Testimonials

 

A sample of testimonials from past students

Zara is an excellent tutor – she was calm, professional and encouraging. She was very good in increasing our daughter’s knowledge as well as exam technique, seriously improving her grades. She was always very well prepared and her tutorials were always relevant and specific to the individual. We would thoroughly recommend her!!
Joanna Scrutton

Very knowledgable, excellent communication, friendly manner, flexible approach and encouragingly supportive. Couldn’t be happier! I highly recommend Zara.
Leila Safari

We have known Zara for 3 years. She tutored both my daughters in OCR A Chemistry and Biology. They achieved A’s and an A*, which was essential for them to get into medical and veterinary school.Zara is a very experienced teacher, who is familiar with exam technique. She prepares and organises lessons for each student tailored to their needs. Her lessons are very structured, she gave very useful notes, challenging and tricky past paper questions and reviewed this in the next session.Overall, she is very friendly, patient and very motivating. We highly recommend Zara to anyone who needs help.
Ira Taylor

Zara is a fantastic tutor. Very well organised, with a masterful knowledge of A Level Biology. She helped my daughter achieve 3 grades higher than her AS Level mark. Thank you for providing your invaluable experience and helping my daughter move onto the next stage of her education.
Reeta Tak

After my AS level in chemistry didn’t go to plan we found Zara to try and rescue my A2. She single handedly transformed my understanding of chemistry and raised me to an A in my course work in a matter of weeks. Her tutoring was tailored perfectly to my needs, going from the basics to the higher level stuff which in the end resulted in strong As in my two A2 exams.
Isla Macmillan, accepted to Veterinary Medicine

I returned to education after 6 years to do further A levels in Chemistry and Biology (both AQA) as an intensive course over 9 months whilst applying to medical school. Zara was amazing at helping me return to education and focused on exam technique to help me obtain my required grades. She was extremely supportive and ensured she provided techniques to ensure I retained the large amount of knowledge required. I now have a place at Bristol University studying medicine after getting 2 A*s! I highly recommend her as a tutor!
Annie Rylance

Zara helped me greatly with preparing for my A2 level chemistry exam, when my teacher was absent for a long period of time, meaning I needed to gain confidence in specific topics. Because of this, I achieved well above my target grade in my exam results and was able to get into University 🙂
Lauren Parry

Great tutor with outstanding all round knowledge of syllabuses and exam techniques. I was tutored in OCR A chemistry and AQA Biology at A2. Reviewing content covered in class with Zara improved my confidence in lessons and in tackling some of the more complicated questions on exam papers which when needing to obtain AAA for dental school was vital for me. Thoroughly recommend.
Georgia H, Colston’s Girls’ School, accepted in Dental School

Zara was recommended to me by a friend, I had a conditional offer at vet school and needed to secure AAA. I was particularly struggling with the genetics topic of OCR A2 Biology, however Zara gave me the confidence and skills to understand this complex module. The resources Zara gave me alongside her brilliant teaching skills were incredibly helpful and reassuring. I truly believe that without Zara’s help, I wouldn’t have achieved the results I have. Thank you so much! 
Kylie R, Brimsham Green School, accepted for Veterinary Medicine.

I approached Zara for tutoring to complete AS and A2 AQA Biology in a year and independently of any school. It was a daunting task but Zara was more than up for the challenge! Zara was my only teacher and she took me through every element of the course clearly and effectively, at a fairly rapid pace but I never felt that we were going too quickly. I started studying with some confidence, and Zara’s teaching methods helped improve my confidence levels significantly. Her methods of tutoring were adaptable and she always had another way of trying to explain something if I didn’t understand the first time. Zara’s patience and determination helped me achieve high A’s in my AS andA2 modules. 
Sarah Neelson, Mature student, A*  modules

