Patricia has three decades of teaching students both in the UK and internationally (including Hong Kong at Kellett School). She is a highly skilled tutor, guiding students through examination materials in both History and English (GCSE, IGCSE, A Level and IB and younger students for entrance examinations for UK schools.) Her students have enjoyed great success with outstanding examination results making their transition from GCSE to A Level or IB programmes rewarding, or their entry into top level university courses successful. In 2022 examinations for International A Level History and IGCSE, two of her students were awarded the best marks in the region for their examination responses.

She has spent her career working in some of the most prestigious international schools, gaining extensive experience with students from all backgrounds, allowing her to see the world through the eyes of the people living in all those different cultures.

On becoming a teacher:

I became a teacher as I had found it so exciting as a student unlocking difficult works of literature or finally understanding key historical processes rather than amassing tonnes of facts and quotes. I wanted to share these skills so that students, to enthuse students with a greater understanding of the world and be part of the process of building their confidence for the future.

I enjoy student’s curiosity and their willingness to explore new ways of learning. I thoroughly enjoy watching student’s progress and sharing in that new found confidence. As a tutor, I have always prided myself on the positive one to one relationships fostered between myself and my students, enabling them to have this strong growth mindset, aiming for top levels of achievement alongside fostering a love for the subjects and skills of History and English.

Other interests that reflect on my personality as a teacher:

Working in international schools has been an excellent vehicle for being able to immerse myself in other cultures, traditions and ways of life which otherwise I could only view through a holiday lens. This has fuelled my love of literature and history which I am able to use with students to enhance their understanding of different eras and societies. I have successfully led Model United Nations for students in all the schools I have taught in, attending the Hague MUN and NAIMUN in Washington on a number of occasions. Opening students up to the wider issues our world is facing in these student led forums was always very exciting and rewarding. More recently I have also experimented in writing, publishing a work of fiction and currently working on a piece of historical fiction. Song writing has formed part of this writing portfolio, achieving semi-finalist positions over a few years in the UK Song Writing Competition.

People I find inspirational and why:

For literature, I admire the ‘new greats’, Margaret Atwood, Ian McEwan, Sebastian Faulks, Kate Atkinson. All are contemporary writers who have made their mark on the world but have their roots in the teachings of the ‘old greats’ who tell a good story. These writers have inspired a whole new generation of writers. For history it must be Ian Kershaw, a great historian whose works on Hitler and Germany have produced a whole new understanding, exploring the psyche of a nation.

Then Dame Judy Dench. She is an actress who has tried every role from Shakespeare to James Bond and delivered each with splendid finesse. Most of the roles she is now famous for came at a time in her life when many women, especially actors, would have been passed over because of her gender and age, but she just re-invented herself and just keeps going. I thought long and hard about this question and it is this quality I most admire: fighting through pre conceived ideas and delighting people with the result.

Top tip to younger self:

Don’t be afraid of being wrong as experimentation and doubt has spurred more discoveries on and made people stronger than always being certain.