Success Stories

Aneeqa, volunteer tutor and university student at the University of Aberdeen

Since childhood, Aneeqa has had a passion for education. Teaching her stuffed toys as a toddler, the third year English student’s continued to find learning joyful.

Here’s what she had to say about her experience volunteering as a tutor:

For me, teaching means growth, including for the pupils I tutor. I aim for a safe, patient and compassionate environment where pupils excel.

Studying at the University of Nottingham, Aneeqa discovered Action Tutoring at a freshers fair stall. A charity which supports pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds with their English and maths education, it’s benefited Aneeqa a lot since she joined. 

Action Tutoring has given me a great new teaching outlook. I now laugh how I assumed my first session would gowhile pupils are attentive, I soon learnt that sessions can go off-plan.

With this in mind, Aneeqa made a plan with Action Tutoring’s Nottingham Programme Coordinator, Niamh Wilson. Together, including with pupil input, they created session-focused games. Aneeqa, who starts a teacher training programme in September 2024, feels this really helped. 

Working this way drastically improved pupils’ concentration and our rapport.

And if Aneeqa could choose the biggest lesson learnt through Action Tutoring volunteering? 

I feel it increased our teamwork and pupils saw I cared. You can’t force pupils to act or behave a certain way. Each pupil learns differently. To truly help, you need to talk with pupils, not to them.

Action Tutoring has given me the joy of pupils saying, ‘I get it’.

By signing up, volunteers can tutor from as little as one hour a week, either online or in-person

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