BA (hons) Classics, Cambridge
Former Classics teacher at Clifton College, Bristol
CRB Checked
Employee of Oxbridge Applications, Keystone Tutors, and Blue Tutors.
References are available upon request

Subjects

Interview

Which subject(s) do you teach?
I teach Latin, Ancient Greek, English, and Drama.

If it happens to be of interest, I specialized in my finals papers on Homer, Virgil, Horace, and Shakespearean tragedy.

Tell me about your qualifications.
- BA (hons) Classics (2:1) at St. John’s College, Cambridge (2006-9)
- 2 year FdA in Professional Acting at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School (2009-11)
- 4 As at A level (History, English, Latin and Maths)
- 10 GCSEs (8 A*s and 2 As)
- CRB checked

What kind of experience do you have?
I've been teaching Classics and English for just over a couple of years now.

Overall, I've found it best to keep a balance between tutoring English and Classics. I like to be teaching a range of things.

When I was at drama school in Bristol I took up a part-time teaching post with the Classics department at Clifton College. Over the two years I primarily taught A level language work in Ancient Greek and Latin, as well as preparing their prospective candidates for Oxford and Cambridge.

I've also done a lot of free-lancing, in all sorts of areas, for both English and Classics, tutoring Oxbridge applicants as well as students at school and university level.

The work I've done with my tutees has varied widely. In Latin and Greek, I've assisted some specifically in translating set texts (I'm now very familiar with the OCR Latin syllabus); I've introduced others, who wished to explore beyond their prescribed syllabus, to new areas of literature; and with others I've worked on more wide-ranging ways to deepen literary analysis or approach translation.

I should probably add that my language work with school students has almost exclusively involved tackling the inadequacies of the confounded Cambridge Latin Course! This seems to be taught in virtually every school but seemingly never elects to focus on grammar, which I find utterly bizarre. If you're a victim of this clueless course I'm more than happy to help!

In terms of English tuition, I've been fortunate enough to have a similarly broad range of tutees, at GCSE, A level, and university standard, though a high proportion have been Oxbridge candidates.

How much do you charge?
I charge £40 an hour.

Where do you teach?
I'm very happy either to teach at home or come to the student's house.

Anywhere in London is fine for me as long as it's reasonably central - Crouch End, Islington, Hampstead, Kensington, Chelsea, Notting Hill - everywhere that's within a half hour of Finsbury Park, essentially!

When are you available?
I'm available weekdays and weekends. Weekday evenings are preferable if possible.

Which ages and levels do you teach?
I love to be teaching a range of levels and ages. Anywhere from beginner to advanced: 11 +, GCSE, IGCSE, A level, and BA level.

Which qualifications do you prepare your students for?
GCSE, IGCSE, A Level, BA level.

Do you have an up-to-date CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) disclosure certificate?
I have numerous CRBs, to be honest! You have to register an enhanced CRB with every organisation you work for, so I have a number.

Describe your arrangements for online tutoring.
I'm very happy to tutor online via Skype, and I have some experience in doing that with students from Hong Kong and elsewhere.

Ideally, it's good to be able to meet up face to face. But Skype is a great alternative and, as I say, I'm very happy to do it.

Do you belong to any professional organisations?
I used to work for Clifton College in Bristol. I'm registered with a number of agencies in London, including Oxbridge Applications, Keystone Tutors and Blue Tutors, all of whom only hire their tutors after a rigorous interview process.

Tell me about some of your current students.
At the moment, I'm preparing a student for GCSE Ancient Greek, a student applying for Classics at Oxford, a student applying for Classics at Cambridge, an A level Latin student, and a third year preparing for his English finals at King's College, London.

Do you have a personal message for students?
My job is to work off you. The great thing about one-on-one is that we can absolutely tailor what we work on to the problems you need to sort out and the things you need to do.

I think it's impossible to pin down a sure-fire method of effective tutoring for anyone. People are different, and different methods work with different people.

That said, I am a firm believer that just speaking at someone simply doesn't work. Learning has to be an active process, and I think there has to be involvement from both sides for things to sink in. In this light, I do try to make things enjoyable and relaxed, and also to limit shortcuts. I’m of the view that it’s far better to invest the time in getting firmly to grips with a subject, be it an instance of grammar or literary concept. In the long run that is a shortcut in itself.

Articles

Sailing familiar seas: V. Flaccus' Argonautica
Subject: A-level Latin
Tags: argonautica, degree level, epic, latin, virgil
Created: 16/09/2011

Sequence of Tenses
Subject: A-level Ancient Greek
Tags: a level ancient greek, gcse latin, latin, sequence, tenses
Created: 17/11/2011