DR KAREN O'ROURKE
TUTOR  &   PROOFREADER
Clear, purposeful tuition through motivation and understanding

MY STUDENTS

I am very pleased to announce that there will be places available in groups of six for current Year Four students, to start in the Autumn Term 2024. 

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I keep a waiting list for interested families with children in Ys 1 to 3.  

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Please send me a secure message with your contact details in the <contact me> form below. I will usually contact you within 72 hours to arrange an informal Skype or WhatsApp discussion if your child is in Y1 or above.

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However, before you contact me, please read the comprehensive information below first to familiarise yourself with the way I prepare students for these highly competitive and challenging tests.

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WHAT'S INVOLVED IN THE PREPARATORY TUITION?

 I publish a curriculum for online group tuition in English, comprising a planned framework and scheme of work for three approximate ten-week terms for hardworking and productive Years Four and Five students.

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 Assessment

A straightforward assessment in English comprehension and writing with me will guide parents towards the most appropriate course for your child.  The fee for this initial assessment is usually £60.​

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Reading

English is my specialist subject and passion!  I encourage all my students to become active and discerning readers at home. When I begin teaching a child individually, I make every effort to find a programme of suitable literature for them to enjoy, not endure! Therefore, the tuition I offer is suited particularly to those bright girls and boys who are also reluctant readers.

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Sentence grammar, punctuation, syntax, vocabulary and proof-reading  

All my students are encouraged to develop rigour in these areas, which will form the bedrock of communicating in writing and speaking for the whole of their lives. 

•  I ensure that my students understand the component parts of a sentence so that they are equipped to organise their ideas into a variety of clear, fluent, structured sentences, using and punctuating main and subordinate clauses with confidence.

•   I provide students with the 'building blocks' of skills which will enable them to proof-read and check their own work with self-assurance and genuine understanding.

•  I support all teaching with clear revision notes, which I write myself.

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Comprehension

        Often, scholarship candidates distinguish themselves by the way they respond to comprehension questions, teasing out a variety of subtle inferences and underlying meanings. 

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·         I teach students how to approach comprehension texts with confidence and, in particular, to recognise that different types of comprehension questions require diverse approaches and responses.

·          With me, students preparing for entry into independent schools will become familiar with a wide range of poetry, fiction and non-fiction. They will learn to read, understand and respond critically and with genuine appreciation.

·         In the months approaching examinations, I train students to evaluate types of questions in seconds, enabling students to identify, understand and use appropriate taxonomies. They will discover how to work out how long they should spend on questions and the importance of particular (scholarship) questions in relation to the whole paper.

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Writing genres

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The development and practice of children's writing is my speciality subject and major interest. I will guide all my students, not only scholarship candidates, towards becoming the best writers that they can be.  Writing can be taught, and I set high standards for students who come to me; all students receive a rigorous, firm but fair education.  I try to guide my students by example, building on a love of literature and appreciating the techniques of inspiring writers. 

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•  I know from decades of experience that the grounding and roots of confidence in writing  lie in passionate, ambitious and wide-ranging reading.

• I teach a variety of genres of narrative (story) and descriptive prose and poetry; argumentative, discursive, critical and evaluative writing skills.

•  My syllabus incorporates various fiction and non-fiction genres, including writing play-scripts, speeches and oral and written presentations. All students will be encouraged to read widely while they receive tuition from me.

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ASSESSMENT

Before I accept a student for tuition for independent schools, I find out the key elements of the English in the tests and assess a child in those areas. (These are usually comprehension and writing.)

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•    I offer preparatory tuition in English for standard entry level and scholarship level to individual students.

•   Following my initial assessment and an offer of tuition, I propose, and parents agree, a written scheme of work, of which they receive a copy. I set a relevant and realistic programme of homework each week of approximately one hour.

•   I offer individual assessments with a view to students entering tuition with me in the future. I usually charge a fee of £60 for this service, which includes a follow-up telephone consultation with parents. Parents need to be prepared for me to tell them honestly whether I think their aspirations for their child are realistic in the time available.  I will be honest, but not brutal!

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I monitor progress and provide parents with regular, straightforward feedback and advice to address problem areas. I ensure that students' progress is maintained by regular testing using past and sample papers from relevant schools, and a range of worksheets which give clear explanations of features of the scheme of work.