A bit about Rebecca K

I'm an ex-classroom teacher, curriculum designer and head of year who has seventeen years' experience at the chalk face! I have developed schemes of work and taught to the AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas syllabuses very recently with exceptional success, specifically at moving students from Grade 4 to 5 and Grade 6 to 7+; I have also tutored both 1-1 and in small groups for all three exam boards, with all my students going on to exceed their predicted grades in English. I am a creative practitioner and have excellent resources for many exam texts due to my extensive time in teaching. I am now an independent publisher from home; I also write poetry and am a published author along side being a tutor. I have a BA(Hons) in English Language and Linguistics from The University of Sheffield and gained QTS from The University of Chichester in 2006. I am now currently studying for my MA in Applied Linguistics through The University of Birmingham. I have also completed exam marking for AQA over three years and have engaged in extensive curriculum development training with Edexcel. I specialise in personalised learning and creative lesson planning around developing a love of learning. My lessons are challenging and motivating; I like to draw on real-world events to develop this and my lessons are ambitious in their content. I like to ensure my students have fun in their lessons, and develop a love for the subject. I have extensive creative resources for the following GCSE texts: Shakespeare: Macbeth / Romeo & Juliet 19th Century Novel: A Christmas Carol / The Strange Case of Jekyll and Hyde / Frankenstein / Sign of Four Post-1914 Fiction and Drama: Blood Brothers / An Inspector Calls / Lord of the Flies / Animal Farm / Never Let Me Go Poetry: As a published poet and experienced spoken-word performer, I specialise in developing approaches to unseen poetry. I am also experienced in teaching both the Edexcel and AQA poetry anthologies. As a graduate of English Language and Linguistics, I also specialise in the development of creative writing, both transactional and fiction. We usually open with a small task to recap previous work or get the brain going - problem-solving or some kind of philosophical question. Next, I like to explore the background to the activity we are going to complete before modelling success. Then, once I am happy the student is comfortable with the content, I get them to work through a problem or question alone before working with them to assess their success. We finish by recapping what we have learned and setting targets for next time. I've been a teacher since 2006 and have tutored throughout that time. I love the challenging conversations that arise out of literature. I love seeing a student figuring something out for the first time. I love encouraging creativity and helping students bring their best abilities to the fore! Most of all, I love pushing students to places they never thought they could achieve. I am informal - I am not strict, but do expect mutual respect. I like to have a good relationship with my students. I like to laugh and I like to get to know my students. I am thorough and well-paced in my delivery and I ask a lot of questions to embed knowledge. In the past, I've received the Headmaster's Award for creative lesson planning. I love seeing a student develop their skills and confidence. There's nothing better than getting a call after an exam and hearing a happy voice belonging to a student who is confident they smashed it! Education should be fun - if a student loves what they are learning, knowledge and skills will bed down in their brains a lot quicker than learning by rote ever could manage. I have been told that I create a safe space. Students like that they can laugh with me and feel comfortable discussing their passions. I have been told that I am an approachable person and can handle anything thrown at me! I led an English department from the ground up in a brand-new school. I developed the entire curriculum from scratch, working with students to ensure it was rich and engaging. The first cohort of students to sit the GCSE achieved 85% grade 4 or higher, with 70% at grade 5 or higher in English Literature. In English Language, the figure was even higher. I feel that this success was due to the highly engaging curriculum I created. I have QTS from the University of Chichester (2007). I also have a BA(Hons) in English Language and Linguistics from the University of Sheffield - 2:1 (2005) I have A-Level English Language (B) and GCSE English Language (A*) and English Literature (A) I love working with young people. They are inquisitive, excited, motivated and I love that I can have a hand in the path their lives take. I write poetry and perform spoken word across the UK. I am a published author as of February 2022! I also love walking (although it's hard since the crash), eating good food and travel. I have experience with AQA, Eduqas and OCR. I have taught Year 7 - 13 in the past, with the majority of my experience in Key Stages 3 and 4.