Bespoke Tuition

Tutor Portfolio A sample of tutors by specialism 2013

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UK MIAMI FRANCE DUBAI

SPAIN HONG KONG CANADA INDIA USA SWITZERLAND CHINA SINGAPORE

INTERNATIONAL TUTORS
Wherever you are, whatever your needs
Residential tuition.
Residential tuition, in which a tutor works exclusively for one family by living in with (or being accommodated near) the family is becoming an increasingly popular, not to mention savvy, option particularly for families who live abroad or regularly travel. In 2012, our residential tutors accompanied families to the USA, India, Middle East, Far East and Europe during termtimes as well as holiday periods. Residential Tutoring is essentially an intensive, fast track tutoring solution, which can serve a variety of purposes: from solidifying foundations, reinforcing schoolwork and filling in gaps to supplementing the curriculum, broadening subject knowledge and unleashing academic potential. Whilst motives and objectives driving tuition widely differ, all of our tutors provide a structured learning environment in which specific goals can be realized. Whilst each assignment is tailored to the familys objectives for the student, common focus areas have included reading and writing development; executive functioning, confidence building, memory processing, workload management, exam preparation and critical thinking. In contrast to the standard once weekly tutorial session spread over a term or whole academic year, intensive daily tuition over a shorter period affords the opportunity to really drill down on specific areas and make rapid and effective progress. The daily nature of the tutorials allows for constant reinforcement and consolidation meaning information is better internalized. In addition to reinforcement of set topics and core skill building, spending weeks at a time with a student on a one to one basis allows for extension far beyond the school syllabus. Our tutors use creative, innovative methods to inspire and stimulate their pupils: creating a blog, teaching chess or shaping a creative project around interest areas. Residential tuition can especially suit worldly families who need a fuss-free tailored tutoring solution. Many of our previous clients have used our Residential tuition service as a stepping-stone/insight into homeschooling before making the leap. Whether it is two weeks or six months, we take great care to match tutor to student based on the unique academic objectives, learning style, and personal interests. The collective experience of our tutors spans a broad range of curriculums and syllabi. All are selected for their specialist expertise in their subjects as well as their ability to fit smoothly into a family dynamic. The tuition is tailored to suit the family but the tutor usually spends between 1530 hours per week tutoring. Having an exclusive tutor for one family means that plans can change, play dates can be arranged at the last minute and schedules can be adjusted; but the tutor will always be on hand to conduct tutorials when needed. Since the tutor does not work for any other families whilst on these residential assignments, their sole focus is on the academic progress of one familys children. Weakness areas are soon addressed, targets put in place and learning reinforced; results are frequently swift. Ultimately, our tutors aim to help students develop their own interest in and understanding of a subject. Far from creating a dependence, the end goal is to equip tutees with the tools and techniques required to discover and refine their own independent way of learning.

Case Study 1
A summer residential placement in the UK
Eventually we decided on Abi. My girls adored her from the moment they first met her on Skype. Emma made the introduction and we went from there. Emma did not rush me and I felt we came to a careful decision after two interviews. My 6 year old grew in confidence reading and writing about Roald Dahl by the holiday end. Abi worked on micro-skills helping with specific aspects of Literacy and Numeracy. She planned a flexible timetable in advance and put hours of work in even before she met us. Neither of my girls experienced the much documented educational summer slide and in fact my eldest moved up a Maths set after a placement test on her return to school. I was slightly concerned that having a stranger around during our holiday time might be awkward but Abi knew instinctively when to give us private time and was a perfect fit. She was very comfortable in her own skin and, having worked in family homes before, nothing phased her. There were tears, as predicted, when Abi left us. She's such a lovely girl possessing a natural affinity for children; I feel she would do her utmost for any pupil. I could write so much more in praise of her. If my daughters grow to be like Abi I will have done a splendid job, I can only live in hope. All in all our holiday tuition was a so positive we are hiring another tutor this summer through Emma. - Mrs B, mother of 7 and 9 year old girls I was dubious that Abi could add real educational value in the limited time she was with us (three short weeks), but she certainly did.
Abi is a 28 year old British born and educated Private Tutor and Childrens Author. She has previously worked in an independent coeducational secondary school in Berkshire, St Gabriels. Since July 2012, her focus has shifted to one to one Private Tuition classes alongside her personal writing.

A Singapore based British family requested the services of Bespoke Tuition to find them a Tutor for their annual summer holiday visit to The Cotswolds. Mrs B, mother of 7 and 9 year old girls, relays her account of the experience, from discussing the idea of residential tutoring, to selecting a tutor and having a wonderfully successful vacation with her children and the live-in tutor, Abi E. I was slightly apprehensive about hiring a holiday tutor. Would it be too much for my children? My fears were unfounded. We are in an international school and I wanted my children kept on track with the expectations of the UK system. Emmas agency is called Bespoke Tuition for good reason. Emma listened to me and we worked together to find the best person possible person to help my daughters. My requests were very specific and my standards were very high but every candidate Emma introduced me could have done the job. In fact I was spoilt for choice. Having worked in recruitment myself and dealt with other agencies before I know Emma is unusually skilled, professional, encouraging, diligent and refreshingly pleasant. I was so pleased not to waste valuable time.

