10+ Maths & English

“We just found out yesterday evening that Tom’s been offered a place at City Boys!  He was delighted – as you can see from his little face (and mine!). [picture was included]

Thank you so much for all your help and guidance in preparing for the rigours of the entrance exams.  He really did enjoy his sessions with you – which made extra study easier on us all – and we appreciated your thorough debriefs and pointers along the way.

I am quite sure our paths will cross again (no doubt our daughter will be coming your way in due course, so do keep space for her)!

In the meantime, all the very best and a massive thank you from us!” (January 2016)

"I'm so glad to read your comments about Tom's improvement. Thanks to you dear. He himself is feeling the change, especially in school when he uses some lovely vocabulary effortlessly. He told me that you have made him WANT to write good English." (October 2016)

"A big thank you for helping our son prepare for and get an offer from City Boys! The real testament to your teaching is that he looked forward to each session and went from being unexcited - particularly about creative-writing - to being motivated and confident. A great success and we would recommend you to anyone!" (February 2017)

11+ Maths & English

“[Student’s] results are in, and rather amazingly she got offers from all of them - we already knew about Northbridge but she has now also got City, Highgate, Channing and Francis Holland, including an academic scholarship for Francis Holland. 

So, basically, thank you so much – those are tough exams and it is pretty much entirely down to you [Femke] and Mark that she did so well.   And what is even more important to us is that you made the process fun – she has been able to approach the whole thing in a cheerful way and enjoyed the learning, so really, many many thanks. I think it’s given her a huge amount of confidence, wherever she ends up.

Goes without saying that we are now feeling extremely indecisive and don’t quite know what the best choice is, but it’s a good position to be in.” (February 2022)

“Results day! So far, [Student] has:

• No rejections at all;

• Received offers for - City Boys, Latymer Upper, Alleyn's, Dulwich, Wetherby and Northbridge Canonbury;

• Is on the waitlist for - Highgate and UCS

• The only outstanding school is Forest, which posts its offers next Friday (but that is a cert, I'm told, given that he was invited for a scholarship interview).

Thank you for all your hard work and doing such a great job with [Student], for plugging the gaps and getting him to flourish!” (February 2022)

"[Student] managed to get into all 7 schools she applied to: Queen's College; Francis Holland; St Margaret's; Belmont Mill Hill; Channing; Northbridge House Canonbury and Forest. We couldn't be prouder of her. It gives her confidence at least for year 7 that’s she’s in demand! Thanks so much for all of your help!" (February 2022)

“Femke provided a structured, supportive and fun tutoring experience for our daughter. We were kept well informed on progress and areas where improvement could be made. Femke facilitated a program that encouraged, challenged and boosted our daughter’s confidence and she thoroughly enjoyed her weekly sessions.” (February 2023)

"I thought you’d like to know that Sara passed the City exam. We are delighted! We didn’t get any actual grades but they said she did brilliantly.  Thank you so much! She learnt so much from you and your tutoring was a really positive experience for her.  I highly recommend you to everyone - your help took all of the potential stress out of the process and Sara felt really confident going into the exam." (January 2018)

“A huge thank you for all your efforts with Mark over the past few months. The improvement has been very noticeable, particularly in his English and we’re very grateful to you for bringing out the talents in Mark that we knew were in there somewhere! An almost certain offer from Colfes in such as a good boost for him going into the Forest exam and I really feel he’s as prepared as he’s ever going to be. We’ll miss seeing you but will give you a call when it’s my daughter’s turn!” (January 2016, transcribed from handwritten note)

“Hi Femke,

A hello to say thank you. Suzi heard about her 11-plus today. She has been offered places at Queen’s College, Francis Holland (Regent’s Park), St Helen’s School, Northwood, Northwood College and Forest. She has been offered a significant scholarship at Northwood College. So we are in the unexpected situation of Suzi having a great choice – her school didn’t give her a chance for these schools. This is amazing considering we were talking to her teachers about her having ‘discalculia’ a year ago; and enormously down to you karate-chopping your way through Suzi's unease about maths. Job done, genius. What can we say?

Thank you for creating a joy in knowledge where there was none. But more importantly, even if it hadn’t turned out this way – because who can guess what will happen? – thank you for being a calming and positive influence on our daughter’s mind. We told her to be herself, which, bless her, she was. But you gave her mathematics chops that she didn’t know she had.

A good teacher? We never forget them.” (February 2016)

“I’m delighted to share that my daughter received her offer from North London Collegiate today! Thank you so much for all your help” (February 2016)

“I am very happy to share with you the good news that John has been offered a place at Oundle and that he will start in September (2015!). We are very excited for him.

