Sarah S
"Sarah tutored my son for his GCSE French exam and he benefited hugely from her tuition. His confidence grew week by week as did his ability in the subject."
GCSE French
French
Spanish
Academic History
SCITT + PGCE – Pass with Merit Altius Alliance and Manchester Metropolitan University September 2016 – July 2017
BMidwifery – 1st Class Honours University of Manchester September 2008 – July 2011
BA Hons, French and Spanish – University of Manchester September 2004 – June 2008
Université de Bourgogne, Dijon (2006-2007)
About Me
I take a personalised and diagnostic approach to tutoring. This starts with discussion of and looking into any areas the student feels they would like support with at any given time be that a certain aspect of language or grammar, something that has come up at school/in homework or a particular skills (listening, reading, writing or speaking). If they aren’t sure, I have a variety of resources that I can present to a student, and from here an area that needs attention will come to light. My sessions will always involve some spoken language as wherever possible, I adopt a speak-first approach, based on the mechanism by which we learn own mother tongue. I’m extremely kind and approachable, I encourage questions and will always make sure students know that learning isn’t supposed to be easy. If they are finding something challenging, this is a good thing as this is where learning happens. Mistakes are also an essential part of the learning process and I will always foster a learning environment where mistakes are welcomed, used as a form of exploration and to promote a deeper learning.
Recent tuition
GCSE Spanish (Foundation tier)
I tutored this student in AQA GCSE Spanish (Foundation tier). We worked on all four skills for the exam over the course of a year and he was struggling with how to organise himself and how to prepare independently for exams. We worked a lot on linguistic clarity, focusing on key verbs and grammar point that would allow him to communicate clearly in the productive skills but also to recognise key verbs and tenses in reading and listening tasks. I also supported him with a revision plan, study skills, and provided vocabulary on Quizlet for him to practice between sessions. Having failed his mock exam before we started working together, this student achieved a grade 5 in his final exam.
French GCSE
I tutored this student with a view to boosting and stretching her ability in her French GCSE. We started working together 4 months before her final exams, following her mocks, and we had a session fortnightly. We worked a lot on higher level grammar, and some complex structures that she could include in her writing and speaking exams. We also focussed on higher level exam technique for translation, listening skills and reading comprehension via completion and analysis of past papers and exam-style questions. After achieving a level 7 in her mocks, she achieved a final GCSE grade of 9.
GCSE Spanish
I tutored this student for ten months, in year 9 for her early-entry GCSE Spanish exam. Mum was concerned after the mock exams where she had achieved a level 4 and school were suggesting entering her for the Foundation tier. We worked together for an hour a week, looking at all 4 skills, but spent a lot of time preparing for the speaking exam in the lead up to this in May. We focussed a lot on tenses and also broadening her Spanish vocabulary as she was quite confused by this in general. In addition, we regularly went through GCSE exam style questions. She sat the higher paper and achieved a grade 8 in her final GCSE exam.
GCSE Spanish
I tutored this student after she had to withdraw from school due to mental and physical health problems. I started working with her at the beginning of year 11, and provided a full curriculum for her for AQA GCSE Spanish at Foundation tier. We worked together for 3 hours a week online and as well as teaching the GCSE specification (4 skills, grammar, vocabulary and topic based content), we also looked at aspects of Spanish culture, which she found really enjoyable. She achieved a grade 5 in her final GCSE exam.
A Level Spanish
I tutored this A Level Spanish (Educas) student for six months before she sat her final exams. We worked a lot on spoken Spanish to support her with her speaking exam, including deep diving into topic based work for the photocard task and subsequent discussion. We also worked on literature, and I supported her with essay writing skills for the text “La Casa de Bernada Alba”. In the lead up to her final exams, we also spent a lot of time on translation both into target language and into English. From this, aspects of grammar would crop up organically and we spent time clarifying any misconceptions and practicing this too. This student achieved a final grade of B, which was a grade higher that she was predicted. In the lead up to the exam she felt much more confident than she had at the start of year 13.
Hobbies
I love to travel and use my languages and discover new places, I enjoy this as I feel it helps me to grow as a person and also learn and experience new things. I love reading too, it expands my mind and also allows me to exercise my imagination! I also enjoy going for walks with my family and my dogs. Getting outside in nature brings me a sense of calm and also invigorates and gets me moving! In addition to this, I enjoy practicing and teaching yoga and movement both online and at my local yoga studio. This is a really rewarding hobby as it allows me to share yoga with others too and to meet new people.
Testimonials
“Sarah tutored my son for his GCSE French exam and he benefited hugely from her tuition. His confidence grew week by week as did his ability in the subject, achieving a Level 7. My son really enjoyed the sessions with Sarah and couldn’t wait to share with her his achievement on Results Day! I would highly recommend Sarah as a tutor.”
GCSE French
“My daughters school take the MFL GCSE in year 9 instead of year 11. She was struggling with the intensity of cramming so much in each week and was losing interest in a subject that she used to enjoy. Sarah provided lessons 1 hour each week either at our home or online. She really helped my daughter with so many aspects of her GCSE, applying the knowledge that she had and improving on that knowledge and ability. She was reliable, friendly and adaptable to change when needed. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed the sessions and got her love back for Spanish. She came out with a Grade 8 and is now looking at taking Spanish at A Level. I would highly recommend Sarah as a tutor.”
GCSE Spanish
“Having come back to learning Spanish at the second attempt it’s fair to say Sarah has made the language and learning far more fun and accessible. It’s nice to learn in a comfortable environment that’s suited to the pace that I am able to learn at and commit to. All the while knowing full well that if I wanted to step up my learning and go for a relevant qualification that this is something Sarah would be able to accommodate with ease. Learning a new language can be quite a daunting task but Sarah makes you feel completely relaxed which immediately takes away the feeling of embarrassment and that is crucial to wanting to continue and push on with learning.”
Adult learner, Spanish