After completing my AS year and realising that I was really struggling with EDEXCEL Chemistry I sought Zara’s help in order to tutor me for both AS and A2 chemistry.  Zara was extremely patient and methodical in her explanations of concepts that I struggled to grasp, and in turn this led to me being able to get a hold of them much better than I other wise would’ve in class. The tutoring it’s self was specific to my board and the fact that Zara gave me so many past paper questions, meant that I was confident in approaching the new questions in the exam, which I definitely wasn’t before hand!  I’d recommend Zara to anyone in need of a tutor, she is patient and gives you a lot of confidence, at the end of the sessions not only do you come away having learnt a lot, but her encouragement also makes you realise that you knew more to start with than you think you did.
D Burden, accepted into Bioveterinary Science

After taking my AS levels, I felt I still needed help getting to grips with certain elements of my OCR Salters Chemistry course. From the first lesson Zara was outstanding. Each lesson we covered a different aspect of the course that was troubling me and each lesson I came away feeling as though I had finally understood the topic. This is something I did not always feel coming out of a normal school lesson as I did not always have the confidence or knowledge of the course to get similar help from my teachers. After retaking my AS level chemistry in order to raise my grade, I came out with an A grade and I felt much more confident on the basic principles which I am certain helped when I took my A levels.

I have tutored with Zara over 3 years of my University degree, and I would like to say that she is an excellent tutor, who helped me with various modules when I struggled. She is very friendly and a great tutor to work with. Her teaching method helped me a lot with completing my Uni work, and she also helped me to boost my confidence. Zara was very supportive and she helped me to achieve high grades in my modules. Zara also ensures that she is up-to-date with the information given, which I believe is very helpful in order to enhance further knowledge. During sessions, Zara makes sure that I understood what was covered, and she offered me lots of resources, which helped me with my exam revision. Recently I have completed my degree and I would like to thank Zara, who was there when I needed her. Thank you for all your help and support.
Sierra K, University student, Biomedical Science

I started having tutoring sessions early last year for Biology, in order to raise my AS level grade and to achieve a high A level grade. With Zara’s great help, I achieved this, raising my AS biology grade from a U to an A, and getting a B in my A level biology grade. Zara worked at my pace, making sure I was clear on the content every step of the way, and made me much more confident in finding a good technique to revision and to answering exam questions. Her help made a huge different to my grades and my confidence, I couldn’t have achieved these grades without it.
Caoimhe A, A-level student

Zara helped me go from a U grade at AS to getting a B in AQA Biology. S he was a really helpful and patient tutor who knows the ins and outs of Biology better than anybody. I highly recommend her, her teaching techniques are colourful and visual so everything is easy to remember and the practice questions from past papers really help too.
Lisa M, current student, studying Biology at A2

Zara’s teaching abilities are very impressive, her friendly, down to earth approach worked wonders. I am forever grateful for her dedication and patience, for if it wasn’t for her I would never have achieved my goals. I highly recommend Zara especially for people who have been out of education for a while and need an extra push of confidence.
Phoebe A, Cardiff, adult student retaking A-level Biol (AQA) and Chem (OCR A)

I started having 1 on 1 lessons with Zara every week after receiving very disappointing grades in my AS OCR A Level Chemistry, I was struggling greatly at school and had almost no confidence in my ability to pass chemistry. After only a couple of lessons with Zara my confidence had grown and chemistry no longer seemed so impossible. Zara was an amazing teacher who took the time to find out what I struggled with and continually tested my knowledge of particular modules until I understood them fully. Her lessons had been adapted for my style of learning and every lesson I left feeling more and more confident for the upcoming exams. Because of Zara’s great tutoring I got the grades I needed to go on to Birmingham City University to study Adult Nursing.
Felicity S, Mangotsfield School, Bristol Accepted for Adult Nursing

With having to resit my AS level due to not achieving the grades I wanted, I started off the new year with goals to achieve A’s and B’s minimum for my exam papers for Chemistry and Biology with the help of Zara. I was the sort of person who knew the some answer’s but did not want to take the risk if getting it wrong, Zara really gave me the confidence to have a go and answer questions even if its wrong because then I would learn from my answer so I know how to go about it the next time a similar question arises. Even when I was clueless at times, Zara explained the topics in a way that I can understand it down to every detail. I went from a C and E in my exam papers for biology to a A and B this year for ( AQA)BIOL1 and BIOL2. Also I went from a 2 C’s for chemistry (OCR A) F321 and F322 in the first year to an A and B this year. With Zara’s help, I achieved the goals I had set at the beginning of the year. Without Zara’s help there was no way I could have obtained the results that I did this year. For anyone who needs help and want to achieve the grades you would like…Zara is the person to go to.
Rana A, Cardinal Newman College, Hove, going to A2

