Rhea

Academic History

Graduate Diploma in Law – with Commendation; City, University of London

MSc Corporate and International Finance – Merit; Durham University Business School

BSc Hons International Relations – 2:1; London School of Economics and Political Science

A-Levels (Foley’s Grammar School, Limassol, Cyprus): English Literature (A*), French (A*), Spanish (A*) and Economics (A*)

GCSE’s (Foley’s Grammar School, Limassol, Cyprus): Maths GCSE (A*), English Language O level (A), English Literature IGCSE (A*),  French GCSE (A*), Spanish GCSE (A*), History GCSE (A*), Biology O level (A), Chemistry GCSE (A*), Physics GCSE (A*), ICT GCSE (A*), Music GCSE (A*), Greek GCSE (A*)

I’ve previously lived in Paris, working as an English, French and Spanish teacher.

Recent tuition

11+ – Maths, English, NVR

This student was already a particularly studious and hard working girl but she was quite shy and while high performing, did not flag when she didn’t undertand a concept or was confused in maths. As a result she was repetetive in her mistakes. We worked predominantly on exam technique and strategy as and in building confidence with each practice test to raise issues she had and revise the concept clearly. We also worked hard on her ability to slow down and work through problem questions rather than panicking and rushing through. This student was able to improve her testing scores consistently throughout ahead of her 11+ exams.

11+ – Maths and VR

This student was bright but inconsistent, with strong verbal ability but weaker performance in maths and a tendency to lose focus under timed conditions. She often rushed through questions, leading to avoidable errors, and lacked a clear exam strategy.
We focused on building a structured approach to each paper, breaking questions down and working methodically rather than rushing. Alongside this, we strengthened her core maths through regular targeted practice and incorporated timed exercises to improve her pacing and concentration. Over time, she became more disciplined in her approach and far more confident in tackling problem questions. Her scores became more consistent and she performed strongly across both English and Maths in the lead-up to her 11+ exams.

11+ – Maths, English and Reasoning

I tutored this extremely bright and capable young girl who just required support and regimen in how she approached exam preparation, exam strategy and mental fatigue with practice. We worked regularly using different games and more entertaining methods i.e. (bars of chocolate to work through fractions). She soared through all of our sessions and did very well in her exam. She was then accepted into Henrietta Barnett School.

11+ Preparation – St Paul’s Girls

D was a bright student through her early schooling but suffered a traumatic incident which set her back a year when she was 6 years old. While she was generally able to catch up, it affected her confidence and in particular her engagement in class and hence she had not reached the standard achievable by her full potential.

We worked hard together 6 months on her engagement with English – comprehension, exam technique and developed her grammar and vocabulary so she could tackle the more nuanced aspects of the English paper, i.e. where her critical thinking and opinion forming was assessed. Her maths was slightly better than her English but she had missed some key fundamentals and hence had to cement those in. We worked together on maths as well – primarily focused on filling in the gaps and helping her tackle problem questions and how to show all her working. We also worked on D’s general knowledge and inference skills for the comprehension paper by using several different types of questions from various different types of testing and exam sets. St. Paul’s assessments, in addition to academics, are also focused on creativity, independent thinking and a child’s engagement with difficult problems rather than a simply prescriptive testing method.

Year 2 Maths

This girl was very bright but lacked a lot of confidence in maths, predominantly because of her inability to focus in class, low test grades despite good homework and her habit of drifting off. While her ADHD didn’t manifest with hyperactivity or outbursts per se, she also struggled with long exercises in silence, low personal engagement in the subject and hand in turn internalised her negative feelings towards the class and subject and withdrawn. She struggled in particular with basics which were never properly instilled such as decimals vs fractions and their relationship, the basics of algebra and long division. The main trick was to get her to enjoy the subject again – be it with games during our session around the topic, fractions with breaking chocolate bars and decimals using snakes and ladders. We worked hard on her checking and rechecking her work during the silent exercises due to her tendency to get over excited and rush. After getting her confidence up and enjoyment of the subject she was able to participate much more positively in class and found that her ‘drifting off’ was less of a problem as she engaged with the material better, even while working through silent exercises.

