Gerry
Gerry is a highly experienced teacher with 30 years of professional experience. As well as being friendly and approachable, his incisive questions help to bring his lessons to life and ensure the student's mind is working hard.
SUBJECTS taught
English as a Second or Foreign Language: Beginner, Primary, Secondary, GCSE, Advanced, Mastery and Expert
English: Key Stage 2 (ages 7 - 11) , Key Stage 3 (ages 11 - 14), GCSE / iGCSE, A-level.
German: Beginner, Primary, Secondary, GCSE, Advanced, Mastery and Expert.
French: Beginner, Primary, Secondary, GCSE and Advanced
EXPERIENCE
Gerry has 30 years teaching experience in Germany and the UK where he’s worked as a tutor, teacher and lecturer. He has taught hundreds of students at different levels and is skilled at working with language learners at different stages (beginner to advanced) and with different abilities, building confidence and competence. He also works as an examiner, translator, proof-reader and British Council Ambassador to Schools.
QUALIFICATIONS
Newcastle University: BA Honours in German with French, Dutch and Latin. Iii with a distinction in spoken German.
Newcastle University: Post Graduate Certificate in Education
Newcastle University: Master of Education
Newcastle University: National Qualification for Headship
Cambridge CELTA: Certificate for English Language Teaching
APPROACH TO TUITION
I'm an experienced tutor and believe learning should be enjoyable as well as challenging and interesting. Building a student's confidence, listening to them and meeting their needs is key to learning and progress. I agree an individual learning plan to meet the needs of each learner and review this regularly to ensure they are making good progress. I am recognised as a positive, highly skilled professional.
TESTIMONIALS
11+ English and Reasoning
“Gerry's teaching was excellent. He stepped in at a critical time for us to help our son prepare for the 11+ entrance exams. He very quickly got to know our son, his strengths, interests and areas for development. He tailored the lessons accordingly, motivated our son and drew parallels for our son between his effort in English and his effort on the football field. Gerry was always well prepared and was flexible, adapting his lessons to our son’s needs and our requests. We would recommend Gerry without hesitation and in fact Gerry will begin teaching our daughter very shortly.”
—Parents of 11+ pupil. This student received offers from the schools he applied to including Alleyn’s, UCS and Forest. (January 2018)
“Gerry was my English tutor for the 11+ exams. Gerry is a friendly tutor and he really helped me achieve great results. I got offers from all of my top schools including one academic scholarship. His teaching style was fun, hardworking and informative. My lessons were online via Skype which I enjoyed. We shared a google document to build my vocabulary bank, to keep notes on grammar and spellings as well as record homework. I would scan and email my essays and comprehension tasks. As well as working with Gerry on English he gave me interview tips which were really helpful too. I would just like to thank Gerry for everything he has done for me.”
—11+ student, aged 10 (January 2018)
”Gerry tutored my daughter in English in preparation for the 11+ exams. I was very happy with Gerry and extremely pleased with the outcome of the 11+ when my daughter received a number of offers including Alleyn’s, JAGS, Channing and Francis Holland (Regent’s Park). My daughter looked forward to her weekly lessons which were very interactive. Gerry has an engaging style, he is organised and flexible. I always felt well informed on progress with the lesson summaries and focused homework tasks. I would highly recommend Gerry. He showed a genuine interest in my daughter’s success and supported her every step of the way.”
—Parent of 11+ student (January 2019)
GCSE, IGCSE, and A-level English
“I have just opened the 3 exam subjects that came out today and I would say that I am surprised and very happy! I received a Grade 7 in French and a Grade 8 in both English Language and Literature! I thought that my French would be better than English, but instead it was the other way round! I am still keeping my fingers crossed for my other 7 subjects that will come out next week. I hope I do well in them!
Finally, thank you very much for helping me achieve these grades. Your tutoring sessions finally paid off! I wish all the best for you and your family!”
- IGCSE Student (Summer 2019)
“He got As so we are happy with the results. Thank you for prepping him, as well as your encouragement and guidance throughout it all.”
- Parent of GCSE Student (Summer 2019)
"I am very grateful for all you have done for me on this journey we have had together. Although I have never said it to you verbally, I want to say that I appreciated every bit of our lessons.
Thank you for helping me to achieve results in English which I had previously not thought possible. Thank you for believing in me and I will never hesitate to reach out to you again and/or to recommend your services to any person wanting them.
I wish you the best and I do hope we can talk again in the future.
Thank you for everything."
—IGCSE Student. Now at his first choice school in the U.K. (Summer 2018)
"Our son’s IGCSE results came out a couple of hours ago and he obtained an A grade both in English Language and English Literature. We are all over the moon about it and wanted to share our happiness and gratitude with you as soon as possible. Thank you for your untiring efforts and time as well as diligence without which none of this would have been possible.
His overall results were very good. While I’m ecstatic about all the other grades, the ones that have pleasantly surprised me the most are his English ones as we both know he had quite some distance to cover in order to get a good grade. All kudos to you and your guidance .
Our sincerest and most heart felt thanks to you and our prayers for you and your family."
—Parent Of IGCSE student (Summer 2018)
"Gerry, I've never had a tutor who has made me feel so comfortable. Under your guidance my confidence has grown and my learning has come on leaps and bounds. Thank you!"
—A-level English student
French, German and English as a Second Language
"As an overseas parent, we have constantly struggled to find a good tutor who could spark my son’s interest in the language. Luckily, another tutor recommended Gerry to us. We appreciated the fact that he took the trouble to establish what our needs were, the child’s learning style and our aims.
We have been very pleased with the work and pace he had achieved with our son. His confidence has been boosted and he has found enjoyment in the learning. Gerry has a wonderful way of putting the child at ease and communicating in an extremely encouraging manner. As parents, we admire his patience and enthusiasm. We would highly recommend Gerry to any parent for preparing for 11+, 13+, GCSE or beyond.
In my son’s words: “ Gerry is kind, organised, fun and fantastic!”
— Parent of 11+ pupil now in the U.K. at their first choice school (January 2018)
"Gerry, I got my A Level results today, an A and 2 Bs. The A was in German! I really wasn't expecting that German would end up my best subject. Thanks for all the help you gave me!"
— A-level German student.
"Gerry's teaching was outstanding. He helped our son to improve his A Level Grade from a C to an A in just 6 months. He was always well prepared and tailored the lessons exactly to our son's needs. We would recommend Gerry without hesitation."
— Parents of A-level German student
"Gerry was extremely friendly and made every effort to explain patiently and to help us to learn everything we could. I felt very comfortable in his lessons and was able to ask him anything I needed to improve my English". -- Manu and Cristina, healthcare professionals.
“Gerry gave me an intensive English course for 2 weeks. He is a very patient tutor who explained everything clearly so I’ve progressed much better than I expected. He really helped me to improve my English and I really enjoyed working with him!”
— Merouane, French engineering student.
"I studied French at A level with Gerry as my tutor, and I definitely couldn't have achieved my B without him. His teaching style is immersive - he has so much experience with languages, it's like you're talking and learning with a native speaker! In my time at sixth form he went above and beyond to ensure that me and my classmates got the most out of his lessons and achieved our best in examinations. A friendly and thorough tutor, and one of the most travelled and generous people I have ever met. Gerry is the perfect tutor if you want to understand a language."
— French A Level student going on to study French and Chinese at university