Laura

Experience

• 7+ English and Maths: public school exams

• 8+ English and Maths: public school exams

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

I have worked with children aiming to attend the following schools for 7+, 8+ and 11+:

• Alleyn's School

• Bancrofts Preparatory School

• Brighton College

• Dulwich Prep London

• Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls

• Highgate School

• Kingston Grammar School

• Latymer Prep School

• Magdalen College School

• North London Collegiate School

• South Hampstead High School

• St Paul's Juniors

• The Harrodian School

• University College School

• Watford Grammar School for Girls

Biography

I have worked extensively as a private tutor building a wonderful rapport with my students and their families. I have developed a style of tutoring which supports swift progress and confidence in learning. Alongside an excellent knowledge base of the KS1 and KS2 National Curriculum, I believe it is infectious when a tutor speaks passionately about a subject or topic and I hope to communicate a deep-rooted personal interest for each student.

I am a versatile, dedicated and enthusiastic qualified Primary school teacher. Having secured a 2:1 degree in English and Theatre Studies, whilst working for the BBC, I studied a Primary PGCE at the University of Brunel in 2015. I have taught children across both KS1 and KS2 in the classroom and tutored for the SATS as well as successfully taught for the 7+ , 8+ and 11+ school entrance exams.

I am extremely passionate about teaching and interacting with children in a way that makes learning exciting and fun. I strongly believe appropriate strategies and adapting the topics taught to meet the differentiated needs of pupils is important to encourage confidence and independence. With every child I work with, I will assess the student’s individual goals, needs, interests, and learning styles to develop a well-rounded educational program. I love that no two days are the same and seeing or hearing the 'a-ha!' moment when something clicks for a child who has been struggling with their learning is priceless. When preparing children for the school entrance exams, I will work with a range of practice papers and exam techniques to ensure each child is confident and prepared to try their best.

I have worked with children with a range of background and specific learning needs including autism, ADHD and EAL. Through adapting communication style to the needs of different students depending on age, culture, ability and learning style I have seen excellent progress in all of my students.

Personal Approach

Building a rapport with each student is very important to me as this allows my students to feel confident and relaxed in my lessons. I like to understand my students interests and dislikes so I can plan lessons more personal to them and which they can relate to. I adapt and apply different teaching strategies depending on each individual child’s needs, with the belief every student is individual and has the ability to succeed.

My enthusiastic and positive teaching style has proven to motivate children and by learning through a combination of written and oral work, collaboration, games and activities and I am able to boost children’s confidence as well as their academic progress.

I understand the pressure children are under when preparing for the school entrance exams so my aim is to create fun, engaging lessons that will support and develop my student's understanding of the topic and most importantly enhance their love for learning. I believe remaining happy, confident and inquisitive is essential for children, as opposed to solely teaching for the exam.

What I do when I am not tutoring

At the moment I tutor many children for the 7+, 8+ and 11+ as well as freelance in my other profession, Media.

I love tutoring and hope to take this on as more of a full-time role in the next 5 years.

Outside of teaching, I love to walk the dog, spend as much time with loved ones as possible and cook new dishes which I discovered along my travels.

Testimonials

''We found her to be an excellent tutor - she was very encouraging and clear throughout the exam preparation process, she helped our son really understand what was required and reach his potential.'' Parent of 8+ student.

''Laura recently prepared my daughter for an 8+ entrance exam, with just a limited number of online lessons. Laura did an absolutely stellar job - she instantly connected with my daughter on a personal level, who enjoyed the lessons so much that she was looking forward to the next one and sometimes asking for additional sessions. Laura quickly identified my daughter's strengths and weaknesses, and was able to tailor the lessons accordingly. Her knowledge of the schools and exams was also very valuable. The progress my daughter made over such a short period of time was remarkable.'' (Parent of online 8+ Student)

''Laura had an excellent rapport with primary age pupils when working at our school. She was able to differentiate learning tasks for a personalised approach and to ensure children felt confident to take risks in their learning to meet their attainment goals. She showed a thirst for developing her pedagogy and an enthusiasm for teaching. When observing her lessons, I could genuinely see the children enjoyed each task and wanted to improve their understanding. Laura is a fantastic teacher!''