I have come out of the other side, the Easter tuition period is by far the busiest time of year for me. I first experiened this during the Easter holiday period of 2007, and some of the work I did at the time has led to work even to this very Easter holiday. