'I wanted to let you all know that we found out today that Ava got into Sevenoaks. She was even invited to sit for the Scholars’ exam. So, a very big thank you from all of us to you for your help and support. We may still try for Wycombe Abbey but for the moment Sevenoaks is our first choice, so it’s a wonderful result.' (11+ parent, Singapore)

'I am writing to show my appreciation of your great teaching. I would like to let you know Victoria did exceptionally well in her English Literature exam. Her score is 86 and the median score of her grade is 77.' (parent, Hong Kong)