A bit about Kerryn H

With over twenty years experience. I specialise in Drama (A’ level, GCSE Key Stage 1-3 and prepare students for LAMDA exams, Introductory, Acting, Public Speaking and Shakespeare) I offer English literature (level 1 and 2) I work with students of all abilities and am experienced with a wide range of SEND needs. I am a student centred practitioner and tailor my lessons to individual needs and personal objectives. I begin by assessing the skills and development areas of my learners and use this information to plan all learning tasks moving forward. I allow for students to take ownership of their own learning, facilitating information and techniques for them to develop their own skill set and knowledge base and build a lifelong love of learning. I have been a teacher for well over twenty years and have a wide range of skills and experiences in various settings. This includes working with students to prepare for exams, both practical and written, with high levels of success. I have experience supporting students with SEND needs and have been recognised for my ability to encourage reluctant learners. I am consistently recognised for the positive, professional relationships I build with learners. I love the concept of storytelling in all its forms. I believe that the verbal and written expression of life experiences is at the centre of what makes us human. At the very earliest stages of human evolution we shared stories around the fire and passed on our understanding to future generations through shared experience. The ability to share and recognise universal aspects of the human experience allows us to understand the similarities we share and appreciate the things that make us different and unique. The ability to read, write and verbalise our own understanding of the world around us is a truly empowering skill and one which should be available for all people. I like to make learning fun, to give students the chance to engage with their learning through a range of techniques. I tailor what I teach to the needs of the individual or group to ensure that work is accessible and provides a rewarding challenge. I spend time ensuring that students understand why given elements of text, context, form and structure work in the way that they do so that the information they learn is transferable to new contexts. I relish the opportunity of sharing my passion for my subject with others and find the process of helping others to learn and develop a enriching experience. I really enjoy fostering a love of learning and find that working one to one or in small groups an excellent format for ensuring personal growth and development for each of the learners I work with. I believe that education is a key to having choices. As an educator I try to foster a love of learning within the people I work with. I do this by sharing my own passion for my subject area and by empowering them to take ownership of their own learning process. I believe that all education should begin with recognising the gifts and ambitions of the individual learner and grow from there. The feedback that I get back from students is that they enjoy learning with me because I make the learning process fun and they feel they achieve well. Among the written feedback that I have had from students the following phrases have been used, "I will always be grateful that you were my teacher", "I never enjoyed Drama until I had you as a teacher" and "Thank you for helping us grow". I have asked one of my students to write some feedback for me here and it is as follows: The thing I love most about Mrs Holgate is her. She lets us do fun stuff. We do the work in a fun way and play games. I have learnt things in all of the topics that we have done. I have always known that I wanted to be a teacher. Helping others to understand how to achieve their own goals has always been something that I have enjoyed. While still at school myself I received a commendation award for my caring attitude towards other students. This was due to the help that I gave to other members of my classes. I taught my first Drama lesson at the age of 16 years and directed my first full scale musical with a cast of one hundred performers at 17 years. I have enjoyed every stage of working with learners and I still thrive on the collaborative nature of the learning process and celebrating the successes of my students. As well as over twenty years of teaching experience. I have a BA Hons in Performing Arts (Drama) from Bretton Hall College of the University of Leeds and a PGCE (Drama) from The Central School of Speech and Drama. I also hold an Dip HE in Antenatal Education. Outside of teaching I enjoy spending time with my family and seeing friends. I enjoy going to the theatre, watching films and also enjoy some television programs. I enjoy creative tasks such as sewing, baking and gardening. I also write poetry and fiction stories and am currently part way through writing a novel. I also enjoy walking, yoga and meditation. I have experience of teaching Years 1-13 and specialise in years 7-13. I have experience working with Edexcel and AQA as a teacher. I also spent five years working as a moderator and examiner for Edexcel on the GCSE Drama syllabus. It's difficult to pick one thing which is my greatest success. There are several things that stand out over the years. The time one of my students won a Diana Princess of Wales Award, which I had nominated him for, because I recognised the special skills he had and shared with others. Performance pieces I have worked on with students which have had outstanding feedback from other professionals such as "it was one of the slickest, most professional pieces of theatre that I have seen in 30 years of teaching", "The best piece of A' Level performance work I have ever seen." and the performance piece that placed all of my students in the top 20% of grades awarded for that component. The time that one of my students was able to get up and speak in front of a class full of others because of the work we had done together, while this may not seem much, it was an amazing achievement for this particular student and one of which I am very proud. I am an experienced educator with a range of experiences and skills. First trained as a Drama teacher, I also have experience of teaching English as well as several other subjects. I make learning fun and engaging for my students and I like to tailor sessions for the individual to ensure excellent progression.