Keren

Experience

• 11+ English and Maths: ISEB and public school exams, including pre-tests.

• 13+ English, Latin and Ancient Greek: ISEB and public school entrance exams

• GCSE/IGCSE Latin and Ancient Greek (All exam boards)

• 16+ Latin: public school entrance exams

• A-level Latin (All exam boards)

I am an Oxford-educated tutor and a qualified teacher, with five years of experience teaching in independent schools, as well as several years experience of private tutoring. After completing my Classics degree, I took a teaching post at Brentwood School, where I taught Latin, Ancient Greek and Classical Civilisation throughout the 11-18 age range, as well as teaching English as a Foreign Language. I was heavily involved in the school’s Gifted and Talented programme, ensuring that the school’s most able students were catered for both inside and outside the classroom; we devised a comprehensive and very successful system of challenges and rewards based on each child’s interests. I was part of the Oxbridge entry team, conducting mock interviews and providing advice and support to applicants, and I ran Junior Art Club, Junior Classics Club and yoga sessions for Year 8 girls. I also completed my GTP, an on-the-job teaching qualification, granting me Qualified Teacher Status. Having spent three years at Brentwood, I moved to Forest School, where, again, I taught Latin, Greek and Classical Civilisation to pupils aged between 11 and 18, with numerous GCSE and A-level classes. Here I was involved in an initiative to raise the aspirations of very bright but underprivileged girls from the London Borough of Newham, who would be invited to the school for inspiring academic sessions and taken on trips on Saturdays. I ran the Linguistics component of this initiative. I also took part in Oxbridge entry activities, conducted several targeted exam revision sessions and ran Junior Drama Club. I have also hosted learning sessions for children at the British Museum, and have taught Ancient Greek at the JACT Summer School at Bryanston on three occasions, one year co-directing the Greek tragedy Bacchae in the original language.

Over the course of my tutoring career, I have taken on a wide range of roles. Many have been focussed on upcoming entrance exams: I have, for example, prepared students for entry to St. Paul’s (Boys and Girls), Eton, Winchester, Rugby and City of London School for Girls to name just a few. I have also helped prepare students for GCSE and A-level exams in Latin, English and History. Other roles have been broader. I took over the education of a 7/8 year old girl whose parents had taken her out of school to travel for two six week periods in consecutive years, liaising with her teachers back in London, and ensuring she would be up to speed with her class on her return. I lived in Moscow for three months teaching English as a Foreign Language to students aged between 8 and 14, as well as preparing some of them in all subjects required for entry into top UK schools. I also lived in Paris for one year, teaching English as a Foreign Language in a small school of English to pupils aged between 3 and 15.

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 grew up in Bristol and attended Bristol Grammar School between the ages of 11-18, taking A-levels in Latin, English, History and Art. I then studied for a BA degree in Classics with Sanskrit at the University of Oxford. I was awarded the Boden Scholarship for Sanskrit, which enabled me to travel to India and study Sanskrit for six weeks. Straight after finishing my degree, I started teaching Classics at Brentwood School, Essex, where I remained for three years and completed a GTP, gaining Qualified Teacher Status. Towards the end of this time, I did my first tutoring for Keystone (then Russell Group Tutors), and continued to tutor privately over the next few years, taking numerous jobs in London, as well as residential placements in Mexico and Russia. I returned to full-time school teaching at Forest School, London, where I taught Classics for two years, whilst continuing to tutor throughout. I have now decided to dedicate more time to tutoring, and to take it on in a full-time, professional capacity.

Personal Approach

My approach varies hugely depending on the child I am tutoring. However I think something which unifies it across the range of ages and abilities is that I always try to break down what seem like huge, daunting subjects or assignments into smaller, manageable, non-scary, fun tasks. I work closely with each child to determine the ways in which they learn best, their interests, strengths and weaknesses, and feed this back into my tutoring methods, creating a tailor-made learning experience. My methods are, of course, also informed by a thorough understanding of assessment requirements and criteria both for school entrance examinations and public examinations. I believe that a positive and confident attitude towards the academic subject being studied can be hugely beneficial in terms of results, and I try to engender this by providing a supportive yet challenging relationship and environment for study. I thoroughly enjoy tutoring each of the subjects I teach, and hope that I can transmit my enthusiasm and energy to my pupils.

What I do when I am not tutoring

I am currently studying for a Masters degree in the Psychodynamics of Human Development at Birkbeck College. I love visiting museums and art galleries; my favourite is probably the British Museum, as it holds so many fascinating objects from different places and ages which never fail to amaze me. I adore reading; my favourites include Hardy, Hemingway and Murakami. I very much enjoy travelling, and do so whenever I have the chance. I also love taking photos, making things out of clay, going to the cinema, walking and yoga.

Testimonials

“Keren is such a gifted Latin tutor! She has the ability to explain complicated Latin grammar in such a way that my daughter can thoroughly understand and grasp. To me, this just shows deep down how knowledgeable Keren is in the subject. We are very grateful to have Keren as my daughter’s tutor!” – (Hong Kong Parent of Year 8 student.)

''I’m not sure if you remember my son but you tutored him in Latin & Greek for the St Pauls & Westminster scholarship exams last year. I think I told you that he was offered places at both schools and chose St Paul’s. I just wanted to let you know that he’s doing incredibly well in both subjects and recently came top of the year in recent Latin exams and third in Greek. He’s chosen to take both subjects for GCSE and is really enjoying it. Your tutoring made such a difference to his ability, confidence and enjoyment in these subjects so I just wanted to thank you again.'' (Mother of Scholarship student)

"Keren has been teaching my daughter Classics and she has been wonderfully inspiring. We are really pleased!" (Mother of year 11 student)

“I am glad it is now over, but I think a little piece of me will be sad not to have a daily dose of mental stimulation every morning, or having my spirits perked up by such a great teacher. As I've told you before, I most certainly want to go into teaching later in life, and you should know that you have played a big part in making that wish stronger! If I can have the same effect on a student as you have with me, then I will count myself a lucky man!” (A Level Latin Student)

“My son has been very lucky to have you as a tutor. I very much appreciate your dedication, hard work and enthusiasm. You have amazing energy even late into the evening!” (Mother of GCSE Latin student)

“Thank you for all your help. My daughter is confident and prepared for her exams but more importantly, she really enjoyed her lessons with you. For me it is just a joy to know that you are stretching and inspiring her.” (Mother of Keystone student)

“Just a quick one to say - you are SUCH an amazing teacher. My daughter is always singing after your class. I can totally see why my daughter enjoys your lessons so much. I would like to sign up for a lesson myself!” (Mother of 13+ English student)

“My daughter has just been offered a place at Godolphin and Latymer! Thank you for all your help!” (Mother of 11+ student)

“I would really like to thank you for all your help. My daughter's English has come a long way under your tutorage. We really appreciate it.” (Mother of English student)

I wanted to let you know that my daughter very much enjoys your teaching and has gone from previously really disliking Latin to really not minding it at all - a huge progression! I am sure with continued lessons with you we can even get this to a positive view of the subject! (Mother of 13+ Latin student)

''Our boys have become very confident in both subjects, she has been a great inspiration for their love of literature and classics. Keren has an outstanding pedagogic experience and a beautiful and professional rapport with the children. Her kindness and motivation have been a great asset.'' (Mother of 13+ & GCSE student)

''Keren is a brilliant teacher. She is also a responsible and dedicated person.'' (Mother of 13+ student)