- May 11

Meet Sarah!

WE TAKE GREAT PRIDE IN OUR HAND-PICKED TUITION TEAM.

HERE’S A LITTLE MORE ABOUT SIGNATURE TUITION DIRECTOR AND TUTOR, SARAH!

Director of Tuition: Sarah Gordon

WHAT’S YOUR BACKGROUND, SARAH?

I am a big believer in the absolute power of a quality education and passionate about making a difference to the life-chances of young people. After gaining an Honours degree from the University of Leeds and a teaching qualification at Durham University, I taught for 13 years as a Secondary school English teacher in the Tees Valley.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO SET UP SIGNATURE TUITION?

In my time as a teacher, I began to recognise the increasing need for learning to be much more tailored to each individual. I’ve always very much adhered to the view that a ‘one size fits all’ approach doesn’t work in education. Unfortunately, too many of our children are stuck with a system that doesn’t work for them.

I knew that there was a yearning need to plug this gap, in the shape of personalised one-to-one tuition where the learning pathway is tailored to suit the needs of every child by expert tutors.

WHAT’S THE BEST PART OF YOUR ROLE AS A TUTOR?

More than anything, I love to see the results and the very real impact that spending one-on-one quality time on learning has – not just on exam results, but on confidence, self-esteem and happiness. Nothing beats that feeling of seeing somebody smile for the first time in their own ‘Eureka’ moment! From that point, I know they’ve ‘got it’ and my work is done!

WHAT ARE YOUR THREE FAVOURITE BOOKS?

Since I've been at school, I've had a passion for War Poetry, so when my brilliantly-read and much-adored grandmother gifted me Sebastian Faulks' Birdsong with the gift tag 'one of the best books I've ever read', I knew it would be special- and it was. It has stayed with me ever since my first read and I think it offers an incredibly powerful insight into life in the trenches.

Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner comes a close second as one of my favourite books. The depth in his characters, the art he has in telling such a powerful story and creating a long-lasting impact is awe-inspiring.

Another book which I adore is The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. A tale of friendship and discovery and a beautiful book I've kept with me since childhood.