Rachel

Experience

• IGCSE History (AQA, CIE, Edexcel and OCR)

• A-level History (AQA, CIE, Edexcel and OCR)

• A-level Politics (AQA and Edexcel)

• IB History

• IB Politics

• IB TOK

I began tutoring in the United Arab Emirates working with students from Years 7 through to Year 13 who wanted additional help outside of the classroom in History or Politics. This included students who attended both British Curriculum schools as well as IB schools which helped me gain experience of the similarities and differences between the different exam boards and specifications.

As a full time teacher, I am used to working with students with different abilities, goals and confidence levels in the subject and this is reflected in the students that I tutor. For example, I worked with one student for an entire academic year to raise his attainment for IB History to a 9 to ensure he gained his place to study Law at Harvard University. On the other hand, I have also worked with a bright Year Nine student who spoke English as a Second language to increase her confidence in History as she approached her GCSE choices.

As a former coordinator of Theory of Knowledge and a supervisor of the Extended Essay, I have tutored students in both core elements of the IB programme. This included working with students from the planning stage to the final drafts of their essays and presentations.

Biography

I am a History and Politics teacher of A Level and IB with over seven years of outstanding examination results. My teaching approach is consistent, engaging and facilitates learning in a way that encourages my students to excel.

I studied History at university before completing the Teach First Leadership Scheme in 2012, where I was recommended as Outstanding. Since then, I have worked in both London and Dubai teaching and tutoring A Level, IB, GCSE, and IGCSE History and Politics. I am a trained Edexcel examiner which helps me both understand the nature of examination questions and mark schemes and teach students how to structure their work accordingly. As well as this, I have completed the International Baccalaureate Organisation training courses for CAS (Creativity, Action and Service), the Extended Essay (EE), and Theory of Knowledge (ToK).

Personal Approach

My approach to both teaching and tutoring is rooted in consistency, engagement and reflection.  

As I believe less in natural ability and more in perfection through practice, I am always consistent in my efforts to achieve! As a tutor, I work with my students to ensure they not only know their goals but how to form a strategy and take steps each and every lesson to work towards it. This, combined with pace of learning, facilitates students to work consistently over both short and intensive, and longer periods of time. 

Engagement is perhaps the most important element of teaching and tutoring. It not only fuels learning but directly influences how much information a student absorbs. To encourage engagement, I tailor my lessons to activities that suit individual students' needs as well as tasks which stretch them to the right level and optimise their learning. 

Reflection is often the key to unlocking a student's potential in achieving their goal. Whether it is related to the content of a particular topic, the overall structure of an essay, or writing a substantiated conclusion, focusing on their targets and areas for improvement is fundamental to tutoring. 

What I do when I am not tutoring

I am a full-time teacher of History and Politics at an independent girls school in Hammersmith. This role not only keeps me up to date with specification changes in the subjects but also ensures I have access to all the latest pedagogy. From using technology to facilitate learning to attending courses on how to get a student from an A to an A* grade, working as a full time teacher ensures my continued professional development.

When I am not tutoring or teaching, you will find me curled up on the sofa either listening to a podcast or reading a historical fiction novel. The rest of my time is spent in the kitchen baking, going for a swim or taking my Bengal cat out for a walk!

Testimonials

''Rachel has done an excellent job of helping our son to apply his knowledge to exam questions. She used activities from model answers, editing and reflection, and yellow box marking to help him secure the A grade he needed to attend St Andrews.'' (Mother of A Level student)

''I grew up in Dubai without knowing much about the system of Politics in Britain. Rachel helped me over the Christmas period to catch up on the topics I hadn't understood from my lessons by patiently giving me workbooks, pop quizzes and essay/source questions. She also showed me some great resources to help me keep up to date with what is going on in the world and learn more about other aspects of politics. I even started keeping a news diary!'' (A Level Politics student)

''Rachel tutored my son online over the summer before he started his GCSE History course. We had moved to Dubai from the Netherlands and the British curriculum is very different. She not only helped him become more confident in the topics he is now studying, but she also got him excited about these topics so that History is his favourite subject!'' (Mother of a Year 10 GCSE History student)

''I needed help with my exam technique before my final A Level exams. Rachel worked with me every week from December until my exams. Every lesson was different and engaging even though we were practicing the same thing!'' (Year 12 History student)