The student is a delightful young man. He is calm, insightful, introspective, thoughtful, and intelligent. He is also ambitious, determined and driven, with aspirations to study at either Stanford, another Ivy, UCLA, or Oxbridge. He is currently enrolled at school and is due to start his IGCSE courses in September. However, the school has timetabling issues and cannot accommodate his desire to study both chemistry and history. As an able student, the boy has no problem taking on additional subjects outside the school hours, and so has plans to study for extra subjects in his spare time.
An academically inclined youth, the boy responds best to teachers who can bring lessons alive, weaving stories through the subjects and making even traditionally dry subjects leap off the page. His favourite teachers employ this method, and with the space to make connections and follow thoughts through to their natural conclusion, the boy is an attentive and diligent student. His least favourite teachers are those who explain concepts badly, using mundane and formulaic explanations, and who then move on to new material before the class has a chance to unpick the lesson and really understand the topic.
Like many children, the boy was home schooled through the lockdowns. He thrived in this environment – a space where each lesson was tailored to his interests and abilities – and, having had a taste of personalised education, he now feels that school lessons move too slowly. Although academic, he is shy in class and rarely volunteers answers or opinions for fear of being incorrect. He is not involved in any sports or after school clubs and so isn’t really getting these benefits of the social side of school.
One of the boy's interests is cookery. He enjoys watching cooking programs and would like the opportunity to become more proficient in the kitchen. This is an area that a Tutor could comfortably explore, perhaps using recipes by Heston Blumenthal to explain various science concepts, then by inviting some of the boy's friends over to sample his efforts.
The boy hails from a lovely, calm, and supportive family. He has one much older brother so in effect has been treated like an only child. His parents are keen to help him get the most out of his education, and his father is keen to be involved in some manner – his own area of interest lies in history and as such he could be an asset for the Tutor. The boy will need broaden his CV if he is to make a competitive application for Oxbridge or an Ivy. He does volunteer in his community, and this is an area which could easily be expanded. The family travel often, focussing on the US but increasingly Japan and other eastern destinations. They have three friendly dogs.
The boy's IGCSE options include maths, English language, English literature, global perspectives, biology, physics, geography, history, and business studies. He would like to study chemistry or history at home (he can only take one of these in school), and this was the trigger for investigating full time private tuition. Indeed, while this role may start as an after-school position, it is possible (probable) that it will soon evolve into full time home schooling.
It is not inconceivable that with the Tutor starting in summer 2023, or earlier, the boy can cover the IGCSE maths syllabus in sufficient time to be fully prepared for the January 2024 examinations. Or perhaps he could take three IGCSEs in the summer 2024 sitting. There is nothing to be gained, though, from taking any exams early if the final grade suffers as a result.
Should the role become one of full-time home schooling, it may be that he chooses to switch business studies for economics and drop the global perspectives course in favour of something else more befitting applications to topflight universities. Latin has been discussed as a potential option due to the discipline and values it teaches.
This role requires a Tutor or Tutors who can deliver a broad range of subjects to GCSE level. They will need to be an excellent record keeper – organised and creative in their lesson planning and delivery, and able to keep up with the administrative demands of designing and delivering a range of high-level courses. They will need to be diplomatic and professional, building strong relationships with the staff at the boy's current school and forging good ties with the local community.
In the short-term at least, the Tutor(s) must be able to support the boy's school academics, providing extension work where possible and helping him to develop his confidence in the classroom. The Tutor(s) should work with his school, or if they are unsupportive, one of the other schools, to fulfil the aim of having the boy sit his maths IGCSE early.
The ideal candidate will be someone who can not only teach the content but who will enjoy the education journey. They should inspire the boy to pursue independent avenues of enquiry, help to bolster his confidence (perhaps through drama or debating) and broaden his range of experiences through sport. He need not participate in any team sport, but it may help his confidence if he were to develop skills in more individual sports such as archery or golf.
The Tutor should encourage him to maintain his positive connections with school friends and help him increase his network via other interests such as community service and cookery.
It would be helpful if the Tutor can speak a second language – not necessarily with a view to the boy studying this to IGCSE level, but rather that he can build his language skills to conversational level without any pressure of exams. Equally, he has expressed an interest in learning an instrument (he seems most keen on the guitar) so a musically inclined Tutor would be at an advantage.
This role calls for someone with a wide range of interests and subject knowledge. The right Tutor will find the balance between creativity, focus and drive. They will be able to explain concepts simply, making the ideas come alive for the boy and immersing him in the subject to a point where his natural curiosity is fully engaged, and where he wants to learn more for the sake of knowledge itself. The Tutor will be able to take advantage of their locale, using each destination to its full potential and treating the whole world like a classroom. They will encourage him to pursue his academic goals while ensuring he becomes a rounded, confident individual.
There is a certain amount of flexibility required for this role – not least because the remit of the job may change part way through the contract, moving from a support/extension role to one of full-time home schooling. The Tutor will need to be prepared for this and any such change, taking the changes in their stride and ensuring continuity for the boy.
The Tutor will be available for an average of up to 40 hours per week. During school holidays, these hours are likely to be Monday-Friday, but when school starts up again, the Tutor should be prepared to fit their hours around the school week and to work a full day on both Saturday and Sunday, taking their ‘weekend’ during the weekdays instead.
The Tutor shall be entitled to an average of two consecutive days off per week. However, given the nature of this role, they may not always occur at weekends or to be regular in their timing. This may change if the family opt to go for full-time home schooling.
The Tutor will also be entitled to a minimum of 9 weeks holiday per annum, to be taken at times convenient to the Client. In the short term, while the role is one of after-school support and extension, the Tutor’s holiday will most likely be during term-time so that school holidays can be spent with the boy in the pursuit of knowledge.
The Client will provide accommodation for the Tutor in the form of a house in the nearby village. This house can be set up as either a 2 or 3-bed property and is about 15 minutes by car from the Client’s home. Given the nature of the accommodation and the spread of subjects, this role may be suited to a tutoring couple (or possibly even a tutoring family) but considerations will have to be made for the travel element that is required.
Apart from the Tutor’s personal telephone use, the Client will cover all bills regarding accommodation and travel. The accommodation offer would suit a teaching couple, job share, or even a small family. A car is available for the Tutor’s reasonable local use.
The successful candidate will be an enthusiastic role model, flexible and willing to ‘muck in’ and, most importantly, sensitive and patient in their approach to supporting the boy. The Tutor should be a personable professional who fits seamlessly into the environment, upholding excellent manners, personal values and promoting a positive and interactive learning experience.
The Tutor must be fit and healthy and a non-smoker.