Octavia

I am a highly driven and enthusiastic Biologist with an Undergraduate degree in Zoology and a Master's by Research degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Bristol. I am carrying out a Ph.D. in Antarctic Biology and Climate Change at the University of Birmingham, with the goal of having a career as a researcher and lecturer. I have six years of tutoring experience as well as teaching Biology at the highly esteemed and world-renowned Harrow School in London last year. Alongside my Ph.D, I work as an examiner for Cambridge International and OCR, and I teach revision courses across the country during the school holidays (for all exam boards) with Justin Craig Education. I am also a school governor for King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls in Birmingham. I am incredibly passionate about teaching and I utilise my five core values when tutoring students: integrity, hard work, knowledge, individuality, and fairness. I aim to build an excellent working relationship with my students and their parents, with mutual respect and understanding, where their individual learning styles, needs, and interests are listened to and utilised to build the foundations of my lessons. I am not only committed to my students' academic success but also to their well-being and personal growth. I believe that a teacher should not solely focus on examination achievements but should also play an important role in building subject confidence and broader interest in the sciences.

Before we begin sessions, I will ask the student whether they are someone who likes a lot of notes, or whether they prefer more visual information. I have taught many students with different learning preferences (as well as SEND), and I am very versatile in my teaching methods. I will also establish what the student needs help in. This may include specific topics they aren't feeling confident about, how to effectively revise, exam technique- or as I often find, a combination of everything. I teach at a very steady pace, ensuring that the student is always understanding everything I am saying and writing. I say things as I write, underlining keywords and phrases, which are all available in note form for revision. I like to use different resources in my lessons to keep the student engaged- for example, the use of short videos to bring ideas alive, reading articles together to provide the base of discussions that will push students out of their curriculum to start thinking about 'real-world' scientific problems and concepts, and practicing exam questions, and quizzes. Many students feel overwhelmed by the amount of information they need to learn for the sciences, therefore, I use 'keywords' from the course specification and previous marking schemes to teach the students exactly what they need to know. For the more curious students, I can widen their knowledge of Biology/Chemistry and science as a whole, making links with recent discoveries and ideas in the scientific community.

When I'm not tutoring, I am working on my full-time Ph.D. at the University of Birmingham. Late afternoons and evenings are often preferable for me when tutoring, however, I do have some flexibility during the day for clients.

I have many roles alongside my Ph.D; I am a public examiner, school governor for King Edward VI Handsworth School for Girls in Birmingham (where I sit on the welfare and curriculum committees), Education Officer for the UK Polar Network, and a STEM Ambassador. I am also an international lecturer on cruise lines where I share my passion for polar science with audiences across the world.

In my spare time, I do a lot of ballet and contemporary dancing, and I always look forward to performing in the university's annual show. I have also recently started taking ice skating lessons, and I have so far only fallen once! Famous last words of course. I am an avid reader, and I like to read non-fiction away from university, particularly Stephen King. I listen to a wide range of music, from pop to jazz to African, and I enjoy playing the piano whenever I go back to my family home.