Sarah-Louise Thacker

QUALIFICATIONS
- BSc Biological Sci & Biochem with honours
- QTS (GTP)
- MA Education
- NA SENDCo
- Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing
- DSL level 3 (safeguarding lead)
- Chartered member of the College of Teachers


EXPERIENCE
A qualified teacher with over 13 years' experience. My students have always achieved well & made great progress. I have been a lead practitioner for science, a head of science and a deputy headteacher – you will receive a professional service at all times.

EXAMINER
I have worked as an examiner for GCSE and A levels for different exam boards. Examiners gain a far greater insight into the nuances in applying of the mark scheme. I have marked GCSE Biology and Chemistry papers for the last 8 years, for both triple science and combined science. I can therefore support you with knowing how best to tackle exam questions, how to decipher the questions and which key words are really important in your answers.

EXCELLENCE
As a teacher and a tutor, I have been able to help students to achieve grade 7-9s and have also taught at A level, with my students achieving As and being accepted into medical school, Cambridge and the Russell Group universities. I am able to teach to the top, and from being an examiner, I know how to support my students in achieving top marks in exam questions. This year, I worked with several students aiming to secure GCSE grade 9s and looking to pursue medical school after A levels.

SEND
Students enjoy my lessons & get satisfaction from making progress & understanding difficult content. I trained as a SENDCo back in 2016, so I am aware of additional needs that children may have and the challenges this can present in their learning. I can confidently differentiate and adapt my teaching to support the individual needs of my students.

MEMBERSHIPS
I am a member of the Chartered College of Teaching, the Royal Society of Biology and an Associate member of the Royal Society of Chemistry. I enjoy keeping abreast of new research in my subject area in addition to pedagogical research and advances.

SUPPORT
I am able to find different ways of explaining key concepts and I am patient and understanding if it takes a little time to grasp something. I also use lots of ways to help you to remember content. GCSE science has a lot of content to remember, so working on recall and having an understanding of how students learn and move knowledge from short term to long the memory and cognitive load are key for successful tuition.

BESPOKE
I ensure tuition is bespoke to my student’s individual areas of strength, their gaps and misconceptions. I use past paper exam questions throughout tuition sessions to assess, model exam technique and help my students grow in confidence.