Donal

Donal is a charismatic and affable tutor. We were particularly impressed at interview by his attention to detail when preparing students for exams.

Donal teaches: Primary (Year 1 - 6) English, Primary (Year 1 - 6) Maths, 11+ English, 11+ Maths, 11+ Science, 13+ English, 13+ French, 13+ Geography, 13+ History, 13+ Maths, 13+ Science, Special Educational Needs, Verbal Reasoning & Non-Verbal Reasoning

''We were absolutely thrilled with the results as our son was offered places at a number of excellent schools (including Westminster, City of London School, Latymer Upper and some others).''

Parent of 12 year old student

About Donal:

Experience
Biography
Approach to Tutoring
When not tutoring

Experience

I first started one-to-one tutoring in 2004 in Japan (English as a foreign language), and then a few years later, back in the UK, I began tutoring children for their 7 and 8+ exams. Preparing children for these exams encouraged me to seek out fun and creative ideas for both story construction and the consolidation of mathematical concepts. I have helped children gain places at St Paul's, Westminster, NLCS and Latymer.

It was a natural progression from this to work with older children at the 11+, 13+ and then 16+ levels; at all these levels I have used my experience as a Philosophy Foundation facilitator to develop critical and imaginative thinking.

Over the years, I have also worked with many SEN pupils (at the Dyslexia Teaching Centre and now at Bloomfield Dyslexia Centre). I have also worked with Action Tutoring as a volunteer tutor for both English and maths in primary schools.

I have successfully prepared children at 11+ for schools including Alleyn's, Latymer, St Paul's, City of London, Highgate, Latymer and Godolphin and Emmanuel. At 13+ my students have had success with schools including Dulwich, Harrow, Tonbridge, Marlborough and many others. At 16+ I have successfully prepared students for entrance to Brighton College. At all levels, I also do interview preparation.

Biography

I was a scholar at Alleyn's School where I took A-levels in French, English, History and General Studies (3 A's, 1 B) and then went on to gain a 2:1 degree in PPE from Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. In between these two periods, I taught English to children in rural Nepal.

After leaving university, I worked as an English teacher in Japan (for ages 2 upwards) and a filmmaking coordinator in secondary schools. Now, alongside being a tutor at Keystone, I work as a dyslexia specialist teacher at Bloomfield Dyslexia Centre. I am also a facilitator and trainer at the Philosophy Foundation, a charity which leads critical thinking and philosophical explorations in schools.

Approach to Tutoring

I tailor each tutoring assignment to the needs and abilities of each individual, since many years of tutoring have taught me the importance of getting to know my students before we can set a detailed programme of study.

I find that it is imperative to set goals for students so that they know what they are aiming for. What form this takes will be dependent on the child. Recently, for a 7-year-old student (who had a major interest in computer games and the army) I constructed a series of 'levels' which he had to achieve before he became a 'story soldier'. This gave him a far more tangible (and fun) goal than the more serious, overwhelming one of 'pass the Westminster test.'

Whether it's in maths, English or science, my aim is always to foster a child's independent and creative thinking and instil a real interest in the subject. Alongside achieving a tangible goal (such as entrance into a school), I would like all of my students to grow and develop skills which will help them in years to come.

When not tutoring

I am a facilitator for the Philosophy Foundation, whose aim is to foster autonomous and creative thought amongst primary and secondary school children. Hearing children as young as seven come up with their own philosophical insights and debate with other children in an open, interested manner never ceases to inspire me.

I play 5-a-side football weekly and am a keen chef of vegetarian delicacies. Recently, I have started making my own chocolate.

What clients say about Donal:

"Our son very much enjoyed working with Donal – his great sense of humour, engaging style, clear and precise instructions and calm nature helped keep him motivated in what is a fairly testing time in the run up to the exams. For us as parents, it was good to see that Donal always remained focused and calm and that the sessions were incredibly productive."

Parent of 13 year old student

"Donal is an excellent tutor and we couldn’t recommend him more highly!"

Parents of 11+ student

"Donal tutored my son for the 7+ entrance exams in London. Donal was wonderful with him, as he instantly built up a strong rapport and used lots of creative ways to bring out his story writing and sentence structure. Over time, Donal also worked on numeracy and comprehension. My son would look forward to each lesson, relishing the one to one time as well as the imaginative way in which Donal delivered each lesson. My son received several offers. We wholeheartedly recommend Donal."

Mother of 7+ student

"Donal was not only a patient and thorough tutor but has the most wonderful manner with his students. He disarms them with charm and kindness so they totally forget they are doing maths! He was not only a pleasure to work with but he managed to get our daughter offers at all her chosen schools. We can't thank him enough and wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to anyone."

Mother of 11+ student

"Donal worked with our 6 year old daughter over a six month period, to prepare her to take the 7+ exams. She needed particular help to learn how to write stories as her school had not taught that yet. Donal was able to build an excellent rapport with her and used his creativity and sense of humour to hold her interest and concentration. He built her skills up step by step in a way that she could engage with and ultimately was successful in passing the entrance exams."

Mother of 7+ student

"My son, who is now 12, has a severe immune deficiency and was tutored by Donal more recently at the end of year 6 after a year in hospital. He is kind, very intelligent and punctual. He is engaging and tries to really involve the student with interesting games and exercises. He is gifted at teaching English in particular, and what his students get is a masterclass in composition and the use of language. I really can't recommend him enough."

Mother of Year 6 student

"Donal has a play-like yet structured approach to help a seven year old child write a story. His lessons are engaging and exciting while the results are long lasting. My son not only loved the time he spent with Donal, but more importantly improved his vocabulary and writing ability to the point which he started to enjoy writing. Subsequently, his English test results in the 8+ exam were great!"

Mother of 8+ student

"Thank you for all your hard work in getting our son accepted to Westminster Under School, St Paul's Juniors and Sussex House. Our son has enjoyed working with you and it was very satisfying to see him improve under your tutelage as the exams approached. We wish you continued success in the future and will have no hesitation is recommending to our friends and family."

Father of 8+ student

"Donal has been an excellent tutor and motivator for our son Myles, helping to prepare him for his 8+ exams over the last 2 years. Donal helped Myles develop key creative writing and reading comprehension skills as well as the maths concepts which were vital to his success during this testing period and I would highly recommend him."

Mother of 8+ student

''My daughter really enjoyed her time with Donal. He was very patient with her and they seemed to have a good rapport. After Donal assessment, we know we have a lot of preparation to do before proceeding any further, as she is behind in maths and grammar for entry exams in November. It was valuable insight into the competition, for which we are grateful.''

Mother of 7+ student

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