Ume Kalsoom

//______ About me and my experience ______//


- BSC Biomedical Science First-Class, and MSC Neuroscience King's College London

- Won the Institute of Biomedical Science President Prize for outstanding academic achievement

- Worked with the Access Project delivering the National Tutoring Program tutoring students from disadvantaged backgrounds to achieve the best grades

- I have successfully supported many students from grammar, private and state schools:

> Over two years of experience tutoring Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Maths (i.e., GCSE/ A-Levels AQA, Edexcel, CIE, OCR) to students from Loughborough Amherst, St Gerard's, Godolphin and Latymer, North London Collegiate, Waverley, Sherborne Girls, Ashcroft Technology Academy, Clapham and Streatham, Chesham and Bury Grammar, Queen's College London and others.

> Tutored 11+ & 13+ English, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning entrance exam preparation and provide guidance for successful admissions to King's College School, Whitgift, Newstead Wood, Wallington County Grammar, Tiffin Boys, Latymer, Highlands, Graveney, Wilson's, Sutton Grammar, Ashcroft Technology Academy and others.


Offering online 1-1 tuition including to homeschooled students via Zoom for:


- 7+, 11+ & 13+ Entrance Exam Preparation Maths, English, Science, Verbal Reasoning, Non-Verbal Reasoning

- CAT & ISEB Preparation

- (I)GCSE & Functional Skills Maths, English, History, Citizenship, Biology, Chemistry, Physics

- A Level Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics

- Urdu Language Sessions (Beginner - Advance)

- Plagiarism, grammar & spelling errors - free proofreading as per UK English service for CV, personal statement, cover letter, dissertation, and essay


<< Sessions include additional practice and homework >>



????? TESTIMONIALS


“Excellent tutor - Since Ume has been tutoring my daughter (for Year 11 GCSE Maths) her grade has gone from grade U to achieving grade B in one year. As a result of these sessions, my daughter is much more enthusiastic and motivated and looks forward to her sessions. She sets homework after each session that helps to consolidate what she learned. She also makes sure to develop exam skills by doing regular tests and also by looking at past paper questions. I also get regular updates from Ume about my daughter's progress. Overall Ume is very knowledgeable, thorough and knows how to rekindle enthusiasm for the subject. I would highly recommend her as a tutor to anyone." Ms Dilana, GCSE Maths Tuition

Update : “My daughter has achieved grade A in her final GCSE Maths.” Ms Dilana, GCSE Maths Tuition


“Ume has been tutoring my 10 year old daughter, Isla, for some weeks now (year 5) and already Ume has helped her excel passed expectations and she is hitting A* targets. Isla has been loving her lessons every week, and Ume is always reliable, patient, and encouraging to her. Isla now shows so much more confidence in her maths skills and is really keen to start studying for her 11+! Isla’s school has seen a massive improvement in the talent she already had, and Ume is pushing her further and further on with her incredible support, advice and care. I couldn’t recommend Ume enough. A total joy! Thank you” Mrs Gibson, Year 5 and 11+ English and Maths Tuition


“My daughter has been working with Ume, twice weekly for 6 weeks now. Ume was recommended to us by a friend, and we plan to continue employing Ume for the foreseeable future. She tutors my daughter in Physics and Biology.

My daughter is in year 10 and had considerable gaps in her scientific knowledge due to several years living overseas and large amounts of remote learning in her first year back in the UK system. She had lost all confidence and was disengaged with her lessons at school.

Ume took onboard our situation and created lessons that were appropriate to my daughter's specific needs. She set appropriate goals for the term, so my daughter could feel that she was working towards a meaningful target. Her lessons have clear objectives, are well planned, follow the appropriate GCSE curriculum and I receive regular feedback. She also sends follow up links after each session, to consolidate the learning done during the session.

My daughter was initially reluctant to engage with tutoring, but even she has recognised the value of the sessions and logs on for each session without complaining! She has rated Ume as a 5 star tutor.

We immediately noted a change in my daughter's attitude towards her science lessons at school. She is far more confident and as she now understands what is being taught in school, she is far more engaged with her schoolwork.

I would thoroughly recommend Ume to all parents. We feel so lucky to have found her.” Ms Harman, GCSE Physics and Biology Tuition


“Ume is teaching my daughter Maths, Physics, Biology and Chemistry and she is a brilliant teacher. My daughter is a year 10 GCSE student whose grades have improved enormously since her lessons with Ume; she is currently achieving grades 7 to 9 which is amazing. She is also very happy in her lessons and actually looks forward to them. Ume is friendly, patient and her teaching methods are thorough and clear. She always sends additional learning material. We would certainly recommend Ume to anyone.” Mrs Ward, GCSE Physics, Biology, Chemistry and Maths Tuition



//______ My tutoring approach ______//


Firstly, through small discussions, the student's needs such as whether the student wants to focus on the course content, exam techniques or both, and learning style are communicated to ensure that the lessons are tailored. I will then prepare subsequent lessons based on the subject specification (outlines learning objectives that students need to know for their school/college assessments) and students' learning profile. I prepare the lessons in advance and deliver lessons via Zoom whiteboard space (i.e., showing Maths working or diagrams) and PowerPoint which my student can see and engage throughout the lesson.

I start my lesson by introducing the topic and lesson objectives or learning targets. To keep the lesson interactive, I include diagrams and ask questions to improve my students' understanding of the material. The lesson is usually summed up with a summary of the main points covered in the lesson and the suggestion of relevant resources that might help to enhance my students' understanding of the topic. At the end of each session, I offer my students an opportunity to suggest topics of interest to be covered in the next lesson. This will help tailor the lesson to meet students' needs and targets, so they gain as much as possible from each lesson.

I guide my students to use different revision strategies, and tips to remember key facts within my lessons and encourage them to use active recall and spaced repetition to reinforce their learning. I encourage my students to ask questions to address any misunderstanding, focus and further practice on weaker areas to improve understanding and bridge any gaps in knowledge and skills to ace their exams. For example, when reading questions pay attention to the command word in the question (i.e., how, explain, describe etc.), creating a glossary of terms for each of the Science topics including for the command words and communicating key practical terms such as reliable, error, accurate, quantitative data, dependent and continuous variables etc. As well as help my students develop transferable academic skills not covered in the school curriculum to succeed beyond school and college.

I teach my students using high-quality up-to-date education content including exam-style questions, mock tests and exclusive learning resources created by expert teachers. Through regular assessments and tests covering exam board-specific learning content i.e., 11+/13+ (Sutton, GL, CSSE, CEM, Kingston, SET, ISEB), Edexcel, AQA, OCR Gateway, OCR 21st Century and others, developing exam skills and boosting confidence and assign further reading, practice and homework after each session to strengthen their knowledge and recap sessions to bridge any gaps in their understanding.


Thanks, and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.