Abi was all anyone could wish for as a holiday tutor and I dont praise lightly. She was wholesome, sporty, friendly, professional, flexible, fun creative and bright with outstanding academic qualifications to match her experience. This was very important to me. She was exactly the sort of role model and mentor I was pleased to leave with my young daughters. She was an outstanding teacher and took my daughters on rambles, being smart enough to sense when it was time for a break and managed to source unusual activities for them even in the countryside from pottery classes to ferret racing!

Case Study 2
A 3 month residential placement in India
The children enjoy Eliza - and her lessons - immensely. She always has interesting lessons planned for both of them and is quick and flexible to rethink/ re-plan if the conditions change. She is a highly capable and talented teacher understanding their strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes, and when and where she can push them further to bring out pleasing results. Her lessons are fun An India based family requested the and engaging and the children have services of Bespoke Tuition to find a made clearly visible progress in a live-in Tutor for an intensive period of 3 short time. I have no doubt that Eliza months at the family-owned tiger can apply herself to a child of any age, reserve in Central India. Mrs B, mother situation, ability or problem and get of 5 and 8 year olds, comments on the results; it is her very nature to see a experience and the value added by the challenge and want to solve it. live-in tutor, Eliza. In addition to home-schooling our For the past 3 months, Eliza has been children, Eliza has spent 2 hours a day tutoring our two children, aged 8 and 5, teaching at our local village school, covering the entire British Primary which is extremely basic in terms of curriculum in a home-school setting. resources, and the children come from Eliza arrived with a wealth of resources a very rural background where which she had carefully planned in education is largely given secondary advance of her time here, knowing importance to farming. The 26 school exactly which subjects we wanted her to children are aged 5-11 (although a focus on, and also material that would handful often also bring along prehelp the children develop the type of school siblings!) and speak entirely in skills that schools would be looking for. Hindi or their local dialect, and have Eliza has developed a very effective no knowledge of English. system of simultaneously tutoring both children on a particular topic/ subject The school environment, while (such as science, history or geography), friendly, is extremely unstructured, but tailoring the lesson and associated where the children of all age ranges work/activities to their age, ability and are expected to work alongside each enjoyment. She then takes them through other, copying from a blackboard with more focused and challenging one-on- very little interaction from their native one studies, usually Maths or English teachers. Over th e past 3 months, based (problem-solving, verbal or non- Eliza has offered the children a very verbal reasoning), and later engages them engaging environment; playing games in fun and practical activities such as that involve blind-folding and hiding creative writing, arts and crafts, browsing objects; requiring them to ask simple fun interactive websites or collecting questions in English. material for a science project. She has drawn on our surrounding natural environment both practically in lessons (plant experiments/ wildlife data collection/digging out clay to make Roman pottery), and inspirationally by setting up her classroom in the outdoors. Lessons involve lots of drawing and colouring that reinforce newly learned English words; using stories such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar; as well as learning the English names for numbers, days of the week, fruits and objects that they see in the environment (sun, moon, tree, leaf, butterfly). She introduced the children to paints by folding paper butterflies; finger-printing caterpillars on leaf rubbings all materials and activities which the children had never been exposed to before to make a firstever classroom art display. It has been a wonderful experience that Eliza has provided, while she herself has had to overcome language barriers, the disruption of having a broad range of ages, abilities and interests all in one room (she divided the class into teams and structured activities accordingly), and teaching - with bountiful patience to children that have loose concepts of classroom discipline, punctuality or regular attendance. She has coped amazingly which reflects her strong and capable nature, but mostly because she so evidently has a love of teaching and can engage with children so effortlessly. Within our rural and fairly limited environment, Eliza has had to teach daily whilst combating the inevitable effects of loneliness and not having access to social activity or other distractions that one usually takes for granted. She has worked tirelessly with impeccable diligence and responsibility towards her role as a teacher, and has never expressed any emotion or behavior other than complete warmth, caring and friendliness. She has adapted into our family-environment with such ease, that we cannot imagine having another tutor more perfect than Eliza. - Mrs B, mother of 5 and 8 year old girls
Eliza previously worked in three London primary schools before accepting this assignment and has now permanently shifted her focus to private one to one tuition. She specialises in the Early Years and special needs education.

