Seacroft Tutors & Seacroft Tuition

Personal Description:
As a graduate of The Musashino Academy of Music in Japan, I have extensive experience in performing as a concert pianist in Japan and accompanist for Violinist and Vocalist for their concerts.
I accompanied on a Japanese Canzone CD which was released in 2005 and I used to make music for TV commercials. I'm not only limited to classical music, I also have experience and understanding of many types of composition, from ethnic forms right through to modern, contemporary, techno and electro. I am well traveled and have an understanding of many different cultures.
I am an outgoing, fun person and although I think this shows through to pupils, my lessons are strict and I prefer only to take on serious students who are determined to achieve their goals.

Teaching Experience:
I have been teaching for 13 years in Japan, 1 year in the USA and 20 years in the UK. I can train you to all levels, for all English or Japanese piano grade exams or for entrance to music schools, GCSE / A level Music, universities and all levels above.

Tutoring Approach:
Students who want to improve your skills & pass exams, I am confident that you will see improvement from the very first lesson.
I feel that music is not just about learning the notes & playing them in the right order - like people, every piece has it's own character, emotion & depth. I think it is just as important to get the student to recognise & express this, as it is for them to learn the correct technique.

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Personal Description:
I have had a passion for Physics from a young age, deciding then I wanted to study to degree level. Once completing my masters degree I worked in industry for 3 years doing blue sky research for BAE SYSTEMS. I decided that, whilst the intellectual rewards were great, I wanted to work more closely with people which prompted my move into teaching.

Teaching Experience:
I am a currently practicing teacher with 20 years experience at a high achieving independent school. I have experience teaching a range of abilities: from straight A students to students struggling on the D/E borderline.

Tutoring Approach:
I believe students progress best when they are confident to give problem solving a go. As a tutor I will go through the theory with tutees but my prime focus will always be how we apply that theory in practice. I expect tutees to be willing to make mistakes whilst working on problems with me so I can see where the flaws in their understanding are and help them correct them. I will also expect tutees to submit work for me to mark outside of our sessions so I can assess their progress.

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Personal Description:
I am a fully-qualified professional teacher with more than 30 years of teaching and tutoring experience, both in the UK and abroad. 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.

I am the father of two boys, and we live in the Sutton area. My wife and I successfully tutored our sons for Sutton's grammar schools (WCGS), and they have since both graduated from top Russell Group universities. My hobbies are limited to reading these days, 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.

Teaching Experience:
After obtaining my first degree in Spanish with Politics and Economics, I started teaching abroad; first in Spain, then in Turkey, and later in Central Asia and the Middle East. Since retraining as a teacher of English, I have taught for more than 15 years in the UK and almost 15 years abroad, where I was Head of Department at an Institute of Higher Education for three years.

Most recently I have taught English at an independent school in Sutton, and previous to that I taught Academic Writing for East Anglia University for several years. Nowadays my tutoring is split between English for the 11+ and Common Entrance (13+) exams, English for KS2 and KS3 SATs, and English, Spanish, Economics and Politics & Government for the GCSE and A-level exams (all boards).

11+ and 13+ (Common Entrance)
I am very happy to report that all but one of my twelve Eleven Plus tutees passed the SET (Selective Eligibility Test) for Sutton's grammar schools last September. Of these, 100% of them passed the second stage exam and obtained their first choice of grammar or independent school. I use a selection of published materials and those of my own creation, and insist on a high standard of weekly homework in reading, writing and language knowledge. For 11+ pupils I start tutoring in Year 4 or 5, whereas 13+ pupils begin in Year 7 or 8.

KS2 and KS3 SATs
I usually start tutoring for the KS2 SATS in Year 5, and in Year 8 for the KS3 SATs. I tend to use a mixture of focused texts and past papers.

GCSE and A-level
I am equally happy to report that all of my most recent GCSE and A-level students have passed well, with top grades from B to A* (A-level) and 6-9 (GCSE). The majority of those have gone on to their first choice of further and higher education institutes, and in most cases this has been achieved by my insisting on regular homework done to a high standard. For GCSE pupils I prefer to start tutoring at some time in Year 10, whereas A-level students typically begin around Year 12.

