Call us: 01803 414 546
Call us: 01803 414 546
If you would like to contact Riviera Tuition to find out more about our tuition and services, then we would be delighted to hear from you.
Originally qualified as a Primary school teacher, Paul has taught extensively in the UK and Middle East/North Africa. More recently he was deputy headteacher with a London virtual school for looked after children and Headteacher in a secure unit in Bristol for 9 years.
Paul has a wide experience teaching all ages from Reception right up to Level 3, especially in Maths and English and has worked with students with SEMH profiles and a range of learning challenges.
Paul loves to walk, recently having completed all 630 miles of the South West Coastal Path and has recently moved to Torbay.
Sarah began her working career as an accountant, gaining her CIMA qualification in 1993 and working for a number of years in finance, firstly at Devonport Dockyard in Plymouth and later as a Management Accountant at the head office of a large home improvement company in Surrey. After taking a short break to have a family, Sarah re-trained as a secondary school teacher in 2012 on the Graduate Training Programme, specialising in Business Studies and Economics at GCSE and A Level and English Language and Literature to GCSE.
Sarah has a wealth of experience in teaching a broad range of age groups over the years, from Pre-school age all the way through to Sixth Form. She has taught large classes, small groups and 1:1 students with a variety of abilities, including those students with Special Educational Needs. Her most recent full-time role was teaching English Language and Literature to GCSE at a large comprehensive school in Surrey, where she was also Head of Year for five years. Her role as Head of Year involved supporting students pastorally as well as academically and so Sarah fully understands the importance of good mental health.
In 2021 Sarah relocated back to Devon where she is appreciating being in a more rural environment closer to the sea. She enjoys teaching and is passionate about nurturing students and helping them to reach their full potential.
Zoe is an experienced classroom teacher, working for 18 years in a challenging school in South East London. She has taught Geography to A-level alongside Maths and various other Humanities subjects at KS3 and on occasion GCSE. During her time teaching in London she has led many field trips to Devon where her passion for physical geography and in particular her love of the Torbay coast grew, helped by various family members living locally!
She is an examiner of A-Level and GCSE Geography. A role she has undertaken with various exam boards over the past 15 years giving her a strong understanding of what the exam boards require.
Zoe developed a passion for working with SEN and lower ability students in more recent years after the creation of a group in her previous school to nurture these students and allow them the opportunity to learn at their pace. Zoe took the lead in teaching both Geography and Maths to these students where the students thrived on her calm and encouraging teaching style.
Aside from teaching Zoe enjoys days visiting the great outdoors with her family and volunteering within girl guiding
Martin is a calm, creative and knowledgably teacher who has taught a wide range of children, teenagers and adults during his 22 years within the education sector.
Experienced predominately with pupils and students with a variety of special educational needs, Martin believes that lifelong learning of knowledge, skills and understanding is best achieved collaboratively, through fun, hands-on and engaging sessions.
As a mentor, coach and fellow learner, Martin thoroughly enjoys motivating and enabling each individual learner to achieve.
Juliet began her teaching career while studying English Literature at university. She continued her educational adventures in China, where she worked with trainee teachers to develop their English and teaching skills, and in Moscow, where she taught English to under fives and teens.
Back in the UK, Juliet has taught in Primary and Secondary schools, with several years spent as a writer and editor for educational and children’s publishers. Most recently, she has specialised in teaching Functional Skills Maths and English to students with SEND.
Juliet’s students have tended to achieve excellent exam success, which she attributes to their willingness to make mistakes, find their own personal motivation and invest time in learning.
In her professional life, Juliet loves nothing more than helping her students to gain in confidence, find their paths and achieve their goals.
When she isn’t working, Juliet can often be found in muddy fields with her daughter, and several scruffy ponies. It’s a mystery, even to them sometimes, what they are doing but nonetheless it makes them immeasurably happy.
Lesley has been a teacher for over twenty years; working with Early Years pupils right up to GCSE Level. Her approach to teaching is very calm and relaxed as she aims to take away the mystery and scary bits and give her students the confidence to achieve and enjoy the learning process!
Qualified to degree level in Literature and History, Lesley also has a wealth of SEN teaching qualifications. Her experience of living and teaching in different countries has given her an appreciation of different cultures and different approaches to dealing with difficulties.
Whilst being a Maths Specialist, Matt strongly believes that education is about the whole person and that learning should be a fun, enjoyable experience and take place in a relaxed, pressure free zone! He would say that the key to learning is high self-esteem and having the confidence and stickability to take on new challenges. ‘Mistakes are only the footsteps on the learning journey. So, go for it!’
Matt has been in the teaching industry for over 23 years, including 9 years as a Headteacher. He has worked in some of the highest performing Primary schools in the South of England, leading on Maths in both the Primary and Secondary Education Sector.
Matt also love the outdoors and is currently training to be a Forest School Ranger and a National Park Education Guide.
Liz is a highly qualified teacher with a passion for her subject which she shares with her students.
