Qualifications: BA Personnel Management, PGCE, MEd, NPQH
Teaching Experience: Qualified teacher since 1993 (31 years)
Role: Member (partner) of SDE (Tuition) LLP
I had a very successful early career, for more than 12 years, managing HR in Central London flagship stores for a popular High Street retailer. After that and the successful completion of my PGCE, I took a post to teach in Primary Education in Berkshire. Since then, I have taught across the primary phase including: Special Educational Needs, children with English as a Second Language, Provision for More Able children and Outdoor Learning.
My teaching career over the past 30 years has included posts in both large and smaller schools in West London, Berkshire and South Buckinghamshire, where I have trained teams in a number of schools in raising attainment in both English and Reading as well as Mathematics.
The joy of supporting young learners in your own class or school to achieve their best and succeed in a task, previously more challenging, makes any effort made by the teacher a worthwhile one, providing a secure basis to develop confidence and further success in future endeavors. It is this reason that drew me into teaching originally and remains so still today.
My background in HR has helped me to communicate effectively with all parties in education for the benefit of the children involved. Still today, to ensure a successful partnership with parents is as key to your child’s success as is the relationship I build with your child. It is what underpinned the success I enjoyed developing teams of teaching staff to ensure all children, within the schools in which I worked, had a range of opportunities to build their confidence, individually, and realise their strengths, so that the impact of personal limitations were minimised and learning became a more enjoyable experience.
I joined SDE in 2022 and I am now in charge of teaching several groups of Year 5 children each week. I also tutor some of the 11+ Workshop and 11+ Refresher Course classes.
I enjoy teaching the smaller classes of children who are all enthusiastic and want to give of their best in what they do with my guidance and support.
Unlocking the keys to success for a child is one of the most rewarding experiences anyone can ever enjoy. Each child approaches learning from a differing point, bringing with them a range of experiences which affect how they learn. Understanding this for each child is as important to me today as it was when I entered the profession. Building the trust and understanding of a child’s learning takes time and patience given that each child’s learning is a personal experience as is the teacher’s relationship with them. It is on this basis that I build a foundation with each and every child I teach. Slowly understanding individual personalities, strengths and limitations in each lesson, so over time, confidence develops and stability and security enable the child to explore, question, explain and find solutions to problems in their own way therefore gaining a greater understanding as a result.
Meet our tutors, experienced and qualified individuals dedicated to helping your child reach their full potential.
BSc, PGCE
Colin has 38 years' teaching experience. Earlier in his career he was responsible for devising CAT tests, the BSTS (British Spelling Test Series) as well as developing the real 11+ tests for the organisation now known as GL Assessment. In more recent years at SDE he has focused on delivering the Year 5 11+ Course. Colin is also a published 11+ author.
BEd (Hons)
Fiona has over 30 years’ experience in primary teaching as well as 23 years’ experience preparing children for the 11+ exams. Fiona has been part of SDE since 2015, successfully operating the SDE 11+ Tuition Centre (franchise) in Earley, Reading.
BA (Hons), PGCE, NPQSL
Vina Sondh has 22 years of experience teaching having spent time teaching Years 1 to 6. In more recent years she has focusing exclusively on teaching Key Stage 2. As well as achieving her PGCE, Vina holds a BA in Psychosocial Studies. In school she has held the roles of Assistant Headteacher and Teaching and Learning Curriculum Design Coordinator. She teaches the SDE Year 4 11+ Foundation Course.
BA, MEd
Monica has over 20 years' teaching experience and has taught in both America and England. She is a specialist Maths subject teacher. During her teaching career she has held positions including Head of Year, Head of Maths, Literacy Coordinator and Head of Science. She is now dedicated to teaching SDE's Year 5 Course.
BEd
Phillipa has 40 years’ primary teaching experience including 15 years which have been almost exclusively devoted to preparing children for the 11+ tests, having joined SDE in 2009. Since 2014 Phillipa has successfully developed the SDE 11+ Tuition Centre (franchise) in SW Herts.
BA (Hons), MA, CertEd
Caroline has over 18 years of teaching experience. She has a BA in History and English, as well as a Masters in ISM. She is an experienced teacher of English as a Second Language. For SDE, she teaches the 11+ Foundation Course on weeknights at SDE Amersham and the Year 5 Course on Sundays at SDE Bushey.
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