A bit about Faith L

I have been a Mathematics teacher for 12 years, with regular students for tuition alongside. I have a BSc degree in Mathematics and really understand what it takes to allow students to reach their full potential. I believe in building confidence and making sure my sessions are personalised and productive. I have worked in a huge variety of settings, such as UK state school, British international school (in HCMC, Vietnam), independent school and even an online school, teaching entire classes over zoom. I specialise in A-Level and GCSE Mathematics, and helping students taking these examinations reach their full potential. I strongly believe that a positive mindset and increased confidence in Mathematics is the key to finding the best in a students ability. Building a trusting relationship with my students is key to having a positive working relationship. Ordinarily, sessions will start with a question based on previous learning to help with recall. We will then look through a specific topic which will be teacher-led. Student will then try some questions with input from myself as required, but it’s great to allow the student to get as far as they can independently to promote problem solving. Initial session will be a mixture of questions to give an idea of some initial topics to work through. I first started tutoring in 2017 and have since tutored many students either face to face, online and in group sessions. I have worked with students trying to pass entrance examinations into a prestigious school, home educated students, GCSE students who needed to improve to achieve their targets and A-Level students pushing for the top grades. For me Mathematics is a beautiful subject with so many branches. Every student will have different techniques and elements that appeal to them, and other areas that they find more challenging, but I really believe there is something for everyone to enjoy. It encourages problem solving skills that can not only be applied to an examination paper, but to real-life logical problems that will be encountered throughout our lives. Resilience really is an important life lesson and one which Mathematics requires from everybody at times. Approachable and patient. Both as a tutor and in the classroom I believe wholeheartedly that the best way to learn is to feel comfortable, confident and trusting towards the teacher. I genuinely see it as a partnership where we work together towards a common goal, and I can promise you I will be in your corner throughout working with you and always want you to achieve your best. 100% the relationships you can build up and how invested I can become in the achievements of my students, not even just mathematically but I also love to hear about successes in other subjects, life events or other milestones that happen. I went into teaching to help students and feel like I’ve made a difference and tutoring is where I find the most reward. Positive mindset and good mental health is at the forefront of my mind when it comes to teaching. The environment, mood, feeling in the lesson is absolutely paramount in enabling students to be at their best, and anybody feeling uncomfortable or worried in any way cannot be expected to take in new concepts to a good level. I am relaxed, interested in their lives and believe in getting to know individual learning styles. I can push students who need extending and allow them some independence in tackling the work with support, or I can structure the work more and break it down for those who find it challenging. Over the years I have developed techniques to make Mathematics more accessible for students who find it difficult and get lots of positive feedback from my students which I’m so proud of. Results-wise it would be getting a whole class of Year 11 students achieving either an A or an A* in their Level 2 Further Maths examination. This is an examination taken in addition to the GCSE for top achievers. A brilliant achievement for them all. Career-wise I’ve been lucky enough to have been appointed as both a head of year and a KS3 progress lead - showing that my efforts in pastoral care has been recognised and these are roles I’ve been so proud to work in. Tutoring-wise it is undoubtedly working with a student who found attending school difficult, and so chose to study his Mathematics A-Level with me. He got an A, and to watch him on his journey and to have this success made me so so proud! I have 9 GCSE’s including Maths. I have 4 A-Levels (Maths, Biology, Physics and Psychology) and also an AS-Level in Further Maths which I chose to take in 2015 for fun. This was a great experience as I sat in the hall and took the exam with my students! I also have a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Bristol, and a teaching PGCE from the University of Manchester. Funnily enough, I struggled with Mathematics myself when I was at school (which is why I feel I relate to many students), but I loved the subject. I worked hard at GCSE to get a grade A and they (reluctantly) allowed me to take A-Level. It was here that I had the most brilliant teacher, who believed in me and supported me and very quickly I started getting the top grades in my year for students taking single maths. Since then I got over 90% in all of my papers, and even got a degree in Mathematics. Since starting A-Level with this teacher it was my dream to become a teacher myself and hopefully do the same for other students who needed to believe in themselves! I have 3 young children (aged 2, 4 and 5) so my spare time is very busy! I love spending family time with them all and they give me such joy. I am also a member of a Musical Theatre group and do 2 shows every year on stage singing and dancing, I love it. I am familiar with GCSE and iGCSE Mathematics, teaching Edexcel, AQA and the Cambridge International boards over the last few years. I also tutor the OCR GCSE. I am also an examination marker in the Edexcel GCSE. I teach the Edexcel A-Level.