Fran

My focus as a tutor is to improve my students’ learning experience. This results in more confident students able to achieve higher grades.

I am a A Level Chemistry examiner and specialist Chemistry tutor with a wealth of experience as a classroom teacher. I have expertise on AQA, Edexcel and OCR A. I hold Qualified Teacher Status as well as a PhD in metalloproteins thermodynamics.

My name is Fran and I am extremely grateful for being able to teach.

Availability: Currently I only have availability in the mornings. From 23rd June onwards I`ll be available as follows:

Mondays: 9:00-15:00
Tuesdays: 9:00-15:00
Wednesdays: 9:00-15:00 and 18:20-19:20
Thursdays: 9:00-17:00, 18:10-19:10 and 20:00-21:00
Fridays: 9:00-17:00, 18:30-19:30 and 19:40-20:40
Sundays: 15:40-16:40, 18:50-19:50

Willing to travel: Home Only

Experience: I have been a professional private tutor since 2009. I consistently help my students to improve their results and final grades.

My experience as an examiner since 2014 enables me to guide students on how to maximise their performance in exams. I work with my students through mark schemes, helping them to interpret them, and revise independently.

I have been a GCSE and A Level Chemistry classroom teacher from 2011 to 2021. This has allowed me to build an extensive pool of resources that range from introduction of topics to activities that challenge students to the A*. I am very aware of typical problem areas where students struggle as well as common misconceptions, and I tackle them in ways that students feel comfortable with.

Great part of my success helping students is due to using a spiral teaching approach which consists of three layers:

First layer: Fulfil your potential.

I train and equip my students with tools and strategies designed to help them work on a given topic in an independent manner. My tutoring model does not make the student be dependent on me, rather the opposite.

Second layer: Support and stretch.
Together with the student, I identify strengths and areas for improvements. This makes lessons focussed and productive. I then guide my students to move on to the next level in their learning journey, stretching them whilst keeping learning achievable.

Third layer: Review, review, review
By unleashing my students’ potential and providing them with tailored support we manage to cover the syllabus earlier than they would normally do in their school or sixth form college.
This allows us to revisit topics, which has a huge impact on gaining long term knowledge retention as well as depth of understanding. Students who have followed this plan feel ready and confident in the days previous to the exam.

As to tuition arrangements:

Firstly, we will discuss your goals and any areas where you particularly want to improve. We will plan the first lesson and I will inform you about some simple resources to be ready to start. We normally set up some homework to be submitted before the first lesson but this depends on the student’s needs.

Subsequently I will enrol you into an online classroom designed for uploading resources, submitting homework and receiving specific feedback on it. The next step is our first lesson, where you will have a very active role and get practice, tips and continuous feedback. Following I will set you targeted homework to cement your knowledge. If after the first lesson you are not fully satisfied, you will get all the lesson fee back.

I follow the spiral learning approach and aim to review topics with my students several times to enhance their depth and long term retention of knowledge.

In addition to be keen on developing students’ academic skills, I equally work on improving their attitudes towards learning, e.g. I train them to accept mistakes with a positive mindset, and use them as highly valuable learning experience in their journey. These attitudes towards learning play a vital role in helping students enjoy the subject and perform at their best.

If interested, please message me to assess how I could help your son or daughter best

DBS Check: Yes