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Sarah Spicer - Chemistry, Science & Maths Tuition - West Wales & Online

Sarah Spicer GCSE Science Tutor (Swansea)

Sarah Spicer Gold Member

Contact Me
  • Professional Qualification First Class Honours BSc Degree in Biochemistry / PhD Student
  • Professional Qualification Qualified Teacher Status / Experienced West Wales & London Teacher and Tutor
  • Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) Check Current enhanced CRB certificate held
  • Professional Membership Royal Society of Chemistry, Registered with General Teaching Council for Wales

Subjects

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Personal Message
Hi there - thanks for showing interest in my tutoring services. I am a fully qualified and experienced teacher of Science, specialising in Chemistry up to A level.
Which subject(s) do you teach?
I have taught and tutored all Sciences to GCSE, IGCSE, and Chemistry to A level. As my academic qualifications are in Biochemistry, I can also tutor the Biochemical areas of A level Biology. I help pupils with not only knowledge and understanding of the subject, but also with their approach to revision; finding their own most effective way of learning is very important.
Tell me about your qualifications.
I hold a first-class honours degree in Biochemistry from Aberystwyth University, and hold Qualified Teacher Status which I gained via the Graduate Teacher Programme in London. I am just starting my second year as a PhD student in the Biorenewables and Environmental Change division at Aberystwyth University working with plant carbohydrates and protein stabilisation.
What kind of experience do you have?
I have taught in London at both mixed and single-sex schools, including a high achieving girls' grammar school. I have tutored pupils from state, grammar and private schools in and around the Wimbledon area for KS3, GCSE, IGCSE and 13+ common entrance, and tutored pupils at both GCSE and A level standard in West Wales.

I also work as a Chemistry/Physics/Biology Combined Science and Maths tutor for a well-known distance learning organisation working with home-schooled pupils. In addition I assist parents who home-school their children with areas of the subjects studied as required. This takes the form of online tuition, marked assessments etc.
How much do you charge?
My basic fee for face-to-face tutoring in Wales is £22 per hour at my home. I charge additionally on an individual basis for travel to the client's home depending on distance from Newcastle Emlyn. Online tutoring is also charged at £22 per hour (see full details further on).
Where do you teach?
I prefer to work from my home in Newcastle Emlyn, Ceredigion (Cardiganshire) - here I have access to a large number of resources which makes tuition more effective and reactive according to the pupil's requirements.
When are you available?
From September 2011 - Monday afternoons from 4pm to 8pm, Wednesday evenings 6.30-8.30pm. Saturdays 10.00am - 2.00pm or 2.00pm to 5.00pm - these vary according to my son's football fixtures!
Which ages and levels do you teach?
From 11-18, KS3, KS4, KS5
Which qualifications do you prepare your students for?
13+ Common entrance (Science component), GCSE, IGCSE, AS level, A2 level. Boards - AQA, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC, Independent Schools Examinations Board
Do you have an up-to-date CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) disclosure certificate?
I have a full enhanced CRB certificate
Describe your arrangements for online tutoring.
I offer an flexible online tutoring service to enable me to teach pupils who cannot travel to my home or as an addition to face-to-face tutoring. All that is needed is a webcam, a skype account and a PayPal account for payments. A mini whiteboard and drywipe pen is also a useful addition to allow rapid communication of ideas, chemical formulae, diagrams etc.

This service is designed to provide online tutoring in as close a format as possible as face-to-face tutoring without the necessity of either party leaving their home. It gives you as a parent a chance to 'sit-in' on the sessions if you wish - even if it is as you are preparing supper while the laptop is on the kitchen table!

How does it work? In West Wales, pupils may live too far from me to consider a weekly visit, so here alternate weeks of online and face-to-face tuition may be considered.

Please see my website (link above) to see the full details of my online tutoring services, together with instructions for setting up skype.

The basic details are as follows:

Sessions are booked and charged at the following rates:
15 mins £8
30 mins £13
45 mins £17
1 hour £22
This will include provision of worksheets, past papers etc. which will be emailed to you as necessary to prepare for your child's tutoring sessions.

Payments can be made via PayPal following each lesson.
Do you belong to any professional organisations?
The Royal Society of Chemistry
Registered with the General Teaching Council for Wales

My Articles

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Bridge the GCSE-AS Gap

Many students find the jump from GCSE Chemistry to AS level Chemistry a big one.  Having to take on new concepts, more independent study and the more accelerated pace expected in the sixth form can leave some students struggling to keep up in the first few months.   However, missing the vital basic concepts in the first term of AS Chemistry...

Online tutoring - greener tuition, sNOw problem!

STOP PRESS!  Online tutoring still carrying on as normal - don't worry about the snow over the Christmas period - let your tutor come to you down your phoneline! If you live in a rural community, you will probably be used to the necessity of travelling everywhere in a car, or being held hostage to the vagaries of public transport (where it...

Bonds, ions, cats and irons...don't panic!

When teaching Chemistry, I often find pupils have difficulties with types of bonding and how they affect the properties of the compounds being studied. The concept of covalent and ionic bonding sometimes leaves teenagers looking a bit puzzled (to put it nicely), so I find that funny diagrams and mnemonics often help. Did you know that the...

My Testimonials

Sarah tutored my daughter for two terms; my daughter had little confidence in her ability to pass her chemistry GCSE partly due to dyslexia causing her problems with comprehending the questions and partly being in a large class of around 30 students. (Cont'd)
- Mrs C.S, London SW20
Having individual attention meant that she was able to identify her weak areas through her school work. Sarah focused on teaching in these areas to consolidate understanding and knowledge. (Cont'd)
- Mrs C.S. London SW20
Sarah was very flexible with her methods and strategies and managed to work extremely professionally with her learning style. My daughter passed with flying colours achieving a high A! (Cont'd)
- Mrs C.S, London SW20
Sarah's love and immense knowledge and understanding of chemistry have not only helped her to achieve a high grade but also given her a passion for chemistry. She wants to pursue this further via a course at university. Thank you Sarah!
- Mrs C.S, London SW20
"Dear Sarah,
Thank you for all of your help, couldn't have done Chemistry without you!"
- Hannah (16) - Wimbledon
We have received Chloe's GCSE results today - delighted with her all her Science results which were a massive improvement on her predicted grades. Sarah was an immensely patient and effective tutor who pinpointed Chloe's weaknesses very quickly and effectively developed a tailor-made tuition strategy.
- Mrs S, Waungilwen, Carmarthenshire
The excellent grades achieved in the Sciences enables Chloe to continue onto A level studies; no doubt we will be utilising Sarah's expertise in future. I would highly recommend Sarah as a personal tutor who identifies a child's needs efficiently and improves not only their academic outcome but their confidence in the subject.
- Mrs S, Waungilwen, Carmarthenshire
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Testimonials are provided by the tutor and are not verified by The Tutor Pages

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