I also provide individual tutoring in ESSAY WRITING and STUDY SKILLS, as my experience has taught me that many students at GCSE, A-level and undergraduate level face real problems in these areas. By working together on your essays, substantial improvements can be made in style, organisation, argument, presentation, and much more. This way, I can teach you how produce more effective and mature essays, and thus help you to obtain better grades and increase your confidence in producing written work.

Tutoring Approach:
With every tutee I carry out an initial assessment of his/her needs and abilities, and my teaching begins from there. Typically I work on improving their weaknesses and consolidating their strengths, and this essentially involves them producing high-quality homework on a regular basis. I use both established published materials and those that I have created myself over the years. This approach appears to be successful, and I can provide references.

Over the past twelve years I have successfully tutored students for the following schools and universities:

Schools: Sutton Grammar, Wilsons, Wallington County, Wallington High, Nonsuch, Whitgift, Trinity, Wimbledon High, Kings School, City of London, Reigate Grammar, Caterham School, St John's, Westminster, Epsom College, Ewell Castle, and many others.

Universities: Manchester, Warwick, City, East Anglia, St Martins, Lincoln, Kings, LSE, UCL, Nottingham, Reading, Birmingham, Bournemouth, and several others.

Please note that my fees are very affordable, bearing in mind that I travel to your house and offer a personalised tutoring programme.

I currently charge between £45 and £50 per hour, depending on subject and level.

NB: Any tutoring that involves more than 6 miles travel (round trip) usually incurs a small extra charge.

If you are looking for a fully-qualified, highly-experienced and versatile tutor, you need look no further. Here are a few messages from some of my most recent successful tutees:

Hello Jeff, I just got my IELTS results and I FINALLY passed it! Listening 8, Reading 7.5, Writing 7, Speaking 7.5 and it's 7.5 overall. I would like to THANK you sooooo MUCH for your help and all advice you have given me! It would not be possible otherwise. (Vanja)

Sam got into Wilsons and we are pretty sure that his English performance carried him through. Sam said we ought to say 'thanks' to you as you made a massive difference to his standard of English in a very short period of time. Not sure how, but you made something click in his brain where his school teachers had failed! (Cathy)

Hi Jeff, hope you are well. I am extremely delighted to tell you that Rick has a place at Westminster, and we are going ahead with that. He has also had offers from HABS, KCS and RGS Guildford. Thank you so much for all your support. (Animesh)

Hi Jeff, just to let you know that Dillon got a place at Sutton Grammar on Monday. He also received places at Whitgift, Trinity and Epsom. We have decided to accept Sutton Grammar, and thank you for all your help and time.
Thanks - Paulomi and Dillon.

Dear Jeff! Thanks you so much for tutoring me last year. You have helped my English greatly and without your advice and guidance I would have had a nervous breakdown when I was given the task of an essay. You taught me about causal connectives, signpost words, paragraph structure and much more vital strategies of writing an amazing essay.
Finally, I am happy that I got a place at Wilsons and know I would have failed the English language test without what you taught me. I am very grateful that you gave up your time to help me pass.
Yours Sincerely, Makar

Hi Jeff, I hope you're well. I just wanted to let you know that Andriy got offered a place at Whitgift and we have accepted it. Thank you very much for helping and recommending this great school to us. Andriy is really excited about it and cannot wait to start.
(Oksana)

Dear Jeff, sorry for the delayed reply as we are in India. Rishi has done well, has received English Language 9 and English Literature 7, and scored 8 in six other subjects. He could achieve good results only because of your support. Thanking you.
(Chandra)

Hi Jeff, I am pleased to inform you that Mahati cleared the 2nd round. Her cut-off score is 354. We hope she gets into either of the two schools. Thanks a lot for your support throughout.
(Sassi)

Hi Jeff, Tamana's results have come in for the Sutton Stage 2 test. She has passed with a relatively good score of 315, and based on last year's stats, she should get in comfortably to Nonsuch or Wallington. Thanks for all your lessons that significantly helped her in the preparations.
(Vedant)

Hi Jeff, hope you're doing good. We have got the exam outcome, and Samrudha is able to apply for Nonsuch. Her score is 309, and the highest total score is 389. Secondly she has cleared Tiffin's Stage 1 test and has been invited for Stage 2 on November 11, and we would like to take your help whenever possible.
(Kirthi)

Hi Jeff, I just wanted to let you know that Ed passed the entrance exams for all three schools. Thank you so much for all your support! (Emma)

Hello Jeff, I hope you are well. Vivaan passed the exams for Wilson's, Wallington and Sutton. He also got through Tiffins Stage 1. Thanks very much for your help and support! His English improved massively under your guidance.
Kind regards
Jyothi

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Personal Description:
Hello and welcome :-)

I'm Craig and I have been teaching languages for almost 15 years now. I am a relaxed and patient teacher and will be well suited to anyone who needs to learn at their own pace or who needs things explained well and carefully to them.