8+ Preparation

This student had a very high IQ and strong capabilities but struggled with maths because she had been quite sick several weeks in the previous year. She had fallen behind on several key subjects and had lost confidence. She had not worked up the nerve to openly tell her teacher that she didn’t understand and had slowly sank to the back of the class while these concepts were progressed with the rest. While her attitude remained positive, she was hesitant but we worked hard together, getting back to basics to establish where the gaps were and getting her up to speed as well as on exam technique to make sure she did not overwhelm herself and rush through without checking. Her particular fear of decimals was soon sorted with lots of practice as well as relating decimals to fractions as much as possible. Soon enough she felt confident enough to participate in class again and soon discovered the key tool in maths was to figure out the solution rather than assume there was only one way to an answer and that she was incapable of finding it. Based on her school applications, we worked very hard to ensure that her exam technique was stellar and that she showed all her workings, did as many past papers as possible and approached the tests with a cool head. She received admission to two schools of her choice.

Year 3 Maths

This bright boy suffered from ADHD that manifested in outbursts during class, disturbing other students, an inability to sit still and acting out when questioned. When the class was given work to do silently, he found this particularly difficult. Over the summer I worked hard with him not only on maths, but on his self-soothing and self-control when feeling stressed, distracted or overwhelmed. We started by avoiding long lengths of doing maths in silence and instead engaged his ability to do the work with direct interaction with me – slowly adding in short stints of doing the work himself and then talking about it. We worked hard on breathing exercises as well as taking self-established breaks of 2 -3 minutes before coming back to the work, to counteract feeling distracted and unable to focus. I added 20 minutes to each session to take a walk around the parents’ house and yard before starting and encouraged his parents to speak to the school about engaging him in light activity before maths class. We soon found that much of his outbursts and acting out were due to feeling targeted for his different behaviour and again reverted to the self-soothing. The key was to exercise a lot of patience if he did get over excited, but to not over-engage and encourage it with either positive or negative responses.

French (ages 9-12)

I taught French to two English boys who both had ADHD. I curated the teaching according to their needs, focusing on making the subject matter engaging as well as memorable, particularly grammar. I used music (raps and songs) and memorable fun activities to cement the boys’ handling of all grammar requirements. Both students improved hugely.

I also taught French to a 12 year old girl with self-esteem issues. We prioritised working on speaking skills to boost her confidence and ability in this important language component. She has gone on to take French at GCSE, She improved her ability to such an extent that she went on take French as an extra GCSE subject.

French (ages 12-14)

This student was weak in French, primarily due to lack of enthusiasm and exposure to languages as a whole. While performing well in other subjects, the process of learning a language wasn’t known to him nor did it engage him very much. This had caused him to miss out on the basic fundamentals of the language and left him feeling lost as the class progressed, and reluctant to participate in speaking exercises, group or partner activities. Overall his interaction with the language dwindled.  I moved to first establish a connection with him around his favourite topics – luckily one being football which made learning about French and European clubs in French quite entertaining and easy. I emailed him in French and we used his mother’s WhatsApp to send and receive voicenote instructions in French in addition to speaking French throughout our sessions. This was in addition to at last 50% of each lesson being focused on the basic grammatical fundamentals of the language (verbs, building sentences, tenses) so that he could start engaging with text and the oral language more.

Online GCSE French (student based in Qatar)

I started working with M at the beginning of his GCSE exam year. He had had 1 year of introductory French but had struggled with giving the subject any importance and focus and found it very boring. For the first 3 months we worked together 2 hours a week on building up his basics in grammar (present, past perfect, past imperfect and future tenses, sentence structure etc) and vocabulary, after which we brought in oral preparation and creative writing. To ensure M found the lessons engaging and material easier to retain, I taught verb conjugations and tenses through music and memorable poems, while bringing in as many extra-curricular passages that were in line with M’s interest to build up vocabulary. 3 months before the exam we added in an extra weekly session to work solely on his oral presentation and conversational skills and build confidence. M took his exam with confidence and received an overall A with a very highly scored creative writing piece.