Liz has experience in the Primary sector and in the Secondary sector teaching English Language and Literature at GCSE, A level and IB and she has also taught in many countries abroad including Italy, China and Japan.
She believes that the ability to use language to communicate effectively is even more important now that we live in a world of technology. Her aim is to inspire a love of learning in all students so that they can explore new worlds and open doors for their future success.
She is also an 11+ tutor extraordinaire and makes 11+ preparation fun and engaging.
I served for 32 years in the classroom as a Mathematics secondary school teacher, teaching across the age and ability ranges. As Director of Mathematics at Paignton Academy (2001-16), I oversaw the GCSE pass rate A*-C (grades 9-4) rising from 19% to 59%, whilst personally having excellent results across the ability range. From 2008-2016, with a representative mix of ability levels, 71% of my students gained an A*-C grade, compared to a faculty average of 51%.
In all of the schools I worked in, I have been liked and respected by both colleagues and students. I am able to identify gaps in knowledge and problem areas students have with their mathematical studies, employing a variety of teaching strategies to solve these issues.
My work since 2003 with the Edexcel / Pearson examination board has helped me identify common misconceptions students have with their Mathematics; also, what the key topics are that are expected to be mastered in order to progress through from one grade to the next.
I have always believed it to be important for students, wherever possible, to see the relevance of any Mathematics they study. I registered Paignton Academy for the Linked Pair Double GCSE Mathematics Pilot, half of which was a GCSE in Applications of Mathematics, and the effects were immediate, with the school achieving the best two sets of Mathematics results in its history, before or since, in the two years we used the pilot.
Crucially, my own view of the learning process is that motivation is infectious, and this would underpin all the teaching I undertake.
Skills, Hobbies, Interests:
Music: at a basic level, I play guitar, mandolin and ukulele.
Travelling: in recent years I have visited seven countries in Europe, North America, South America and the Middle East, including spending the first half of 2019 as tour leader across Canada for an African Children’s Choir, raising funds and sponsorship for children’s education.
Suzanne is a dedicated and enthusiastic teacher, with over 20 years experience teaching all ages in the Primary Sector, including a number of years Co-ordinating Special Educational Needs.
In addition to this, Suzanne has tutored Maths and English to children as young as Reception, up to Year 6 children preparing for SATs and secondary education.She has successfully prepared many children for the 11+ in Torbay and delivers our one-to-one and group lessons for the 11 plus.
Suzanne is a great believer in the importance of learning through enjoyment. She prepares challenging lessons, tailored to the needs of the individual, whilst striving to develop confidence by celebrating all small achievements on the way to a final goal.
Alex has a degree in Maths and Physics. Alex has experience of teaching SEN children locally and loves the buzz he gets from helping to inspire young people to achieve their goals. Alex is able to support learners from KS3 and GCSE all the way up to A level Maths. Maths is one of his many passions and there is nothing he loves more than puzzling over a really tricky Maths problem!
Alex is a patient tutor, who will be able to go at the student’s pace and support them in their weak areas to ensure that they get the best possible results in their exams
Alan has been a qualified teacher for over 11 years working with Primary age children, up to mature university students. He has experience in both Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 and has been involved with students with Specific Learning Needs for many years.
He is an enthusiastic teacher with a good sense of humour who makes his lessons fun and interactive so that his pupils can engage with their learning.
He has worked with children from Reception up to Year 7, supporting the latter in their transition to Secondary school. As well as supporting students with 11+ preparation, he also currently works as a Study Skills Tutor and Mentor with university students with specific needs such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, dyspraxia, and those on the Autism Spectrum. Alan has undergone training to support these vulnerable students and was awarded Associate Member status of the Dyslexia Guild which is a national association underpinning all areas of dyslexic support.
Lucy has a wealth of experience teaching and leading in Primary schools locally. She is a very child-centred teacher and believes that building character traits such as resilience and determination are key to finding success. Lucy is passionate about delivering effective lessons with engaging resources and stimulus. She encourages children to take risks in their learning and to challenge themselves. She has a proven track record for helping children to reach their full potential and always goes the extra mile to support, encourage and motivate young people. Lucy has a patient and calm approach and has a lot of experience working with pupils with SEND needs.
In her spare time, Lucy loves walking her cockapoo (Freddie) and spending time at the beach, swimming and kayaking.
Andy’s approach to tuition is student-centred; adapting his methods and resources to suit the preferred learning styles of his students.
He aims to focus on the essential skills of reading and writing so that his students feel more confident about these processes. Andy also wants his students to enjoy English, to read a wide variety of interesting and challenging texts and to write enthusiastically for a range of different purposes.
He encourages his students to be curious, to ask questions and to think for themselves.
Andy has taught Key Stage 3, GCSE and A level for many years and is enthusiastic about English language and passionate about Literature. He can help students to prepare for GCSE and A level Examinations by working closely with the exam board specifications and by referring to past papers. Marking English scripts for one of the GCSE exam boards helps him to understand the success criteria so that he can support his students as effectively as possible.
Based in Chelston, Torquay, we provide private tuition across Torbay including Torquay, Paignton and Brixham.