I am also well qualified for the job with a BA Honours degree with triple distinctions in Spanish, Italian & French as well as Teacher Qualified Status and a CELTA. I have also lived, worked and studied in Spain, Italy, France and Greece.

I have studied a lot of languages myself. I've studied over 30 languages over the years. I have achieved fluency in the languages I teach, but I have also reached a fairly good standard in some other languages or have acquired a basic knowledge of many others. I will use some of the methods I have used to learn these languages to help teach you.

I will help you, step by step, to begin speaking and understanding your chosen language.

I am also DBS (previously CRB) checked for your security.



Here are a few a reviews from my customers:

I thoroughly recommend Craig to everyone as an excellent Spanish tutor. He is kind, patient and commited to his students.
My daughter, who had been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) had an hour`s lesson every week for eighteen months, after her secondary school was unable to offer Spanish lessons. She achieved an A* grade in her GCSE exam (Review by Kerrie, Sittingbourne)

I thoroughly recommend Craig if you are looking to learn a foreign language. I spent my teenage years completely adamant that a second language was beyond me. German was my weakest subject and I sat at the back of the class applying my make up! I am now working towards conversational Spanish, and after just over 3 months I am able to hold a Facebook messenger conversation with my South American friends! Not only has Craig taught me enough grammar to achieve this, he also anticipates difficulties English speakers may have with certain language constructs and works through those too. I always look forward to my lessons each week, and enjoy doing the practice questions I`m given for homework. (Review by Emma, Chatham)

I am giving my Italian lessons with Craig a 5 star rating. I began my lessons as a complete novice and now feel confident enough to be going on holiday to Italy to stay in a non-English speaking village. Craig is a highly-skilled professional. I recommend him to anyone who wants to learn a language (he speaks and teaches many!) whether a beginner or with some existing knowledge, for holidays, for work or to reinforce their language learning. (Review by Amanda, Maidstone)

Teaching Experience:
I have been teaching languages since 2004 and have worked as a full time language tutor since 2010.
I have also taught in language schools in the UK and abroad as well as in public schools.

Tutoring Approach:
I am very patient and will guide you step by step towards speaking your language of choice. I use a mix of my own course designed by me and materials from other sources such as course books, grammar books and realia.

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Personal Description:
I am a native speaker of Mandarin. I am a graduate student who study Radio in University of London. My BA degree is Journalism and I graduated from one of top universities in Mainland China. I am good at Mandarin. I love to talk and communicate.

Teaching Experience:
attend the language exchange group and tech people Mandarin.

Tutoring Approach:
Chinese phonetic alphabet
Chinese characters and pronunciation
useful sentence and dialogue

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Personal Description:
I am a fully qualified and very experienced primary school teacher who can provide high quality Maths and English tuition in your home for primary aged and early Key Stage 3 pupils. I love being able to work one to one with pupils on exactly what they need to help them gain confidence, understanding and make progress to achieve the best they possibly can. I treat each child as an individual and aim to make every tuition session enjoyable and successful, connecting the learning with your child's interests where possible, and always giving plenty of encouragement and praise.

Tutoring is available for children being home-schooled as well as for children requiring a little extra help out of school hours.

Teaching Experience:
I am a fully qualified teacher who taught locally in primary education for 21 years before starting to home tutor children in 2015. I have successfully taught children with a wide range of abilities, including children learning English as an additional language and pupils with special educational needs.

Tutoring Approach:
Building good relationships is very important to me as a basis of effective teaching. Parents and pupils consistently testify to my professional, patient and friendly approach. Every lesson is specifically tailored to each pupil's needs, with pupils enjoying their lessons and quickly seeing the difference that their time with me makes. As far as possible, I channel lessons through the pupil's interests as well as using games, practical resources and visual aids, amongst other resources. Plenty of praise and encouragement is given in recognition of their efforts and to help motivate pupils further. Feedback is provided to parents/ carers at the end of each lesson to keep you fully informed.