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He len
With over three years of experience as a full time tutor (tutoring up to 10 different students each week on a one to one basis), Helen has had exposure to a range of different types of learners, all with unique obstacles and objectives in their studies. She is passionate about education and how children are both taught and learn in the 21st Century. She has provided guidance to students of hugely varying ability, stretching the academically bright and nurturing those who lack confidence. Helen is adept at gauging whether the predominant learning style of a child is visual, auditory, reading/writing or kinaesthetic and adapts her teaching style accordingly. She connects individually with each child by finding a way to make the subject matter relevant to them and thus increasing their enjoyment of the learning process. Helen can offer both remedial tuition (offering regular support with and reinforcement of schoolwork) and supplementary tuition (reaching outside of the curriculum to really challenge her students). She is passionate about English and has a wealth of resources at her fingertips to inspire her tutees; broaden their exposure to and appreciation of literature; and enhance critical thinking skills. When guiding students towards specific exams, Helen has an outstanding track record of school entry success. She has tutored English Language & Literature to students preparing for a variety of exams: 11+, 13+, Scholarship exams, GCSE, A Level and Degree. Helen has been guiding students towards the fiercely competitive 11 plus exams in London for 3 years now and has helped students to sit entrance papers for several major London schools: Channing, City of London (Boys and Girls), North London Collegiate, Hampstead, LMH, St Pauls, Latymer, Putney High, Wimbledon, Surbiton as well as Benenden, St Marys Ascot (Helens tutee attained an academic Scholarship for 2013) Merchant Taylors and Wycombe Abbey (Helens tutee gained a 50% 13+ drama scholarship for 2013). She guided these students through the process from start to finish, right down to the final stage of interview preparation. Most important to Helen is building a relationship with her tutees that allows them to engage with lessons and look forward to seeing her on such a regular basis. In her words 'When you become a permanent fixture in someone's half term hols, it's a great relief to still see them smiling on your arrival!'. At the 13+ level, a recent tutee under Helens guidance got into Eton with A grades in both the English and Maths papers. Helen is also experienced with online tuition having tutored a number of international students based in Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi and America via Skype. In addition, she has completed residential tutoring assignments in Shanghai and France, adapting with ease and discretion to the demands of different cultures and families. Helen is a highly experienced and well-liked tutor whom I would describe as professional, sincere and committed to each and every one of her tutees. Her own academic background is exemplary including AAAA at A Level (English, History, Economics, Theatre Studies) and a BA Honours Degree in English Literature from Cambridge University. Alongside tutoring, Helen has just graduated from a postgraduate degree in acting at LAMDA. She balances acting for stage and screen with writing play and radio scripts - all of which allows her to keep a lively engagement with her tutees literature and language needs. Helen tutored my daughter last year for A level in the subjects of English Language and Literature. Helens work with my daughter was first class. Her knowledge of English Literature is truly remarkable. She immediately established a very good rapport with my daughter and was able to engage interest, communicate ideas and teach how to successfully tackle the requirements of the exams. My daughter is dyslexic and needed very specific help with how to approach the exams, which Helen duly provided. I was delighted that you found Helen for us and can warmly recommend her as a tutor of exceptionally high standards. - Mr J, father of A Level student

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SUBJECT LIST In addition to the mainstream subjects as represented by some of our tutors in this brochure, Bespoke Tuition can provide one to one home tutors in a broad range of subjects as listed below. Once we have received a brief from a client as to their tuition needs and preferences (age/subject/location/duration/key goals/learning style/obstacles), we conduct a tailored search amongst our database of 150+ tutors and provide one or more profiles in the same format as those exemplified in this brochure for the clients consideration. Interviews in person or via skype are then conducted and frequently trial sessions or online tutorials are carried out before anything is confirmed. This gives both parties an opportunity to get to know one another and have a trial before making any further commitment. Accounting Ancient History/Civics Anthropology Arabic/Farsi/Persian Art & Art History Biology Business Studies Cantonese Chemistry Classics Drama/Theatre Studies Economics Engineering English EFL/ESL/IELTS Fine Art/ Design French Geography Geology German Greek History International Relations Italian Latin Law Mandarin Mathematics/Further Maths Media Studies Nepalese Philosophy Physics Politics Portuguese Psychology RS/Theology Russian Sociology Spanish Tibetan Turkish Urdu

CONTACT US TODAY: WEBSITE: W: www.bespoketuition.com LONDON: +447732371880 HONG KONG: +85255938096

BESPOKE TUITION: E: [email protected]

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AREAS IN WHICH WE CAN HELP Many of our tutors have particular areas of expertise in which they are well qualified and experienced. For some tutors, they specialize on a specific entry exam or school level/subject; for others, they specialize in a certain study skill or challenge as listed below. Clients are encouraged to highlight any areas in which they would like the tutor to focus at the outset, so that we can endeavor to find the most well-matched tutor.

WH AT E XA M LE VE LS D O WE C OV ER ?

WH AT S KI LL S CA N WE H EL P WI TH ?

7+, 8+, 11+, 13+ Entry Exams School Pre-tests and Scholarships GCSE/ IGCSE International Baccalaureate SAT/ SSAT AS/A2 Level Degree IELTS/TOEFL Exams LAMDA Exams Law/Drama/Medical Exams

Critical Thinking Executive Functioning Skills Time Management Essay Writing Interview Technique Creative Writing/Blog Creation Debate/Presenting Skills Exam Technique Managing Dyslexia CV/Personal Statement Guidance

CONTACT US TODAY: WEBSITE: W: www.bespoketuition.com LONDON: +447732371880 HONG KONG: +85255938096

BESPOKE TUITION: E: [email protected]