French GCSE preparation

L’s parents contacted me 4 months prior to exam season as she was feeling particularly insecure about French and had not received satisfactory grades in classwork (Ds in some cases). After an initial assessment, I ascertained that L struggled with the basics in grammar while her vocabulary was more than sufficient for most topics. I hence created a lesson plan to provide a strong revision of all the required grammar – particularly with regards to verb conjugation and mixing tenses. I used a bottom-up approach, starting with very simple sentence structures and built up so as to establish a strong foundation in said grammatical rules. From this L was able to develop her confidence and also saw other aspects of her French curriculum, i.e. oral presentation, improve massively. She managed to push to a very high B grade overall, having attained an A on her oral presentation.

Spanish tuition

I have 16 years of experience with Spanish, having developed it in school and university and lived in South America (Bogotá, Lima, and Mexico City for 1.5 years) and Spain (Madrid and Barcelona for a cumulative year). I have taught Spanish to English speakers aged 7-28, preparing students for exams and professionals for business proficiency in South America and Spain. In the past three years, I have helped two students with GCSE Spanish and one with A-Level Spanish, all of whom performed exceptionally well. My teaching focuses on building confidence through structured practice, interactive exercises, and real-world application. I use innovative techniques to expand vocabulary, such as thematic immersion and active recall, and ensure consistent grammar development through pattern recognition and targeted drills. I maintain a Spanish-only environment to strengthen oral performance and listening skills, encouraging students to think in Spanish rather than translate. For A-Level, I work closely on the literature component, developing analytical skills alongside language proficiency.

IGCSE English Language

I tutored a student online for her English IGCSE English language (Foley’s Grammar School, Limassol, Cyprus). English was her second language and she didn’t speak english consistently at home. We worked consistently together for two years, focusing on her exposure to English as well as the production of the language for more than just the exam. I engaged her in English songs, movies and especially non-fiction books about history (her favourite subject prior to moving to Cyprus). Her work improved considerably after about nine months but she still struggled with comprehension skills. For this we worked extra hard together on exam preparation and past papers to improve her exam technique and connection questions to answers within the text (rather than conjecture).

GCSE Physical Education

This student struggled with her GCSE workload and left PE to the last minute – making the mistake in thinking it was an easier subject. While she was naturally athletic she had not attempted to stay abreast with the theory part of the syllabus that required quite a bit of work to understand.

We spent 3 months working together to build her a strong set of notes as well as a good understanding of basics of the subject to prepare her for her Mock and the final exam. A lot of work was also put into exam strategy and how she approached questions.

She ended up doing much better than expected and secured a very high B – a couple of marks away from an A.

Year 12 Geography

I worked with a student in Year 12 who was finding Geography particularly challenging. They had a weak grasp of core topics and struggled with motivation, often feeling overwhelmed by the amount of content and the level of analysis expected. They also lacked confidence in interpreting data and constructing structured written responses, especially in longer questions. In our sessions, we focused on building up their understanding of key physical and human geography topics, breaking them down into manageable parts. I used diagrams, case study mapping, and visual aids to make abstract concepts more accessible. Alongside this, we worked steadily on geographical skills—such as analysing maps, interpreting graphs and photographs, and writing evaluative answers. One of the main aims was to make the subject feel less intimidating and more relevant. We explored real-world examples that linked to their own interests, which helped shift their perspective and increase engagement. Over time, their confidence grew—not just in handling exam-style questions, but in contributing their own ideas and forming reasoned arguments. By the end of our time working together, the student was approaching the subject with more curiosity and independence.

16+ Preparation – Maths and English

This student and his family were originally from Iraq and had moved to the UK when he was about 12 and he struggled to catch up with English, particularly for 16+ curriculum. He had low confidence in the subject and had struggled with tutors as it manifested as insolence, refusing to engage and acting out during class such that he got sent out of class multiple times. When I met him he found most of the topics extremely boring and found it difficult to relate to any of the material.

