Comprehension: The best way that you can help your child to improve their comprehension skills is to encourage them to read. Children who are voracious readers and read from a wide variety of genres have an innate ability to understand the nuances that lie beneath the surface of a text. Their understanding of these subtleties helps them to formulate outstanding answers, demonstrating their deeper understanding of the passage. Ultimately, this leads to gaining higher marks.

It is crucial that candidates have exposure to many different types of exam papers. I have an extensive range of papers at my disposal and focus on teaching the Point, Evidence and Explanation technique. Students learn to 'dig deep' and to scrutinise a text from a variety of angles and perspectives. They will learn to analyse texts carefully and to formulate well-devised, detailed and succinct answers.

Creative Writing: Not everyone is a natural when it comes to creative writing. Some children are intuitively imaginative and words flow from their pens like liquid gold. For many others, writing creatively can be quite a challenge but I firmly believe that it is a skill that can be taught, a sort of 'recipe', if you will. Once a child knows the correct 'ingredients' and the 'recipe' is carefully followed, it often results in a tasty dish, or at least one that is quite palatable!

During my writing lessons, students will become familiar with a wide range of literary devices. They will learn to employ various techniques in their creative writing so that their work is creative, contains a variety of sentence structures and flows well. Work needs to be both imaginative and succinct, as candidates only have 15 minutes to complete this task. Therefore, timing is essential.

Persuasive writing: In January 2016 most London day schools added a persuasive essay-style question to the written part of their exams. Candidates are asked their opinion on a topic that is loosely related to the comprehension passage. Students are expected to formulate a balanced argument in which they clearly state their opinion on the topic. Their arguments must be clear, concise and well-devised. In my persuasive writing sessions I will teach basic essay structure as well as a variety of persuasive writing techniques that students can employ to ensure their writing catches the examiner's attention and is a truly outstanding piece of work.

Interview technique: Ah, the dreaded interview! Many children sit the 11+ examinations with a relative amount of ease and confidence. Perhaps they are excellent English and Maths candidates but when faced with a one-on-one or group interview, they feel uncertain and overwhelmed. I am a firm believer that children should not be over-coached for an interview. Schools want to get a feel for who your child really is, to gain an understanding of their character, their strengths and weaknesses and academic ability in order to ascertain whether they will be a good fit for their school. Therefore, it is very important that your child is able to relax as much as possible and allow their true colours to shine. In my interview coaching sessions, I will teach your child how to interview well and to avoid possible pitfalls along the way.

Parent testimonials: "As the mother of 3 daughters living in London, the pressure of the 11+ examination for secondary schools can feel quite over-whelming. Competition for schools is fierce and despite knowing that my daughters would find their way in the world, it was equally clear that to give them the best shot at the right school they would need to work hard. Jen Christie tutored two of my daughters through the 11+ process - she came with a professionalism that is unrivalled and enthusiasm that is clear for all children to embrace. Each of my daughters is very different - study skills and methods for one may be perfect, but equally not right for another. Mrs Christie managed to find the right techniques to assist my girls individually so that they could achieve results independently - something that I am deeply grateful for. In addition, Mrs Christie fostered confidence that enabled them to tackle problems that they would have previously shied away from.

I would recommend Mrs Christie as a tutor who has years of experience with a variety of children, a professional approach, an engaging style and a genuine love of the teaching profession." — Mrs N.

"Mrs Christie is an unbelievable teacher and tutor. She has considerable experience in preparing for the 11+ and gets the best possible results for each individual child. She is extremely skilled at establishing rapport with the student while maintaining the professionalism and discipline necessary to get results. I cannot recommend her more highly." — Mrs V.

Past pupil testimonials: "Three years ago I did my 11+. During the Summer leading up to those exams, Mrs Christie came to Switzerland to tutor me. We would work for 2 hours in the morning and then 2 hours in the afternoon. I looked forward to my lessons with her; she taught me using games, workbooks and comprehension activities. Mrs Christie was always so energetic and made my lessons so much more fun than anything that was going on outside. Because of Mrs Christie, I have been inspired to write. She always put so much energy and enthusiasm into us working together and she eased me gently into working and then starting ramping things up toward the end of the summer. By the time I had returned to school in September I felt confident and ready of the challenges to come. Overall, I think that Mrs Christie has been crucial in my learning process and without her it would have been impossible for me to get in to the school I wanted to go to." — L.

"Mrs Christie tutored me in the summer of 2014 for the 11+ exams and she helped me make a vast improvement on my Maths and English. She made every lesson fun, so I learnt something new every day. When I got my results, I received offers to my top two choices and I couldn't have done it without her! She is kind, hardworking, fun and lots more. Also, each exercise that she does involves some sort of game so you never get bored if you are working for a long period of time. Mrs Christie is an excellent tutor and I definitely recommend her to you." — P.

"Mrs Christie is kind, very good at explaining concepts and even when there is lots of work to do, she makes learning fun." — A.