Thank you again for preparing him for the January exam and for giving him the confidence to perform as well as he did. We look forward to your continued support as he now prepares to begin a new journey.” (February 2015)

“We’ve had offers for Dulwich and Forest.  Anyway just wanted to say huge thank you to you, wouldn’t have made it without your help.” (January 2015)

“Today is results day: Francis Holland, Channing, Queens. And we suspect Forest will come along on the 19th. It will be difficult to choose, but we are in the wonderful position of being able to.  She is so happy and so relieved. Many thanks again.” (February 2015)

“Femke tutored our son heroically for 7 months in the run up to the 11+ exams. We had put him down for only extremely competitive schools, one of which actually decided to halve their intake. We managed to gain entrance to most of them, including our first choice, UCS. Absolutely would not have happened without the tutoring.” (February 2015)

“We are delighted with Femke. Our daughter has made significant progress in practical terms – her average mark in school maths tests has gone up from the mid 60% level to the high 80% level. However, the biggest difference has been in the increased confidence that she is now demonstrating in her mathematical abilities. Femke is a great teacher: supportive, encouraging and clear. Our daughter adores her and always looks forward to their weekly lesson. She is also an excellent role-model.” (October 2013)

“The brilliant news is that Anna is really enjoying the lessons.  I have had no moans or groans  and perhaps I could go as far as saying that she looks forward to Monday evenings! That for me is the best result as my daughter is very contrary and if she is happy she will learn more. ” (September 2013)

“Just thought you might like to know that Dave is going to UCS in September!  Thank you for all of your help with him over the past year – it’s really made a huge difference and he always came out of the lesson smiling.”  (January 2012)

“Our daughter gained entrance to St. Paul’s after some strategic Christmas tutoring from Femke.  It really seemed to do the trick!” (March 2013)

“Thank you so much for all my tutoring lessons they have been a great help!  Thank you so much for everything.” (January 2014)

13+ English and Maths

Thank you for all your help and guidance to Alex, the improvement in her maths has been remarkable and she was consistently scoring above 75-80% on CE papers at the end which is a wonderful achievement.  Alex commented on how easy you were to work with and how well you explained things, a crucial skill in Maths tutoring! (January 2016)

” I just wanted to say thank you to you for putting a lot of time and effort into me improving my English. I got a B in English in my Common Entrance. A B in Common Entrance is 60-70 percent. You also helped my essay writing, leading to my getting a A* in Religious Studies and an A in History. These are all subjects which essay writing is key and thanks to you I was able to succeed in them.” (June 2015)

“Femke has been a fantastic tutor and we’ve really seen the results.  My son went from scoring 30% to over 70% in just a few months and managed to get into Sevenoaks, which we didn’t dare believe was possible.” (December 2013)

“Charles passed CE and did very well, we are all delighted. His English result was very pleasing, he got B, considering how behind he was when you came on board, this result is more than we could of wished for. He definitely would not of done so well without your tuition. We thank you very much for your expertise and support. Charles enjoyed your lessons, this made learning more fun for him.” (June 2015)

“Femke has really made the subjects come alive for our daughter and she’s begun spouting some very advanced phrases around the house.  Her confidence has improved a lot and she feels more than ready to take on the exams.” (December 2013)

“Thank you for all of your efforts during the revision course; the feedback has been extremely positive.” (The organiser for a Keystone maths revision course I taught in December 2012)

16+ Maths, English & Science

“Christine’s results speak for themselves: acceptances into St Paul’s and Godolphin & Latymer. Transferring into the UK system from abroad seemed completely daunting at first, but the tutoring sorted out the exam results, after which a lot of doors were opened. Femke also helped with Christine’s personal statements and interview prep, so that was also helpful.” (November 2014; Maths and General Paper)

“I was very impressed by the range of resources Femke was able to provide for lessons. Alexandra enjoyed the lessons and gained entrance to City of London, Godolphin&Latymer and St Paul’s. We are thrilled and duly impressed!” (November 2012; Maths)

“Many thanks for teaching me. We did a lot together and I got my results. Three schools accepted me: Uppingham, Rugby and Shrewsbury and I chose the Rugby School. I am so thrilled! I would not enter these schools if you did not teach me! Again, thank you so much!” (December 2015 – Chemistry and Maths; Ukraine Skype Tuition)

“Thank you so much for enabling me to be accepted to all 4 of the schools I have applied to [Rugby, St Edwards, Wellington, Cheltenham]. It truly is your excellent teaching that has made this possible for me!” (November 2015; Saudi Arabia Skype Tuition.)

