Hello and Welcome
I'm Catherine: an experienced English tutor, a former secondary school teacher and a busy wife and mum.
Bio
Since qualifying as a secondary school teacher in 2003, I have taught students from some of the top private and state schools in Hampshire and Surrey as well as teenagers in a city centre Pupil Referral Unit who have been excluded from mainstream education.
In 2019, I set up my own tuition business and have helped many students to improve their general English skills in areas such as reading comprehension, essay writing, SPaG and exam preparation. Before Covid -19, my lessons were both face to face and online but, today, the majority of them are online so that I can connect with students from all over the world.
Why did I become a tutor?
I have always loved the English Language but had no plans to become a teacher until I moved to France in 2000 and started working at Disneyland Paris. This was the beginning of my teaching career as several of my French and Italian colleagues asked me to help them with their English skills, particularly pronunciation and grammar.
A few months later, I became Head Receptionist at a prestigious English Language School in central Paris and, whilst there, completed my TEFL Certificate. Once qualified, the language school offered me a job teaching English to individuals and small groups of French business people.
After returning to the UK, I qualified as a teacher and enjoyed a decade of teaching children from Year 7 - Year 11. However, with large classes of 30+ children, I became frustrated that I was not able to provide tailored English support to every student in my class so, when I had my own child, I decided not to return to mainstream teaching and set up my own tuition business.
Education
Post Graduate Certificate in Education (Secondary English)
2003
City & Guilds Diploma in Teaching Basic Skills (Literacy)
2002
Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Certificate)
2000
Bachelor of Arts Degree in English
1998