Zara really helped improve my confidence, meaning I went into the exam (AQA Biol) sure that the whole specification had been covered properly and that I had covered all the topics in past papers. Zara was fun to work with, yet always kept me working hard and it was great to tailor sessions around what I felt I needed help with.
Beatriz E, Bristol Cathedral School, studying Music

I came to Zara during my second year of A-levels for tutoring with AQA A level Biology, I had very little confidence in my ability which wasn’t helped by me not attaining the AS results I wanted. After the first session with Zara my confidence had already grown and has continued to do so over the past year of having regular sessions with Zara. Not only is Zara a fantastic teacher but she’s also friendly and extremely easy to talk to. Her sessions have been always been orientated around me and suited to my learning style and I always leave the sessions thinking ‘wow, I learnt a lot today’. We would cover subjects in an hour that would take several lessons to go through in school lessons and I truly believe that without her help I wouldn’t have achieved what I have.
Beth H, Wyedean School, accepted for Physiotherapy course at University

I was struggling with OCR A-Level chemistry and having lessons with Zara made a huge difference; she really helped me get to grips with the basics of the subject which therefore improved my overall understanding. Every lesson was planned out carefully which helped me to cover all the topics systematically. Although I haven’t received my overall results yet, I believe that without Zara I wouldn’t have even been able to pass my previous exams. I would really recommend her to anyone else as a tutor!
Arabella Esme, Cotham Sixth Form College, Bristol

My academic ability for Biology has always been low despite having a real enjoyment for the subject. I came to Zara in the hope that she would be able to boost my confidence in this subject – particularly focusing on exam technique which was always my weakest point. Zara really boosted my confidence and took extra time explaining through the area I found extremely difficult. Without her motivation, I would never have been able to achieve my target grades.  I 100% recommend her as a tutor.
Lisa May, John Cabot Academy, studying English Lit at University

After struggling with OCR AS Biology and Chemistry, my teachers predicted me low grades, which thoroughly knocked my confidence. However, with the brilliant teaching skills, support and reassurance of Zara, I made excellent progress and developed confidence for my A-level exams. This lead to exceeding the expectations of my predicted grades for University. Thanks for all your help throughout.
Katherine M, Ridings International School, accepted for Biochemistry Degree

Zara helped me for my AS Biology exams including a re-take. She offered me lots of really helpful exam advice and techniques which proved really useful for the exam. She also gave me lots of resources that helped develop my knowledge and helped me to practice exam style questions leaving me prepared for my exams. We went through the book in detail and she explained everything in a way I could understand.
Sophie R, St. Mary Redcliffe School

I had sessions with Zara to improve my AQA Biology A level grades, I had struggled at AS and required extra support from outside my sixth form. Zara has an extensive and detailed knowledge of the syllabus, and this reassured me and helped to improve my confidence. Her method of teaching is efficient by covering good detail in suitable chunks. I mainly struggled with exam technique so Zara’s focus on exam questions was extremely useful, and allowed me to get used to exam style throughout the year. With Zara’s help, my first A2 unit improved by two grades, and the improvement in my confidence has been huge!
Bethan F, Dowend School, Bristol, accepted for Physcology degree

When I started my tutoring sessions with Zara for AS and A2 OCR B chemistry I was very unconfident [sic] in the subject and was hoping she could help. Having her as a tutor made the lessons at college seem a lot less daunting, and helped me prepare better so I didn’t feel so lost in class. She was an inspiration and helped me to enjoy Chemistry again as she always remained positive and encouraging. We managed to covered so much more material in a lesson than i would have in class at college. I enjoyed my lessons with her and would recommend her as she is a great tutor.
Caroline R, St. Mary Redcliffe School, Bristol, going into Medicine

