Natalie

I graduated with a triple 1st from the University of Cambridge, with a MCantab in Natural Sciences (zoology) and MPhil in History and Philosophy of Science. I earned two college scholarships and the `Oxford University Prize for Excellence in Biosciences`. I have completed a PhD at Cambridge on monstrous animals in Renaissance Europe. I am located in London and available for tutoring.

Apart from tutoring, I am writing a nonfiction book on monsters. I have worked at London`s Natural History museum and the Zoological Society of London. My own natural history `cabinet of curiosity` contains many amazing specimens such as nautilus shells, beaver skulls and insects that can illustrate biological topics! Occasionally I rear live exotic butterflies and moths at home. My book `Feathers and Eggshells` about the birds of Hampstead Heath was published in 2000.

Sessions include subject-tailored Powerpoints, to which students will have full online access. I also use exam questions and mark schemes to help students really get to the bottom of how to approach all the different types of question encountered in exams.

Tuition should have a broad benefit for students, beyond just the subject we are discussing, to have a positive effect across their academic life. This is where the real value to 1-1 sessions lies. I love biological sciences, and try to enthuse even the most reticent students about biology. I always try to contain students` anxieties, breaking down obstacles into manageable tasks, while also empowering them to explore wider ideas for their own interest.

Sessions are tailored closely to students needs and aims, involving interview and exam practice, understanding practical work and experiments, working on perfecting coursework or more open-ended discussions that allow students to expand their interests fully beyond the syllabus. It is alway a central aim of sessions to help students enjoy biology as much as I do, as well preparing them extremely well for exams.

Availability: I can teach through the weekdays and some times at weekends.

Willing to travel: 3 miles

Experience: Over the past 10 years, I have tutored over 100 students from age 11 to those completing university finals and adult learners returning for further qualifications. I have worked with a wide range of students with different abilities and concerns, and enjoy helping students develop their approach to their academic work in a holistic way.

I also run intensive A-level revision courses for large groups and 1-1. Please contact me if you would like to explore this option for intensive last-minute exam revision!

I offer coursework and dissertation focus sessions for particular pieces of work. I can also give university or Oxbridge entrance preparation sessions.

I work mainly with OCR, Edexcel, AQA courses, but also have experience in Pre-U and IB.

The ubiquitous feedback from my teaching work has been that students achieve much higher marks than they expected and enjoyed biology in a way that they had not before. In many cases, the benefits of sessions extend well beyond biology, into other subjects as students develop in the way they approach learning and exams.

DBS Check: Yes