Sumantha

It’s hard to choose a tutor without meeting them, isn’t it?! I hope my detailed profile can help.

Firstly, I am an online tutor.

My approach is completely student-driven - I don’t have a ‘one size fits all’ approach. The only consistent aspect is, I develop skills and build confidence. In my experience, this unlocks higher grades and faster progress.

With me, you don’t only get weekly lessons. My fees include:

✔;;;Close monitoring of progress
✔;;;Email updates about progress and independent study ideas
✔;;;Lessons that are completely driven by student needs

I’m not an SEN specialist but my in-school experience enables me to work with some special educational needs. Please get in touch to discuss, if applicable.

Am I the right tutor for you?
The combination of my classroom experience and extensive tutoring experience enables me to use tried and tested learning strategies.

My aim is to complement what is being taught at school however, I focus on skills over grades - if students master skills, the grades will follow!

If your child is home educated, I design structured and tailored curriculums.

Another aim is to decouple study from stress. To achieve this, here are some of the engaging techniques my students use:

One GCSE student enjoys creating picture-based and entertaining mind maps to learn poems
Another GCSE student writes brilliant songs to remember quotations
My SATs and entrance exam students enjoy a SPAG poem that they can recall in exams
The result? Preparing for exams papers is made that little bit more enjoyable.

What I can promise (and what I cannot)
I specialise in boosting confidence, increasing motivation and targeting the development of specific skills. So far, all of my students have seen an increase in grades.

However, since exam results are dependent on many factors, I don’t promise exam grades. I do promise an increase in confidence and the development of core skills and knowledge.

Do I cover what you need?
;;;;; Years 3 - 8 English, including SATs
;;;;; Year 9 English focusing on GCSE skills
;;;;; 11+ and 13+ exam preparation (incl. Tiffin, Kingston Grammar, Sutton schools SET, and St George`s)
;;;;; GCSE English Literature & Language (various examination boards)

Past exam results (including 2020)
I have excluded names to protect student identities.

2020 GCSE results:
Student 1 - improved from Grade 1 to 4 and 5 (AQA)
Student 2 - improved from Grade 2 to 5 (AQA)
Student 3 - improved from Grade 4 to 8 (AQA)
Student 4 - improved from Grade 2 to 4 (Edexcel) - in 8 lessons
Student 5 - improved from Grade 2 to 5 (AQA)
Student 6 - improved from Grade 7 to 9 (AQA)

2020 mock GCSE results:
Student 1 - improved from Grade 4 to Grade 8 (AQA)
Student 2 - improved from Grade 7 to Grade 8 (AQA)
Student 3 - improved from Grade 3 in Language and Literature to Grade 5 and 4, respectively (AQA)
Student 4 - improved from Grade 2 to Grade 4 (1 mark from a Grade 5) (Edexcel)
Student 5 - improved from Grade 2 to 7 (1 mark from an 8) (AQA)

2019 results:
Tiffin 11+ Stage 1 exams - 2 out of 4 students went through to Stage 2
Tiffin 11+ Stage 2 Exam: Student 1 and 2 both passed Stage Two
Sutton 11+ - 3 out of 4 students were accepted into desired schools

AQA English Language & Literature GCSE
Student 1 - improved from Grade 2 to Grade 6 in Literature and Grade 5 in Language
Student 2 - improved from Grade 4 to Grade 6
Student 3 - improved from Grade 3 to Grade 4

2018 results:
AQA English Language & Literature GCSE
Student 1 - improved from Grade 2 to Grade 5

Cambridge Nationals - Computing
Student 1 - improved from Grade B to Grade A

Tutoring Experience
2004 - Present Private tutor
2006 - Present Adult Trainer (TAP certified)
2012 - Present Professional Writer
2011 - 2017 Secondary School Teacher
(Esher C of E High School, St Paul`s Catholic College & Langley Grammar School)

During my time as a teacher, I was also Deputy Head of Year 11 and a Teacher Trainer.

Tutoring Approach
Lesson 1 is always an assessment lesson - sometimes informal, sometimes formal - it all depends on what my student is studying for, and where we are in the school year. I also aim to develop a rapport so that students feel confident and comfortable with me.

This allows me to share with you my feedback of strengths, weaknesses and current attainment. I use this information to inform how to approach subsequent lessons.

Homework is designed to support the development of skills and knowledge, and promote independent learning skills.

General Key Stage 1, 2 & 3
Lessons are aligned with the national curriculum and tailored to student attainment.

I specifically target areas of weakness and use the Year 6 SATs (Key Stage 2) or GCSEs (Key Stage 3) as a baseline for the type of skills that need to be developed.

11+ Entrance Exams
Different schools have different styles of assessment. Many of them, e.g. Tiffin, do not release past papers. However, research and experience of training students for these exams, informs my approach.

Both lesson and homework content is tailored to the school your child is applying for.

For entrance exams, I cover English (including verbal reasoning).

Year 6 SATs
My lessons and homework are informed by the national curriculum and include both skills-building and exam technique development.

GCSE English Language and Literature
My lessons are tailored to specific exam boards, their exam criteria, assessment objectives and texts.

I have extensive experience with the GCSE AQA and Edexcel examinations. Since the differences between exam boards are not vast, if your child is studying with a different examination board, this is no problem e.g. I have also taught the IGCSE.

Availability: Monday - Wednesday, before 3pm
(3pm onwards is fully booked)

Running small group classes for entrance exams.

If I`m fully booked or if we cannot find a mutually available slot, you will be offered a place on my waiting list.

Willing to travel: Home Only

Experience: 2004 - Present Private tutor

2006 - Present Adult Trainer (TAP certified)

2012 - Present Professional Writer

2011 - 2017 Secondary School Teacher
(Esher C of E High School, St Paul`s Catholic College & Langley Grammar School)

During my time as a teacher, I was also Deputy Head of Year 11 and Teacher Trainer.