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Information About Luke:

Personal Description:

Hello! My name is Luke and I am the head of English at a secondary school in Croydon. I have previously been the head of oracy & debating, deputy head of English, and head of underachieving groups at other schools and deputy head of English, and have worked as an acting head of department in a career spanning 8 years. Having graduated from the University of Cambridge with a First in History in the summer of 2017, I'm enthusiastic about education and helping others to progress far. After Cambridge, I graduated from the UCL Institute of Education with 'Outstanding' (i.e. the highest classification available for my Teach First PGDE) and was also awarded 'outstanding' by Lewisham LA for my NQT year.

I live in Blackheath and am willing to travel by public transport to the area nearby, or tutor online to students anywhere! If you have any questions about my travel and whether I'd be able to come to you, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

I am available on certain weekday evenings and weekends to tutor your child. For any queries, please do message me and we can organise dates and times.

Teaching Experience:

I've been an English teacher for eight years across secondary schools in Hackney, Lewisham and Croydon. I began teaching through the Teach First Programme, and am a young, enthusiastic teacher primarily of English. I have extensive experience in working with students of all different levels of prior attainment and am also my school's Lead Teacher on Underachieving Groups in RE, Psychology, Philosophy, and English.

My results speak for themselves: last year, my Year 11 class attained a record number of top grades in GCSE English, including 40%+ 7-9 and roughly 20% grade 9. On both counts, my results were several times the national and school averages. My school also has a high proportion of students with SEND needs and, growing up, I helped my sister (who has dyslexia) with school work, and so I am highly experienced in working with students with a variety of needs.

In 2023/4, I oversaw the GCSE strategy which resulted in:
- 92% 4+
- 80% 5+
- 51% 7+

I have received consistently positive feedback from parents, students, and colleagues alike. I take a real pride in establishing a culture of high expectations and aspiration in the classroom, wherein I try to inculcate in all my students a strong sense of getting out what you put in to drive them to push themselves. More than just strong academic progress, many of my students have remarked how much they enjoy how I link what is being studied to real-world contexts to keep work entertaining and engaging. I have consequently had dozens of requests from parents and students for me to continue teaching them the next year.

Prior to teaching, I tutored English for over a year and was heavily involved in access schemes at Cambridge University. This was to support disadvantaged pupils develop their writing through one-to-one tuition whilst boosting their aspirations.

Tutoring Approach:

I prefer to teach in a relaxed and calm environment, with an emphasis on discussion and creating an interest in the subject rather than copying out text books. I believe that having an interest and a general understanding of a subject, especially humanities, is essential to doing well - likewise, practising is imperative in order to master a subject. Therefore, I aim to supply worksheets to help explain and practice difficult ideas or topics. Moreover, I can also suggest useful textbooks and sources to use for further revision.

I have a huge enthusiasm for History, English, and languages (particularly Spanish), and thoroughly enjoy studying - and teaching - all of these.

Though my favourite subject personally is History, I have extensive experience in teaching and tutoring all of these. Moreover, I can also provide tutoring for Oxford and Cambridge applications and entrance exams. This is an area I feel passionately about and I have supported many many students over several years to apply.

Qualifications:

• Historical Tripos (Double Hons) at King's College, University of Cambridge: First Class
• International Baccalaureate: 41/45 (HL: English 7, Spanish 7, History 6; SL: Maths Studies 6, German 6, Biology 6; Core Points 3)
• GCSEs in: History A*, Spanish A*, English Language A*, Literature A, Citizenship A*, Biology A, Geography A, Drama A, Physics B, Chemistry B, German B and Maths B

Further Information:

Availability:	Weekends / Weekdays (evenings)
Types of Tutoring:	Travels to you / Online
References Supplied?	Yes
Current DBS/CRB Check?	Yes
Additional Languages Spoken:	English, Spanish, German, Czech (conversational)