He however revealed to me that he used to love to read stories in Arabic as a child and so we started off by getting him engaged in English through stories closer to home. Upon working on this from an approach perspective – while also ensuring his exposure to English was continuous (newspapers, watching English shows, reading about topics in Iraq in English), this also improved significantly. Both the GCSE and 16+ preparation went well for six months and he was accepted based on his 16+ results to The Latymer Upper School.

This student also needed support in Mathematics given he had experienced a very different education system growing up and had fallen behind since coming to the UK. His improvement in English helped his work in Maths just in his confidence and ability to participate more in class. I found that there wasn’t a massive gap in knowledge apart from two very specific topics which we worked hard and they were fast to rectify. From there it was mainly about exam technique, not rushing and checking work diligently. Timing him through his past papers was a key component of getting him used to the process and working through panic mode.

A Level English Literature

I worked with a student for her A level English Literature exam and coursework preparation (Tiffin’s Girls School). She was a stellar student already but wanted support in bringing out even more from her English Literature. I worked hard with her over nine or so months to help with coursework preparation strategy, text preparation as well as sourcing support material to bring out the best in her exam. She worked hard to research material for her coursework and focused on all the exam preparation techniques for critical essay writing that I suggested – character analysis, quote memorisation and theme preparation. She did very well in her coursework, achieving close to a perfect score whilst scoring very highly on all essays. She ended up receiving an A* overall.

A Level English

I tutored a student in English Language for a total of two years with the main focus being managing his energy as well as getting him engaged in the subject. He found English language and creative writing extremely boring but also overwhelming and would quite easily disconnect, disengage and/or act out when asked to work on a creative piece. I soon learned that he found it difficult to physically write down his thoughts coherently as he felt he wrote slower than he thought and also felt embarrassed by his inability to write sentences correctly despite having quite a vivid and ample imagination.

Upon first starting I removed the aspect of writing and focused solely on the production of correct English via speech to regain confidence, re-engage him and build the basics back up in terms of grammar. I also focused on reading to help increase exposure to the language and different ways of writing but within topics and themes that he particularly enjoyed as hobbies or interests i.e. (comic books to start and then moving onto more and more dense and descriptive text). We eventually moved on to writing but I would keep him engaged via consistently asking him to read out what he wrote so he felt connected to his own language and also encouraged him to read different mediums of text, be it newspapers, comic books as well as what was due in the curriculum. It was a real joy to see his engagement and enthusiasm grow – particularly around creative writing and he soon developed into a very confident writer.

AS Level Economics

I tutored this student (St. Olave’s Grammar) in AS level Economics (Edexcel). We worked together for a six month period, focusing on bringing him back up to speed with the subject as he had fallen slightly behind. His main problem was that he had a lot on his plate and had not been able to give the subject enough focus and then felt overwhelmed by how behind he had got. We focused on establishing a foundation in basic material and ensuring all the gaps were filled before moving onto more complex points and then exam prep and practice papers quite quickly (ahead of his class and far ahead of mock exam preparation and final exams). As his confidence grew he felt more and more comfortable in class and was able to prepare adequately for the exams.

A Level Economics

Last year (2025), I provided intensive A Level Economics tuition to a student throughout the final months leading up to their final summer exams. Once all topic knowledge was in place, we delved deep into essay writing skill and solid exam preparation, drilling down into the detail and working on how best to capture marks. The student strongly benefited from a building block approach, ensuring he gets the main and easy marks in first and then building to the more complex points.

A Level Maths

R really achieved good grades in Maths at GCSE but her parents could see that she was not only losing interest but her work was becoming less consistent. I worked with her on a weekly basis to get her reengaged with the subject by making it challenging and less about ‘plodding’ through past papers and more about how maths is incorporated in various different career paths that one could undertake during and after university. From an elementary view into seeing how statistics and regression evolves into econometric analysis in financial modelling and research methodologies, to applied calculus in financial engineering (again very elementary), R was able to reengage with the subject in terms of future possible career scenarios she would consider.  In terms of material coverage, we made sure to cover the whole syllabus well in advance of her class and ensured that her exam preparation then revolved around exam technique for past papers rather than the coverage materials. R performed very well in A level and went on to study Economics and Mathematics at the LSE.