If you have any questions or would like more information, I would be pleased to hear from you.

45 minutes and one hour sessions are available - rates vary accordingly.

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Personal Description:
An outstanding Grammar High school Maths teacher, I teach Maths up to A-Levels and beyond and have been teaching for 20 years as a head of maths and an Examiner.

Teaching Experience:
I am a fully qualified Maths Teacher (QTS) registered with UK National College of Teaching and Leadership. I work in an outstandingly high achieving Grammar school near London.

So far I have tutored over 100 students on a 1-1 basis in the past 7 years alone. This is over 4000 hours of tutoring (40 weeks for each student a year X 100 students = 4000 hours)!

Moreover, I work as a Grammar school teacher and I am required to deliver outstanding lessons in accordance with the OFSTED Framework. Hence I have an accurate and in-depth knowledge of the most recent syllabus changes and the exam boards. That combined with my daily touch of solid Maths puts myself in a very strong position to very quickly and thoroughly assess the educational needs of a student and then build upon their strengths. My lessons are Laser sharp and objective oriented wherein I intend to achieve a very concrete goal at the end of each of my tutoring sessions.

With this immense experience, I have developed an approach which is very simple. I make the lessons fun and engaging. I try to promote interest in the subject so learning Maths becomes fun and an ongoing natural process. Students take this into the school environment and start seeing the results immediately. This reduces the burden from Maths and hence my students can focus on other subjects and achieve well holistically. (It's not about getting an A* just in Maths. I know that!!)

Tutoring Approach:
Teaching Pedagogy: The vast majority of One-2-One tutors simply 'turn-up-and-teach' without adequate preparation. Maths is mostly about 'understanding', and less about 'throw up facts'. A tutor gets ONE CHANCE to impart 'understanding' in a clear and coherent way. Not having prepared and risking an incomplete, confused or incoherent explanation instills confusion in the student, rather than confidence.

• Regular feedback and homework: Most tutors either set no homework at all or thoughtlessly set exercises from a textbook containing inappropriate questions. My homework is specifically written to complement the lesson, containing some questions designed for routine practice and some questions designed to challenge the student; encouraging them to 'think' and to develop their logical capacity.

• Exam Practice: I give students plenty of past paper practice - but only at the right time, once they have a deep understanding of all of the individual topics within the syllabus. Far too many tutors use exam papers to 'teach' from, which means they are setting papers when the student isn't ready: The upshot of that is the student's scores fluctuate wildly and their confidence is destroyed.
The lessons are invigorating, inspirational and cutting edge as I keep a very thorough hold on my subject.

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Personal Description:
Привет! Hello! My name is Nailia. I am a native Russian speaker as well as a passionate language tutor. Since 2009, I have been teaching English, French and Russian to students of all ages (0+) and abilities. As part of tutoring, I successfully prepared candidates for Russian State exam in English. More recently in 2016, I have been working as a French teacher in one of the top 5 schools in Moscow. Learning Russian might be challenging as the pronunciation is different and reading Cyrillic takes time to get used to, yet it opens a whole new world to you and I can't wait to help you explore it!

Teaching Experience:
Having gained 13 years of teaching experience, I am able to adapt and be flexible to students with different abilities providing them with material most suited to their level. I am able to accommodate different needs from helping pupils study for specific exams to educating children whose parents wish for them to become familiar with languages at an early stage as well as adults who simply want to explore a new language!

Tutoring Approach:
The first lesson is vital for understanding the student's needs and determine their ability. This is normally done by tests, speaking or engaging games - depending on age. Afterwards, I like to go straight into the teaching process bearing in mind the student's and parent's request. I use different course books throughout the lesson.

Depending on the language level, I may suggest reading, watching films or listening to music to get the grips with understanding the language as well as some grammar exercises to consolidate the knowledge. The learning is very friendly and authentic but still includes tests to obtain results wanted.

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Personal Description:
I am a former secondary school teacher who thoroughly enjoys tutoring both French and Spanish to a wide range of ages and abilities, from beginner right through to GCSE. My belief is that languages are for everyone. I am also a mum to three children so I understand that flexibility is important is important to my tutees and their parents.

Teaching Experience:
I am qualified to degree level and also hold a PGCE qualification and QTS. I worked as a secondary school teacher until December 2017 and since then I have worked as a private tutor of languages, both in person and online.

