Angela Irwin

As a highly experienced teacher of GCSE and A level History, I plan well structured and engaging lessons with features that support access for all students and allow for the ongoing assessment for learning. I use quizzes or other retrieval activities to establish prior learning or assess progress. I often introduce new topics using primary sources or extracts from books to provide stimulus and also use them in activities as a way to engage students and to develop their analytical and critical thinking skills. I plan all my lessons around a key question that is aimed to ensure relevance as well as wider, contextual understanding. I provide prompts, sentence starters and word lists to help students formulate answers verbally and write effective and concise answers. I regularly incorporate visual materials to support learning that are always specific and directly support learning. I conclude all my lessons with an activity that is designed to provide an opportunity for students to showcase their learning (and for me as a teacher to assess their progress and adjust my plans and/or resources for next lesson). In addition to my ongoing assessment of students during each lesson, I regularly test their knowledge and understanding through set essay questions which I mark using a standardised grid designed around the Assessment Objectives for the course and always provide detailed and specific feedback.

Throughout my teaching career, I have had the opportunity to deliver a wide range of topics across GCSE and A level. My main expertise is Cold War History which I taught both and GCSE (AQA) and A level and specialise in at A level for AQA Unit 2. I have taught US History, including the Civil Rights Movement which I specialise in as I delivered it as part of examined units as well as for courseworkollowing the most recent changes to secondary History curriculum I have had to prepare for and teach examined units on Migration, Norman England and US domestic history. Previously I also taught Nazi Germany at GCSE and various AS and A level units on British History covering topics between 1895 and 1975.

I have a track record of supporting students to make expected and above expected progress both at GCSE and A level with a particular focus on successfully helping students to achieve top grades. In addition to this I have worked as an academic coach with A level students helping them to prepare for Oxbridge and Medicine applications. As a result of this, I am very familiar with all aspects of the application process as well as how to support students to achieve top grades.