Jonny

Experience

I have experience in the following areas:

•A Level English (AQA, OCR, Edexcel, Cambridge Pre-U)

•A Level Italian (Cambridge Pre-U, Edexcel)

•GCSE English (all exam boards)

•GCSE Drama & Theatre Studies (all exam boards)

•GCSE Italian (all exam boards)

•GCSE Spanish (all exam boards)

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

•8+ English and Maths: public school entrance exams

•7+ English & Maths: public school entrance exams

I have also completed Keystone’s rigorous Professional Tutor training which includes the 7+/8+ and 11+ curriculums.

Since joining Keystone, I have worked with students from schools including Eton, Lady Eleanor Holles, The Laurels, Oundle, Saint Paul's, Westminster, and Wycombe Abbey.

As well as the presentations I have had to do as part of my undergraduate and MPhil degrees, and my LAMDA diploma, I have also been a qualified yoga instructor for five years. This has required teacher training to the standard required to the course, and has taught me how to plan and deliver lessons efficiently, as well as how to respond to the challenges which teaching can present. Through a community action programme at school, I also gained experience teaching theatre to children with various special needs, and last year I was given the opportunity to informally teach Shakespeare with a group of theatre students in Florence.

Biography

I am currently studying for a PhD in Italian Studies at Cambridge University, having gained a distinction in my Masters at Cambridge this year. Prior to these studies, I graduated with a first-class undergraduate degree in Italian Literature from Oxford University. I am the youngest of two children, and am the first in my family to have gone to university.

At Oundle School, I studied Italian (Pre-U, D1), English Literature (Pre-U, D2), Spanish (A-Level, A), and Theatre Studies (AS, A). I also took an extension course in the Origins of Western Thought at Oundle, and gained my LAMDA Certificate in Performance Studies (PCertLAM) immediately after leaving school.

Personal Approach

I like to hone in on exam technique, cultivating students' enthusiasm for the subject at hand while keeping a focus on assessment objectives. The teachers who have helped me the most are the ones who have shown me how to bring out a love for their subject in me, even if it's one I find challenging. I believe in learning through dialogue rather than dictation, with a view to encouraging free thinking and articulacy which will benefit students in their exams and beyond.

What I do when I am not tutoring

Aside from my PhD research, which revolves around Dante's ''Divine Comedy'', I am a passionate theatregoer and actor. I have performed all over the UK and internationally, and have worked on theatrical projects ranging from Shakespeare and Greek tragedy to new writing and musical theatre.

I also like to make time to write creatively around my academic research. My play, ''No Man Ever'', premiered in Oxford in 2018, and my first book of poems, ''love and/or the storm'' was released earlier this year.

When not writing or at the theatre, I enjoy yoga, cooking, and finding any reasons I can to travel.

Testimonials

''She loved your approach, Jonny, particularly your enthusiasm and encouragement along with your experience of putting dissertations together.''

''Wow, what a fantastic experience! Thank you. [He] came away from all the lessons genuinely enthused, and said that you made everything so easy to understand. A U-turn on the week before where he didn’t have a positive word to say about Shakespeare/English/school and now he, wait for it, said he’d consider A-level English - but only if you were his teacher!''

''Sam really took to Jonny and said he really enjoyed it. He even said Jonny found a way to help him enjoy poetry, which is progress indeed!''

''She thought he was lovely, and whatever he said to her about the absolutely massive pile of catching-up she has to get through before her exams has plainly made her feel better. So, so far, so great. Thank you!''