Tutoring Approach:
As a Languages tutor, I understand the pressures students face as they approach their GCSE examinations and I like to think of my approach as committed to helping my students to achieve whilst also being mindful of their other study commitments.

At GCSE level, I am fully committed to helping my students to achieve their full potential and will tutor them in each of the four skill areas of writing, speaking, reading and listening. I enjoy working one to one with students, helping them to build their confidence in the French language.

I think it is of particular importance with the new French GCSE specification to identify a student's strengths and weaknesses in terms of the four skill areas and to build on and develop those areas at every session.

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Personal Description:
I am a current PG student in Engineering at Newcastle University, I completed my Bachelors in Engineering as well in Electronics and Communication. I've completed my high school as a Science student in an English Medium School.

Teaching Experience:
I had the opportunity to take a communication session in my college back in my undergrad days. Apart from that I had taken a few classes for some modules for my undergrad classmates.

Tutoring Approach:
Based on the students area of concern , I will start from the basics and then gradually move towards more complex lessons while ensuring I take feedback from the student on my tutoring method so I can tweak my approach accordingly.

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Personal Description:
⭐ Hi! I'm James. I'm a coding tutor with over a decade of experience working on all sorts of coding projects. I've worked at the European Bioinformatics Institute, the University of Manchester, the Ministry of Justice, and even the UK Health Security Agency during the pandemic.

Throughout my career I've built enterprise level data services, AI programs, published academic computational genetic analyses, and lead dev and data science teams solving meaningful national-scale problems.

In all that, my favourite work has always been teaching young people about technology.

Teaching Experience:
In summary, I have taught learners from primary school to university level 📚.

🧑‍💻 I've volunteered as a Code Club mentor for the Raspberry Pi Foundation, delivered workshops in schools, and even won funding from the Wellcome Trust to run hands-on sessions where children learn science through video games. I love helping learners discover that programming is creative, playful, and something anyone can enjoy. I was also featured in the Sanger blog post on "Inspiring prisoners and their families with genomics".

Tutoring Approach:
👦👧 What will your child will learn?

My lessons are designed specifically for KS2 learners (ages 7-11), and this may be useful for some older children catching up on coding and computing. The lessons will cover concepts in the DfE National curriculum for England, and usually we will go beyond the curriculum very swiftly.

I will start by loosely adhering to the Raspberry Pi's scratch modules which cover algorithms, and building with code. However, I believe in child led learning. If your child is less interested in making games or programming animations, and is more interested in technology and robots, we will follow the BBC's micro:bit projects. 🎓 These can be followed by a gentle introduction to Python when they are ready (a widely used text based programming language).

Beyond the meat of the coding, there are also other skills we will cover like digital safety, and how to use search tools effectively.

I'm patient, friendly, and great at explaining complex ideas in simple steps using multiple methods to get the concepts across.

Whether your child is a total beginner or already curious about coding, I adapt sessions to their pace, interests, and confidence level.

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Personal Description:
I have been teaching for over two decades. I hold a BA (Hons), a post graduate certificate in European humanities, a PGCE in teaching, a master's degree in linguistics in education and NPQH. I also hold a level 5 Tefl qualification.
When I am not teaching or tutoring, I enjoy using creative processes to enhance well-being and I enjoy spending time with animals - mainly cats!
I am a life-long learner and am always trying to learn new things, be that a new craft or a quick dabble in Latin!

Teaching Experience:
I have taught -full time - for over two decades. I have taught young children who are beginning their learning journey, through to those preparing for, and entering, secondary school. I have extensive experience in preparing children, both academically and emotionally, to sit statutory tests. I believe in developing resilience through enabling children to understand the meta-cognition involved in the learning process.
I am experienced in teaching all curriculum areas and I have an excellent knowledge of engaging and exciting children's literature. This knowledge can be used to enhance the teaching of basic, foundational skills, particularly in English.

Tutoring Approach:
I always begin where my pupils are and track back to see where the learning gaps may be. I find that taking a pupil-led approach to this can support the identification of, not only gaps in learning but also areas where confidence is not so strong.
I will always move at the pupil's pace and introduce new concepts when the foundational understanding is secure. I encourage pupils to take academic risks and I emphasize that, sometimes, the 'wrong' answer is a step to reaching the right one!

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