GCSE Maths

“You have been most professional and of the very highest standard and full of commitments.  I thank you for the guidance you have provided to Ben.  He did well in his final mock exams.  And I hope to be able to keep in touch as future needs may arise. All the best. ” (July 2014, Hong Kong Skype Tuition)

“Simon and I are immensely grateful to you for the first rate work you have done with Ted.  The black beast that was Mathematics was finally tamed and it became a subject he learned to understand and even enjoy.  I think your rigorous approach to exam preparation was hugely beneficial for the Biology too, a subject which I think he already enjoyed but which he now has a fuller true understanding of.   In both subjects we could not have asked or hoped for more.  It is a pleasing bonus that Ted genuinely enjoyed his time studying with you.

If Ted’s plans alter or if he were to return to the UK wanting to study further I hope we could be in touch with you again. Many thanks again Femke.” (June 2014)

“The sessions with Femke have been great, and have really helped improve Tom’s confidence in Maths.” (February 2014)

“Thank you also Femke for all your support and help to Jack. He has really blossomed and grown in confidence in his Maths which I put down to your excellent tuition and encouragement. Thank you so much.” (June 2013)

“Thanks again for all the brilliant Maths tutoring which was really instrumental in helping Ellie get an A at GCSE.” (August 2012)

“Annabel managed to get her A* in maths which we are all thrilled about.  Femke’s patient approach and really clear explanations were obviously a big part of making it happen!”  (August 2012)

““Our daughter got an A in Maths which was much better than we expected! Well done Femke!” (October 2011)

“Femke is really excellent, quite outstanding.” (July 2011)

A level Maths

"She did really well, think she got full marks.  Certainly an A overall.” (August 2015)

11+ Sciences

“The girls have really enjoyed their lessons with you and it’s really clicked well.  We’d love to keep tutoring after the entrance exams since this seems like a great way to get them up to speed with the UK system.  Thanks so much.” (Skype tuition, January 2014)

13+ Sciences

“My son gained entrance to King’s, Dulwich and even secured a scholarship for Haberdashers.  Thank you!” (July 2013)

GCSE Sciences

"[A* in Physics, A in Chemistry IGCSE] Thank you so much. Couldn't have done it without you!" (Skype tuition, August 2016)

“Thanks much for the lesson arrangements. Julie seems to like the format and she finds the tuition very useful. She really appreciates it as Femke has explained some new concepts very clearly.” (Skype Tuition,  August 2013)

” A fabulous physics tutor!” (September 2012)

“Femke is great. In my son’s words: very professional!” (December 2011)

GCSE English

“So far my daughter has enjoyed the lessons and even the home work and seems to be learning fast. Femke is reliable, pleasant and well informed.” (February, 2012)

“Ms Femke is very focused, dedicated and committed teacher also she is fully prepared to the different challenges of teaching. Day by day her lessons are making a huge difference in our son’s student life. Thank you. “(June 2010)

A level English Literature

“I went from a grade C to a grade A with just a few months of tutoring – enough said!” (August 2013)

“I am very happy with her professional, no nonsense and supportive approach.” (January 2011)

A-level Philosophy

“Doing an A-level online as an adult learner was difficult but Femke made the lessons really fun.  I also got the A I needed so I’m very happy.” (August 2013)

“Femke taught our daughter Ella A-level philosophy and politics. She gained A-grades in both subjects and thinks she would not have nearly as well without the extra help. We are very grateful.” (August 2012)

Degree-level Philosophy

"You really did help an incredible amount, thank you!" (Philosophy of Science. May 2016)

“Femke was always ready with a clear explanation and a calming word when I was feeling overwhelmed about my degree.  I learned a lot and even got some firsts in the process!” (June 2013)

“Femke is a highly committed person to improving her tutees. Her style is highly authentic and beneficiary. I benefited a lot by working with her, which led to getting a high mark in my module assignment.” (March 2012)

“Femke taught me throughout the third year of my philosophy degree. I consistently gained firsts in the units she taught me in when I had only been gaining 2:1s and 2:2s before. Amazing!” (December 2011)

Homeschooling

“Our son had been having trouble at school with behaviour but also gaining poor grades. He was eventually expelled. Femke began homeschooling him for a school term of year 9 – 3 hours per weekday. With her help, Tom’s grades and self confidence have both improved tremendously and we have successfully put him back into school and he is doing well.”  (December 2011)

NB: Names are changed to protect the privacy of clients.

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