Vanessa

Vanessa has been a graduate teacher of secondary English more or less all her working life. With a particular interest in Literature, she has taught to GCSE and A level in state and private schools in this country and overseas. Coaching debate teams in these schools and producing a number of plays, some more successful than others, has added to her enjoyment of being a teacher because there is much more to life after school than sitting in a classroom, marking books! The extra-curricular life of any school, especially boarding schools where Vanessa has worked for many years, is vitally important and is a brilliant way to get to know and understand students fully in different contexts.

Both before and since her retirement, tutoring has been something she has enjoyed as she loves to work one-to-one and see pupils reach the potential they do not always see they have in themselves. Building confidence is not easily done, but for anyone, believing no challenge is too great is half the battle. Part of what Vanessa hopes to do is to encourage self-confidence in her pupils, a ‘can-do’ attitude. 

Vanessa has three adult sons and four grandchildren. All live some distance away but maintaining contact is something that remains very important to her.

 New to the area, Vanessa is looking forward to exploring the many facets of Yorkshire and finding more time for her hobbies as well as the house and the garden, both of which, she is aware ,need a great deal of care and attention!