Philippa

- VERY EXPERIENCED ONLINE TUTOR -

I am 42 years old and based in Woking, Surrey. I have a Master`s in Applied Linguistics and TESOL, and over 15 years` experience teaching internationally, online and here in the UK. My experience has been enriched by high level tuition and training at universities, leading language schools, high schools, summer schools and in businesses around the world. I am also a qualified actress and voice coach and therefore place confidence building and personal performance development at the centre of my teaching methodology.

Availability: Sunday - Thursday

Willing to travel: Home Only

Experience: KS3 - A Level English Language and Literature

ESL (All levels including Academic and Business English)

General Experience in Brief:

In addition to working as a Private Tutor, I am also an associate tutor for the Universities of Bristol, Surrey and Middlesex. My academic research explores the positive impacts of actor-training on presentation technique and communicative confidence. When I`m not teaching English, I still practise, perform and coach Improvisational theatre.

KS3 - A Level English Language and Literature in Detail:

Whether OCR, Edexcel, Cambridge or AQA, I have thorough knowledge of both GCSE and A Level syllabi. My students attend schools such as St Catherine`s, St Pauls` Girls, Guildford High School, Charters` School, SJB, Winston Churchill, Woking High, Woking College, Chobham Free, Farnborough College, Hoe Valley, Bishop David Brown and Fullbrook. I work with students of all levels, indiscriminately, and am as committed to those who struggle as I am to those who find learning easy. Several of my students have begun lessons with a predicted grade of 2, and gone on to achieve level 6 or even 7 in their GCSE exams. Some of my most reluctant students have even opted to continue studying English through to A level. They have cited their newfound enjoyment for the subject and recognition of its value and usefulness to their daily lives, communication skills and consequently relationships as motivations.

I do not promise to get every child a 9 in GCSE English, nor an A* at A Level, however, through both my academic research and professional experience (and supported by reviews from my students and their parents) I believe that I have the skills to inspire both confidence and self-belief, and to ultimately encourage transformational change. I have worked with students who have had no intention of carrying on - any subject - to A level, and then have not only seen their secondary school education through but eventually enrolled into university. Inspiring young learners to reach their full potential is a true vocation of mine and I look forward to meeting new students each year and to providing the 1:1 support and encouragement they need to fully excel on their academic journeys.

ESL Experience in Detail:

As well as teaching General English and providing in-house and private Business English tuition, I am a qualified KET and PET Cambridge Speaking Examiner. I have extensive experience teaching both Cambridge and Trinity Exams and also in providing English for Academic Purposes to high school, undergraduate and postgraduate students. My EAP specialisation includes the development and delivery of preparatory courses for the increasingly important IELTS Certification.

To outline my IELTS and EAP specialisation experience further, in 2013 I was contracted by a private corporation in Japan to provide university language training. Further to this appointment, I returned in 2014 as a Senior Instructor to prepare IELTS lesson plans, course material and teacher’s resources for the corporation’s professors to use as a syllabus at several of Japan’s leading universities. In 2016, I began working as an Associate Tutor for the University of Surrey as a Pre-Sessional Instructor for the ESL postgraduate cohorts, in 2022 I began teaching for Middlesex University and most recently in 2026, I have joined Bristol University in a similar capacity.