Zara is an excellent tutor, she is reliable, well prepared and very knowledgable on different exam boards and her subject. My daughter is shy about asking questions but finds it easy to ask Zara who explains well with the use of lots of diagrams. She has given my daughter confidence and I would highly recommend her.
Mrs L, Brimsham Green, Bristol, (OCR A2 Biology), accepted for Nursing

Carlie started with Zara in the January of year 12, firstly with OCR A level Biology and then soon after with OCR A level Chemistry, she was finding the volume of work at A level increasingly daunting. C is dyslexic and the sheer quantity of technical words and definitions that need to be learnt and spelt correctly for both these subjects, and particularly Biology was at times overwhelming for her. Zara’s influence over C’s learning was very significant and for this we are extremely grateful, I am not sure how C would have coped with her studies without her regular weekly sessions with Zara.

Carlie was comfortable and at ease with Zara’s teaching style, she is friendly and approachable and yet formal and very professional. Zara was very well prepared for her sessions and encouraged regular communication prior to the lesson so that she could ensure her sessions were appropriate and met the needs of Carlie. Zara is very proactive in her subjects and ensures that she up-to-date on all the exam board specifications. As the exams approached Zara was able to instil to Carlie the importance of exam technique and she worked diligently to ensure Carlie was well practiced and confident with the written papers.

Zara was able to explain to Carlie specific concepts and processes in a way that C could understand and Zara was in tune with Carlie’s learning style. Carlie’s confidence in her ability has grown and this is as a result of the efforts Zara has made with Carlie. Zara is indeed an excellent tutor, we were very lucky to find her, thank you Zara for all your help and support!
Mrs D Francis, Bristol

I decided to get a tutor after my biology teachers were unsure about getting through the syllabus. Getting a good grade in my Biology A-level was vital as I plan to study medicine in September. Zara was very organised and extremely helpful in getting me through the whole subject, and concentrated not only on improving my knowledge but exam technique also. She was a fantastic tutor, very calm and attentive, and made me feel a lot more at ease about sitting my exams. Without having her I definitely would not have gone into my exam feeling confident, finding her as a tutor was a complete life saver. I would recommend her to anyone sitting their Biology A-level, who needs help or who even just wants some extra great quality teaching.
Emily D, Winterbourne International Academy, obtained an overall A, accepted for Medicine

Zara is an excellent tutor who taught me Chemistry in a manner that made the subject much easier to understand. She planned each lesson in great detail, provided many useful resources and helped me to greatly improve my exam technique. After improving in Chemistry, I decided to get lessons in Biology. Zara helped me master the synoptic element of the exam and had confidence that I would perform well in it. She was very supportive and helped me achieve grade “A”s in both subjects which was crucial for me to get into Medicine. Thank you for all your help Zara!
Sofia A, Colston Girls, 2010/11, obtained A* in both subjects, accepted for Medicine

Thank you Zara for all your help with my daughters Ashley and Sarah. They both enjoyed their lessons with you and said that you managed to explain topics in a very understandable way. Your notes and diagrams were clear and helpful for revision. They left each of their sessions with you happy that they had conquered that particular topic. You also helped with S’s confidence in Chemistry and Biology and she went on to achieve an “A” grade in her science Common Entrance exam. A felt more confident also in her knowledge of A2 Biology and hopefully this will show in her results. I have been more than happy to recommend you to my friends.
R Currie, Clifton College

I attended tutoring sessions with Zara in order to help me with the Chemistry portion of my pre-Medical course. Zara was extremely helpful- improving both my aptitude for chemistry and heightening my overall confidence in the area. She was always very well prepared, making numerous worksheets that were vital in helping my revision. She was able to explain concepts thoroughly and calmly- which in my opinion is the key to good teaching! Many thanks Zara for all your help!
Elizabeth Q, pre-med student at Bristol, obtained A* grade, moved into dentistry

My daughter was really struggling with her Chemistry only getting a D grade in her mock GCSE. She had extra tuition with Dr.Wood and really got to grips with the subject,In fact she managed, thanks in no small part to her tuition with Dr.Wood, to achieve an A* in her GCSE exam.
DW, Clifton College, obtained A* in Chemistry