IB Business

I supported M – an IB Diploma student studying IB Business Management and Economics (HL). Lessons were anchored in real‑world events, helping the student move beyond rote learning to evaluation‑driven exam responses. Teaching was structured to explicitly link economic theory—such as market failure, inflation, and monetary policy—to business decision‑making, using contemporary case studies from Big Tech, central banks, and global firms.

I also provided longterm, targeted IB Business Management tuition to student N up until their final exam. Sessions focused on making content relatable to the modern global economy, including supply‑chain shocks, ESG strategy, pricing decisions, and interest‑rate changes. I helped the student integrate economic context into business evaluation, strengthening AO3 and AO4 performance across exam papers.

Both students improved their final grades, with a marked improvement in extended responses, case‑study analysis and ability to link theory to contemporary business practice.

IB Maths

C was a bilingual Spanish-English student at an international school in Paris, preparing for his IB Mathematics AA (Analysis and Approaches) Higher Level exam. While he had a strong conceptual understanding, he struggled with applying problem-solving techniques under timed conditions, particularly in calculus and probability. His primary language of instruction was English, but he often processed problems in Spanish, leading to occasional misunderstandings of mathematical terminology.

As his tutor, I adapted my approach to bridge this gap by incorporating dual-language explanations and reinforcing key concepts through structured past paper practice. I helped him develop efficient problem-solving strategies and introduced time management techniques to improve his exam performance. Over time, C gained confidence in tackling complex IB math questions, significantly improving his accuracy and ability to work under pressure. By the end of our sessions, he approached his exam with greater self-assurance and a clear strategy for success.

AP Environmental Science

More recently, I’ve been providing exam-targeted tuition for Environmental Science (AP level) for 3 separate students. Student A began with limited conceptual understanding of key topics, particularly systems thinking, data interpretation, and free-response structuring. Early assessments showed difficulty applying theoretical knowledge to case-based questions, which is critical in AP exams. Student B had reasonable foundational understanding o but lacked consistency in applying knowledge to exam-style questions. Student C lacked confidence in their ability, particularly in exam contexts, which hindered their progress.

I’m delighted to report that, with a focused tuition intervention strategy prioritising breaking down complex topics into clear chunks, reinforcement of key topic areas and consistent drilling down on FRQ technique, all three students have improved their grades.

Hobbies

Boxing and dance due to discipline but also the creative mindset it entails. Both have also taught me immense amounts about dedication over talent, hard work and commitment as well as the value of an encouraging coach and self-belief.

Testimonials

“Rhea helped A– immensely with his confidence in English language and creative writing and his teachers and I saw a marked improvement not only in his grammar, speed in practice papers but also in the content of his creative writing essays and sophistication of sentences. A– also became far more interested in reading non-fiction rather than avoiding it and was more engaged in using his imagination. A– was always quite a hyper child and we struggled to find tutors who managed this without frustration, however Rhea somehow was able to positively direct his energy levels towards a subject he used to find incredibly boring. A– went from never wanting to sit down for English to reading out loud and answering comprehension questions and drafting essays out loud. From here he then was able to convert this into writing for the exam.”

Parent of 11+ Student

“A– didn’t struggle in school and was always a good student, however, given all the extracurriculars and university preparation we found he was falling behind in Economics slightly. As such a high achiever A– felt under pressure. However, working with Rhea got him back on track of the curriculum and even ahead of the curriculum, such that the Economics teacher noted he was several chapters ahead after a few private sessions with Rhea. Rhea focused on his confidence and as she was able to relate to A–‘s high achiever personality and stress levels (given her experiences at school) she was able to help him focus and also learn to relax.”

Parent of AS Level Economics student