Alex C

A qualified teacher and Professional Mentor at Oppidan, who loves live music and scoring for their 7-a-side football team!

Education

Regent’s University – Foundation Certificate in Counselling and Psychotherapy University College London – Postgraduate Diploma in Education with Qualified Teacher Status Bristol University – BA in Philosophy and Theology

Bio

I became a Teach First ambassador in 2019 after completing the challenging teacher training programme. After 4 years in formal education, I wanted to work with young people in a different setting, and pivoted into youth work with a charity that supports survivors of abuse. This work has made me passionate about the importance of educating young people in how to recognise the signs of healthy versus unhealthy relationships.

Outside of education, I am passionate about supporting people to manage their mental health, and I volunteering for charity that provides face-to face support to people feeling suicidal. I will also be starting a part-time Masters next year in Counselling and Psychotherapy, with the aim of becoming a qualified psychotherapist.

Outside of work, I think it’s important to explore what life has to offer, and find what makes you tick. For me, that includes travelling, reading fiction, training for a triathlon, and cooking up Italian food for my friends and family.

Approach

With 6 years’ experience of tutoring and mentoring young people aged 7-18, I have the knack of creating engaging learning experiences that are adapted to meet each child’s individual needs.

During teacher training, I learned about the art of ‘motivational interviewing’, and have adopted the key principles of this approach into how I work with young people. The approach is positive, and encourages children to recognise their own strengths, and be curious about what they find challenging. I want to upskill my mentees to become self-reflective, so they can understand what motivates them, as well as build their own kit of learning tools that works for them.

When children are supported to build the confidence they need to embrace challenges head on (with the knowledge that mistakes are a part of the process of learning and developing our skill set), their self-esteem and resilience increases, putting them in a better position to succeed and fulfill their true potential.

What parents say

"Alex has been 100% wonderful for E - gave her so much confidence with 11+ - could not have done it without her!" Mother of 11+ student, February 2024

"Alex was absolutely fantastic, she helped our daughter in getting more confident and also helped her with her comprehension and other 11+ topics. It was a great help" Mother of Year 6 Student, January 2024

"We feel well taken care of and heard. Overall a fantastic experience." Mother of Year 3 parent, November 2023

"Alex is absolutely great and she has engaged with my daughter really nicely. She is punctual and the communication with her is quick and easy. I think she is helping my daughter with her confidence and also helping her with other academic topics." Mother of Year 6 Student, November 2023

Alex was a lovely lady who made Sophia feel at ease at all times. We only saw Alex for a few months prior to exams/interviews so difficult to see much difference in Sophia’s results in that time but Sophia did enjoy the sessions and felt Alex explained tricky topics well and in a way she could understand.

"Alex is absolutely fantastic and extremely helpful." Mother of Year-6 Student, November 2023

"Alex worked with our son to help him prepare for 11+. He particularly struggled with comprehension. I was really impressed by how quickly he improved after starting work with Alex, which was fedback to me by his teacher at his school." – Parents of Year 5 Student, March 2023

"Alex has been brilliant. Since being supported by her, we noticed that our son has started speaking about some of his subjects without us having to ask!" – Parent of Year 10 student, October 2022

"Alex really helped me to feel motivated to work hard for my English GCSE, and I think that her being so encouraging made me feel that I could actually achieve my predicted grade and in the end I got an A, which was one above my predicted,. so thank you again Alex :)" - Year 11 Student, August 2022

"I feel confident that Alex has made a positive difference to our daughter’s approach to learning, and we can see that her confidence has grown and she seems brighter in herself."- Parent of Year 9 Student, April 2022