Georgina

I am a qualified and internationally experienced teacher of academic writing and editing for college and university students. I also tutor students who are preparing for GCSE English Language and Literature and A` levels. I work extensively with students from around the globe, including those whose first language is not English.

I have worked in different areas of education for some thirty years. I have taught children at all levels from infants through to higher education. I also worked as a journalist in Singapore for nine years; as dean of a music school for six years; as director of an institute of fine arts and music in Hong Kong for two years, and as subject leader for EAL in a local secondary school for nine years. I have been a tutor and editor of academic writing for over twelve years.

My first employment as a teacher was in a primary school in Kenya. At that time, I was yet to qualify as a teacher and found myself replacing a graduate teacher of fifteen years who had set the highest standards. Approaching this seemingly herculean task,and with no specific curriculum to follow, I decided to create my own lessons by drawing on the beauty of the Kenyan countryside to get the pupils writing and making music. This first experience defined my thinking about learning.

Since then, I have been fortunate to teach in settings that have required a creative approach. For example I set up the music school of a college of the arts in Singapore over a six-year period and designed and taught on the programme. I also set up and directed Part 1 of a B.Ed. degree course in Hong Kong in conjunction with the Institute of Education, University of London, and designed and directed the Foundation Course for the Department of Music for a large college in Hong Kong.

In the UK, I have developed coaching approaches to academic writing to help international higher education students to understand the language demands of the British education system.

I think that the best teachers are often those who continue to study. I have therefore spent some 14 years continuing my education, culminating in a doctorate in communication and education.

Availability: I teach from my home in the afternoons and early evenings. My home is in the centre of town.

Willing to travel: Home Only

Experience: I enjoy the challenge of creating new education programmes and, with the help of my students, evaluating how they work in practice. In Singapore, I set up and designed the curriculum for a Diploma in Higher Education for music students; and in Hong Kong I designed and implemented part of a B.Ed. degree for serving teachers. Back in the UK, I designed and taught part of a BA course in education as an occasional lecturer for Anglia Polytechnic University; and designed and implemented teaching approaches for secondary school EAL students according to individual need.

If you are a primary, secondary or university student and find essay writing daunting, I am happy to coach you through each stage of the process.

I hugely enjoy what I do and will try to inspire you to share my enthusiasm for an area of the curriculum which you may be finding tough and tedious. I see my role as one of facilitator: I hope to motivate you to take an active part in the learning process. I will offer you constant feedback and encourage you to question what I suggest and to think critically and independently.

A perfect result would be that you get the result you want, enjoy the learning, and go on to university, further education, or an apprenticeship. Then to enjoy a successful and fulfilling career.

DBS Check: Yes