Andy

I’m an avid reader and writer, who developed a love of English literature independently and after having left school. I gained a place at UCL to study English after independent study and fell in love with studying the subject at this higher level, developing a particular interest in Modernist and Irish literature, Chaucer and Shakespeare. After that, I chose to train as a teacher to pass on my own passion in the subject to others.

My career-to-date has been informed by the sense of purpose I gain from working in education, developing strong and supportive relationships with students. I worked for three years in an East London academy as a secondary English teacher, before moving onto managing an education and mentoring programme for asylum seeking young people and most recently for a literacy charity supporting young people in Hackney and Haringey who are significantly behind age expectations in their reading.

Alongside my passion for English literature and creative writing, I have a great interest in history (particularly German and Irish), modern languages, art, music and enjoy playing a wide range of sports.

I have tutored regularly over the past four years and I am still employed on an occassional basis by my school to support with A-level English and for GCSE exam intervention. Hence, my approach as a tutor is firmly rooted in a specific knowledge of the range of English syllabus and marking criteria, and the use of up-to-date resources which have been developed by myself and my English department to suit a huge range of students. I also work for a literacy charity, designing and implementing interventions with Key Stage 2 students needing to catch up in their reading and writing.

On a one-to-one basis, I can really combine my teaching knowledge with my flair for English: as a writer, avid reader, and with a first class degree in Literature, I have the knowledge, vocabulary and questioning skills, to bring out this same flair in my students and the perceptive responses needed for the highest grades.

I am currently working as a teacher at a charity called the Literacy Pirates. This role has allowed me to explore teaching in a very different setting: our sessions focus on a mixture of reading for pleasure and creative writing, which has afforded me the opportunity to work with a younger age group (predominantly Year 5 and Year 6 students). We focus on developing the confidence and perseverance of our young people, by instructing and using trained volunteers to enable small group work and giving them the opportunity to become published writers (we devote each half term to a new publishing project). This setting has allowed me to further develop my skillset as a teacher, particularly in breaking down key reading and writing skills at Key Stage 2 level.