About Bright Spark Tuition
Bright Spark Tuition is currently an agency of one: me, Rebecca. My hope is to expand in the future, but in the meantime let me tell you a little about myself.
My specialism is English, which I read at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and which I teach up to undergraduate level. However, I also tutor 8+ to 13+ maths (my second favourite subject in school!), as well as interview skills from 8+ to university entrance. My main focus is preparing students for the 11+ and 13+ (Common Entrance) exams held by London grammar and private schools, and over the years I have helped students gain entry to almost every competitive school in the north London area. While I cannot guarantee results, I am yet to have a student who failed to receive an offer from one of their top choices.
When I lived in London, I conducted all lessons in person. However, in 2023 my family and I exchanged city living for a new life by the North Devon coast, so all my lessons are now conducted online.
When I'm not teaching, I work as a journalist and writer. My main area of interest is the Middle East, and in 2022 I had my first book published: The Slow Road to Tehran. The book was based on a year-long solo cycle ride through Europe and the Middle East, and in 2023 was shortlisted for the Edward Stanford Travel Book of the Year award.
Please contact me via the form below if you have any questions or would like to enquire about availability with a private tutor. I look forward to hearing from you.
Academic awards
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Full tuition scholarship ($30,000) for an MA in Journalism at Stanford University, California
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Graduate Record Examination (GRE) for post-graduate study in the US: 95th percentile
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Cambridge University Hunter Senior Scholarship for exam performance
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Emmanuel College award for exam performance
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English Speaking Union Scholarship to Hockaday School, Texas (gap year)
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Wycombe High School Marie Christie Scholarship for achieving the top A Levels in the school
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SEG Sony National Curriculum Award for achieving the highest English Language GCSE mark in the UK (out of 189,133 candidates)
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Wycombe High School Benjamin Cup for achieving the top GCSEs in the school
I have now been tutoring part-time for fifteen years: from 2005-11 and again from 2016 until the present day. I'll be honest with you: at first I did it because it was a useful, flexible way to earn a little extra money alongside my full-time job as a journalist. But I soon discovered it was something that brought me a great sense of fulfilment. The students and families I work with are not just clients to me but people with whom I form close and enduring relationships - even long after my duties as a tutor have concluded.