From Bright to Brilliant

“'I wanted to update you on how Nia got on. She got all 6 school offers (Godolphin & Latymer, Francis Holland Sloane Square, Alleyn's, Wimbledon High, Putney High and Kingston Grammar). She was awarded an academic scholarship by Francis Holland and was shortlisted for the academic scholarship assessments at Alleyn's. Her offer letter stated: Nia can take much pride in her overall performance – particularly her English assessment – and she will, I am sure, make a valuable contribution to the life of the School in the coming years. We are so thankful for all your work with Nia in the past two years and recognise that you are possibly the main reason for Nia's high achievements in English. She now says that one her favourite subjects is creative writing and enjoys it very much. You have done wonders with her...'”

“Thank you so much for the update on his progress - it's amazing to hear how well he's doing! I'm especially happy to hear he is enjoying the "show don't tell" and is getting so inquisitive about words.Your insights about his approach to writing are really helpful, and I appreciate the analogy of learning as a “to do” list. It makes perfect sense. I'm sure that, as you say, his writing will become more natural and fluid with time and practice. I'm also learning as we go along so it's great to have your experience to guide us.”

“My daughter recently completed a delightful 12-week course, '1:1 Bright to Brilliant,' with the exceptional English tutor Clare, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Each session, lasting about an hour per week and accompanied by homework, was instrumental in helping my daughter articulate her ideas, put pen to paper, and develop her writing skills. The feedback provided for homework was both valuable and encouraging, making the course highly informative and constructive. My daughter initially found certain writing styles, such as poetry, quite challenging due to infrequent practice at school. Clare not only encouraged her and offered insightful guidance but also instilled in her the confidence to write. The atmosphere of the sessions was always relaxed and friendly, fostering a love for writing in my daughter. As a result, she now feels much more confident when writing at school and has expanded her vocabulary, with 'suave' and 'reminiscing' being her favourite new words. What my daughter found most enjoyable was creating her original story and receiving feedback for its development. For example, she wrote a story titled 'The Portal,' which follows a young girl and her apprentice as they track down a pair of thieves. The story ends with a plot twist and cliffhanger after several pages filled with adventure. She is very proud of both the idea and the length of her writing. A heartfelt thank you to Clare for running this wonderful course. ”

“I have used Clare to help my son with his Common Entrance prep. She was absolutely amazing. Not only is she a real teacher who knows how children actually learns and what they need to close their knowledge gaps, but she was also so in-tuned to my son’s learning style, not to mention always kind and with a smile on her face. She made the hard work easy and we are just so very lucky to have been able to work together. My son got to the top schools he aimed for and we remain forever grateful.”

“My daughter Leia (Year 3) loves the lessons with Clare because they are structured in a fun way that encourages imagination. Each session is designed to enrich vocabulary and ends with a beautifully written essay about various topics. There was a noticeable improvement in my daughter's writing only after three sessions and Leia is very proud every time she has used a new word in her writing. After each session Clare provides a pdf summary of the words that have been used in the session, which we find very helpful as we can practice all the words until the next session. ”

“Charlie has clearly enjoyed his lessons with you and we would like to thank you for all that you've done with him. At last week's parents' evening his English teacher said that Charlie is doing really well and he's very pleased with all his work. ”

“I'd like to let you know that Sarah got an offer from Latymer. Although it was a very short period of time for her to prepare for the exam, she managed to get this positive result. As you know, Latymer mark the maths and verbal reasoning tests first then proceed to mark English for top 750 applicants. Her rank moved up more than 100 after her English got marked. She did really well in English. We sincerely thank you for all the support and effort. Although it was a very limited number of sessions she could have due to our short notice, it really helped her. Thank you very much. ”

“He has definitely become a lot more confident in writing which is lovely to see. The teacher at the parents meeting said the same. Creative writing has become one of his favourite subjects at school which I would have never thought about a couple of years ago. And last but not least, we got the Term1 school report at the end of December and he is working at greater depth currently in writing and is also expected to be greater depth at the end of year. He was very happy about it and so were we. Thank you for all your help in getting him to that level. ”

“Maths has always been her strongest subject, but I feel now the tables are turning.”

“He got the award for English- creative writing. His teacher made some beautiful comments about the amazing imagery in his writing and went on to say that he has a talent for writing. I think he was shocked when his name followed all these lovely words from the teacher. And he also got greater depth in writing in his SATs. He actually got greater depth in all SATs so a very successful year. I wanted to say a big big thank you for all your help. You started with him when he was going through some issues/worries and didn’t have any confidence in himself. You have helped him and supported him so much not just academically but as a person. He can now apply the growth mindset in everything he gets involved with and can enjoy the benefit of his hard work. So lovely to watch him come this far.”

“Clare has an innate warmth, calm and kindness - perfect for setting any child at ease. She is clearly passionate about her subject and her well-planned online writing classes inspired the same enthusiasm in my daughter. I was astonished to see my 7 year old emerge from a full hour of focused work, with pages of writing, full of excitement, enjoyment and pride in her work. Clare has an ability to gently encourage and transform both a child's ability and confidence and the results speak for themselves. ”

“I’m really glad I signed-up for the 11+ workshop for parents! I learned practical and useful information and will now be able to approach the process more confidently with my children. Thank you very much Clare”

“The session was useful in order to understand the type of questions and strategies than can be used in 11+ preparation- thank you!”

“We loved our session and thought it really informative and helped us feel stress free about the upcoming exams.”

“Claire provided a great overview of the 11 plus English including study tips so I feel confident I can help my child through the process going forward”

“Clare is a phenomenal teacher because she works to understand the whole child and unlock their potential. Clare guided our daughter to connect to her passion and her creativity in her writing and this resulted in a transformative year, where we saw her confidence soar, a discovery of her own storytelling voice shine through, and such a positive mental attitude to learning that she actually enjoyed exams week! As part of this approach, Clare mentored her with friendships and self- esteem, which has made all aspects of her secondary school transition wonderful. Our daughter has gained study skills for life by working with Clare and we could not have hoped for a better outcome.”