Benjamin

Experience

- 13+ French

- 13+ History

- GCSE French

- GCSE German

- GCSE History

- A Level French

- A Level German

- Pre U German

- IB French

- Russian

I have been teaching Third Form, GCSE, and A-Level languages at Sherborne School for nearly 5 years. My wife and I homeschool our three children, which (alongside a general curiosity to keep reading and learning outside of my field) has offered me extensive 1-1 experience with all of the primary subjects up to Year 9.

I teach modern foreign languages with Kepler (a US-based teacher consortium) and Humanities (History, Geography, Ethics) with Immanuel Online School.

These are my reasons for ticking a wide range of subjects - I read widely, but also keep myself disciplined with a manageable daily curriculum of study, so that I can learn and teach outside of my narrow language-teaching day-job.

Biography

I was born in the real Newcastle and grew up in Manchester, attending a local grammar school and pursuing my passion for academics and sport to Durham University.

In my teenage years, I had the privilege of representing England at Mens Lacrosse, and I was awarded a Vice-Chancellor's Sports Scholarship to continue playing this sport at university for the most successful team outside of North America, which I captained in my final year.

Following my university studies and my year abroad experiences, I stayed in the North-East with my wife and pursued a gruelling year of school-based teacher training. This nearly broke me. But I pressed on and, to my surprise and delight, was asked following a successful interview to commence teaching at Sherborne School as my ''first proper teaching job.''

I have stayed at the school since I qualified as a teacher, pursuing different aspects of school life - notably the pastoral care, which I encountered when I became a Resident Tutor a few months into the role. It continues to be a challenging and rewarding job, one that provides opportunity to pursue the work of teaching and mentoring young people.

Over this time, I have enjoyed opportunities to expand my teacher toolkit, so to speak, both with the COVID-imposed digital transition, as well as private tuition in our local community.

Teaching is my vocation - not classroom-constricted employment - and I enjoy every opportunity to help people learn and progress.

Personal Approach

The work of a teacher to improve a student extends beyond the lesson and their influence reaches beyond the classroom. We are jigsaw pieces that must find the place in the puzzle where we discover our deepest satisfaction and most meaningful contribution.

I guide pupils on this journey to uncover, harness, and apply unique talents and interests to their lives, families, and local communities – to become the starting point of lasting change.

In different contexts and subjects, I point to the world with its many and varied problems, asking the questions: “What can you fix? What can you build?” This vision is the WHY behind my work.

My teaching philosophy is pupil-centered - I design my materials, my lessons, and my teaching delivery around the individual with whom I am working. I have lots of experience and professional interest in making language-learning both accessible and intrinsic (i.e. in the long-term memory).

I also offer expertise with study-skills (revise hard AND smart), memory and applied cognitive science, in order to best help my students to remember and practice knowledge (be it historical facts or a foreign language) in such a way that communication becomes easy and enjoyable.

As a passionate, professional, and expert tutor, I know how to balance confidence-building, motivation, academic rigour, and high expectations to ensure a challenging but enjoyable learning journey.

What I do when I am not tutoring

Family. Reading. Weightlifting. Cooking. Language-learning. Painting. Storywriting.

When I have the headspace and margin, I identify something difficult yet profoundly interesting on the edge of my comfort zone and work to improve my skills in that area.

Testimonials

''I highly recommend Benjamin Lucas as a German tutor for anyone looking to improve their language skills. My son has been taking lessons for the past month or so, and we've already seen a significant improvement in his German proficiency. Benjamin is knowledgeable, patient, and dedicated to helping my son succeed. He is willing to adjust his teaching style or approach to fit the individual needs of his students. My son enjoys his lessons with Mr. Lucas and looks forward to each session. Overall, we are delighted with Benjamin’s services and would recommend him to anyone needing a skilled and dedicated German tutor.'' (Elizabeth, mother of 13 year old)

''My son, James, has greatly enjoyed learning German from Benjamin Lucas this year. He has never taken German before, so I wondered if it would hold his interest but it truly has! Mr Lucas is kind but challenging and keeps a good pace. He has an excellent accent and uses a variety of sources and contexts to help my son learn. I feel that after 1 year of German with Mr. Lucas, my son knows as much or more than most students who have taken 2 years of German at the local high school. I would highly recommend him as a teacher!'' (Susan, mother of 15 year old)

''I have had private tuition from Benjamin Lucas over the last few years. Learning the German language is at times difficult due to the grammar of sentence structure, but Ben always explained any problems through in a way that made it very clear and easy to understand. Another area that I was really impressed with was how Ben prepared for are lessons. The material was always well thought-out, interesting and engaging. At times when teaching one must use repetition - an area that can be challenging for any pupil, but Ben made it simpler by using different variations to make his point precise and (more importantly) easier to remember. I always enjoyed my tuition with him.'' (Alan, mature student)