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Nicola Burkinshaw: Private Tutor
Welcome to my website! I am a private tutor specialising in English, history as well as more general learning skills such as critical thinking and revision. I have been teaching in and out of classrooms for more than twenty years and have worked with both children and adults. My focus is on building good habits and techniques to help students absorb knowledge and communicate it effectively. I have high expectations but my focus is always on progress over perfection. Lessons are a mixture of engaging technology and traditional teaching and learning, always tailored towards the particular student.
While inevitably many of my students come to me for support in preparation for exams, for many it is also an opportunity to build on their cultural capital and engage in wider study of the arts and humanities. Students are encouraged to read and research beyond the curriculum and are given the skills to do this effectively and critically.
Although all my lessons are online, I pride myself on the positive relationships I build with my students and their parents. Technology means I can be available to students around the world and provide a range of easily accessible learning materials but also means that we are able to show off our pets to each other!
If you think your child would benefit from tuition with me, please do drop me an email or a WhatsApp. Alternatively, do take a look at the subject specific pages which contain a range of materials that you are welcome to use with your child.
English
Over the last eight years of tutoring I have worked with a wide range of students: from those with severe learning difficulties to some who have gone to Oxbridge to continue their literary education. My focus is on clear, precise communication and the development of careful, analytical reading skills. Students learn the importance of the right word at the right time and the joy of poetic language used with flair.
Although I do tutor students through exams, I also offer more generalised tuition that encourages a love of reading and develops writing that is interesting, accurate and complex.
History
An understanding of history is fundamental to understanding the world in which we live today. While students need to learn about the people and events of the past, they also need to learn how to analyse causes and evaluate significance. History lessons are an energetic, exciting mix of knowledge and skill development and students are always encouraged to learn beyond the specification to improve their understanding.
I tutor students at both GCSE and A Level and have covered most topics at some point! I have a particular interest in the first half of the twentieth century and am currently working on research on eighteenth and nineteenth century Britain.
Learning Skills
Revision is important but knowing how to revise effectively is vital. I work with students to develop their time management skills, learn how to prioritise and introduce them to new revision techniques that ensure they progress.
Critical Thinking
It has been said that we are living in an age of intellectual obesity: there is information galore available to us but we tend to pick up the easily digestible, unchallenging stuff that floats around on the internet. In my new course I am offering students the opportunity to develop the skills to properly interrogate arguments and ideas; to research effectively and to recognise the difference between fact and belief.
人们怎么说
伊丽莎，学生
尼古拉是一位了不起的导师。她从 11 年级开始辅导我的英语，一直到 13 年级结束时辅导我的英语和历史。她不仅非常善良，而且是一个非常可爱的人，如果我难以理解某事，她会非常耐心，并会围绕我难以理解的主题提出问题，以帮助我形成理解和意见。我怎么推荐她都不为过。
莎拉，家长
Nicola 绝对是我儿子 GCSE 的救星。她非常积极，是一位出色的老师，给了我儿子这样的信心。她是一位优秀的老师，对教学大纲了如指掌，教我儿子历史和英语。我的儿子一直讨厌英语，在第一次被她教后，他说这是有道理的。我强烈推荐尼古拉。
苏珊娜，父母
我 14 岁的儿子非常期待与 Nicola 一起上课。她对他的要求是鼓励的、有条理的和明确的。她了解他的需求，并拥有出色的学科专业知识。在这些不确定的时期，知道她有检查的经验也非常令人放心。