Our approach is to offer tuitions at modest and affordable rates so that students can attend regularly; any areas of weakness are thus drawn into the spotlight where they can be thoroughly addressed. We deliver our tuitions in two formats, online and home-visits, both of which have their merits (and demerits). These are outlined below, but first a brief history.
Before Covid-19, we delivered all of our tuition from our dedicated premises in Longrock. During the lockdown, like everyone, we had to find new ways of working remotely. Because we had our own dedicated premises, we were in the fortunate position of being able to work with students on a one-to-one basis from our independent classrooms, using a variety of video calling platforms. We continued to develop and refine our online strategies to the point where we were confident that we were delivering an authentic, traditional 'chalk and talk' tuition. Indeed, when given the choice, most of our students elected to adopt an 'online' format to avoid the inconvenience of the travel to and from Longrock. By 2023, it had become clear that the costs of maintaining the commercial premises outweighed the advantages of physical classrooms and so we decided not to renew the commercial lease. We moved to an 'online and home-visit' model in July 2023.
Our online lessons are the closest we can get to actually being in a classroom. The tuition is conducted using the Google 'Meet' software, preferably using the Google 'Chrome' web browser. The experience is that of sitting at a desk facing the teacher writing or drawing on a large whiteboard; the only difference to being in a classroom setting is that we work at the student's pace and they are free to ask questions, indeed, this is positively encouraged. The advantages of the online format is that both the tutor and the student have access to their own resources and the two-way exchange of diagrams, images, questions, answers, worksheets and exercises is but a quick WhatsApp photo away. No more forgotten exercise books or pencil cases! There are two main disadvantages: one, pressure on bandwidth can be an issue; and two, the student is able use a concealed device to chat with friends, google answers or consult mark schemes, something that would not be possible in an in-person setting. We rely on the good sense of parents to ensure that the costs of the tuition are not wasted in this way!
We also deliver tuition by home visits. There are two very clear types of tuition that can only really be delivered in the student's home environment. The first is, fairly obviously, for accessibility reasons or for very young students. The second category is for practical science workshops. In both cases, the advantages are that the tuition takes place in a familiar setting and with all the undeniable benefits of an in-person approach. In the case of the practical science, it has the decisive advantage that a home visit allows the student to actually do the experiment, rather than just watch it being done on YouTube. The drawbacks are mainly an increased cost and a reduced flexibility, although in the right setting, these are comfortably outweighed by the advantages. Please feel free to contact us for an estimate of costs and availability.
I am a fully qualified and well-experienced French and ESL teacher (French national). I studied English for my DEUG at Université de Perpignan. My third year was spent at Sheffield University under the Erasmus scheme, my fourth year earned me two maîtrises (Double Masters) one in French as a Foreign Language (FLE) and the other in English Literature; the two years of my CAPES were split by a year as an assistante in the UK, and my CAPES was validated in 1999. Since I qualified as a teacher, I have taught both langages in private and state schools, in the UK, in France, in Spain and in Denmark.
