Jeff

About Me

Personal Description:

I am a fully qualified and experienced teacher living in the Sutton area. I regard myself as a friendly and approachable tutor, as well as honest and conscientious, and I pride myself on being able to communicate with students of all ages, from pre-teen to pensioner. My hobbies are limited to reading these days, as there seems to be no time for much else, and I am particularly fond of English Literature. Dickens and Hardy are two of my favourites, but I am also keen on modern and less serious writers, such as Tom Sharpe and the two Rankins - Robert and Ian.

I have worked full-time in the field of Education for more than 30 years, teaching mostly English (11+, 13+, GCSE, GCE, and IGCSE), EFL/ESOL, and Spanish, plus Study Skills, Academic English, and IELTS for international students at college and university. I am available for tutoring in the borough of Sutton and areas near by.

More importantly, I am happy to report that all but one of my 11+ tutees passed the Selective Eligibility Test (SET) last year! In addition, my GCSE and A-level tutees all passed with improved grades, typically from C to A, and from 6 to 9.

Teaching Experience:

I have been teaching and tutoring since 1989, both in the UK and abroad. Most recently I have taught at an independent school in Sutton, and previous to this I was teaching Academic Writing for the University of East Anglia. I have taught and tutored English in Spain, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Abu Dhabi, and also for many years in the UK of course. I have worked as a private tutor ever since I started teaching, as I realised that the existing state and private education providers could not meet the demand for high-quality intensive tuition.

I currently offer personal tuition in English for those parents whose children are undertaking preparation for the 11+ and Common Entrance (13+) exams for the Grammar schools in Sutton. and for the many independent schools in the area. In addition, I teach GCSE and A level to older students in English, Spanish, Economics and Government and Politics.

I can also offer a PROOFREADING AND EDITING service for students' essays. By submitting your essays to me, I can check them for spelling, grammar, style, organisation, and much more, and make many suggestions for improvement. This way, I can teach you how produce more mature essays, and thus help you to obtain better grades.

Tutoring Approach:

With every tutee I carry out an initial assessment of their needs and abilities, and my teaching begins from there. I then progress by working on improving their weaknesses and consolidating their strengths. This approach appears to be successful, and I can provide references.

I would say that my personal style is open and honest, and I encourage my students to learn from their mistakes, rather than chastising them. However, in order to make real progress the tutee has to do her/his homework to a high standard, and I make this a clear condition of my tutoring.

My high success rate indicates that this approach is successful, and the great majority of my tutees last year were able to progress to their chosen school, college or university.