Maria

Highly professional, motivational and experienced A Level Business teacher and 1:1 tutor with 16 years experience focusing on individual performance enhancement. As Head of the Business department with two different City of London 6th form colleges, I have been responsible for the learning and progression of up to 220 A Level Business students at any one time currently working in a semi-selective college who this year (2024) are top of the league table in the UK. I am a fully qualified teacher holding a BA (Hons) degree in Business and Finance as well as a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) for Business. Year on year the success of my students is proven with excellent exam results often with A level students achieving over their target grades.

Prior to my teaching career, I worked in industry for 18 years primarily in the Finance Sector working in Sales, Business Development and Human Resource Management, for a number of organisations including Barclays, Morgan Stanley and Reuters. This industry experience enables me to bring the workplace into the classroom as well as 1:1 tuition by using real and tangible examples which helps my students relate more to sometimes quite theoretical concepts. I specifically re-trained as a teacher as I wanted to support young adults entering the Business arena and for them to reach their highest potential whilst focusing on their aspirational career pathways.

Tutoring Experience

I specialise in teaching A Level Business full time therefore my full attention is given to the subject and my Year 12 and 13 students. I work with A Level students on a daily basis in class, as well as providing 1:1 tuition and small focused workshops. I work with students at all levels from those struggling to grasp concepts and formulate their thoughts into fluid essays to high achieving students who want to push the boundaries and achieve the top grades. Feedback from my students is very encouraging and always humbling; it is wonderful to support their hard work and success.
Having worked in secondary schools and well as 6th form college; state schools as well as the private sector I am familiar with a variety of different needs and styles of learning. This helps to build the right working relationship with the student which in turn will support their future success.
As a registered and practising Edexcel Examiner, I am also very familiar with the mark schemes and requirements for students to reach all levels of the A Level exam. I have vast experience with the new Edexcel Business specification and have also tutored for the AQA specification. For the past two years (since 2022) I have also delivered the Eduqas specification to A Level students.

Tutoring Approach

My approach is very supportive and patient, however, I do not let anyone off lightly. I will challenge you on your thoughts, ideas, and written work to ensure you fully understand concepts, theories and strategies and that you can apply these well to your written work. We will also look at case studies and learn how to 'read between the lines' and develop contextualised analytical and evaluative arguments in order to answer focused 'exam style questions'.
Of course, each student is different; therefore I adapt my approach to suit the individual needs of the learner. All sessions are student-led and not pre-scripted presentation which are found in the classroom.
Therefore at the start of each lesson, students decide on content or skill development according to their need. The intervention strategy is decided in collaboration with the student to ensure needs are met. Homework is often given to support the learning in the session. This work is marked and returned to the student with feedback.
It is incredibly important that tutoring helps to motivate the learner and instils confidence in their own ability, therefore it is imperative that within the first session expectations are set between the tutor and tutee as well as identify the needs and strengths of the learner. This will include a short, timed, written assessment where necessary with focused feedback to highlight targets for improvement right from the very first session.
The reasons for tutoring are many, and some are listed below; but whether you are currently under-achieving and want some last minute exam tuition or are working so hard but can't seem to reach the next grade, I would love to hear from you so that together we can start to make a difference.

Successful tutoring involves teamwork between the learner, tutor and on occasion the parent to ensure that goals are identified and achieved! So...let's begin!

Some reasons for tutoring:
- Catch up on missed content from specification
- Underachiever who is capable of so much more!
- To further develop exam skills e.g., essay structure and time management
- Eager to prepare over the summer for your final year to secure grades or increase predicted grade
- A 'middle roader' in Year 12 who wants to review topics and boost grades
- Already a high performer who wants a further challenge
- Aim to re-sit the year 12 or 13 privately

What's your reason?...... One of my students from last year 2024 exams, had the desire to increase his predicted grade to an A in order to get to his university of choice... he did just that and wrote this kind reference:

Example Student Reference: Maria offers excellent tuition always very helpful and flexible in order to ensure I was as best prepared possible. Maria has a great teaching style making content clear to understand, as well as constantly going the extra mile to help outside of lessons, through sending extra work or business relevant content to aid personal revision. Above all a great person who’s extremely easy to communicate with.
Stefan