Hi, my name is Helen. I've been teaching science for 27 years, to a variety of ages and abilities in secondary schools. I have also been employed as a personal tutor for 7 years, preparing GCSE pupils for their exams. Throughout my time as a teacher I have covered material from the AQA and Edexcel and OCR Science for the 21 Century exam specifications. I am a physics specialist, but have extensive experience at teaching biology and chemistry to Higher GCSE level. I am passionate about my subject, keeping up-to-date via periodicals, books written by experts, online lectures (Royal Institution), scientific societies (Cafe Scientifique, there may be one near you!), and MOOC courses. The MOOC courses have included ANU's Astrophysics series and Harvard's Super Earths and Life course. I repeated the latter in order to act as a teaching assistant. In short I am a life-long learner and am constantly amazed at the applications of science in the natural world that make GCSE science relevant to my students. In my teaching I aim to pass on my enthusiasm for learning to my students, overcoming barriers to learning, whether those are gaps in knowledge, misconceptions or lack of confidence. I am aware as a learner myself that some topics can appear daunting and determination and resilience are needed to succeed. Having broken through the pain barrier myself, I understand how students feel, but also enjoy seeing the joy of success which a little gentle encouragement can produce or the confidence pupils can gain when they learn to appreciate their abilities. I look forward to meeting with you to discuss your child's learning needs.