Sumantha

It’s hard to choose a tutor without meeting them, isn’t it?! I hope my detailed profile can help.
As a qualified teacher and experienced tutor, my approach is student-driven - I don’t take a ‘one size fits all’ approach.

The only consistent aspect is that I develop skills and build confidence. In my experience, this unlocks higher grades and faster progress.

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 mastery over grades - if students master skills, the grades follow. Another aim is to decouple study from stress.

The result? Learning is made that little bit more enjoyable.

The Highlights
✔All lessons are online
✔Mon-Fri 3pm onwards is fully-booked (this can change so please get in touch in case I haven’t updated it on here!)
✔ I don’t teach on weekends

The Nitty Gritty
I have two sets of fees:
* For one-to-one lessons
* For mini-groups (maximum 3 students who are grouped based on compatibility - you will always be asked first)

All Fees include 1-hour lesson, homework and feedback
GCSE students also have access to exclusive revision resources and at least 10 exam questions.

Do I cover what you need?
Key Stage 2 & 3 General English Support
• 1:1 £40 per hour
• Mini-Group £35 per student hour

Entrance Exam English and Verbal Reasoning (various schools including new Sutton exam)
(Different exam types)
• 1:1 £70 per hour
• Mini-Group £60 per student per hour
• One-Off Assessment with Feedback £100

GCSE Literature & Language (Various Exam Boards)
• 1:1 £55 per hour
• Mini-Group £45 per student per hour

Last two years’ exam results
I have excluded names to protect student identities.

GCSE results:
Student 1 - improved from Grade 2 to 6 (AQA)
Student 2 - improved from 2 to 4 (Edexcel)
Student 3 - improved from Grade 3 to 7 and 8
Student 4 (home educated) Grades 7 and 8

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)

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)

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#/k#

Tutoring Experience

2004 - Present Private tutor
2006 - Present Adult Trainer (TAP certified)
2012 - Present Professional Writer
2011 - 2017 Qualified 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. I also aim to develop a rapport so that students feel confident and comfortable with me.

This allows me to share my feedback on 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.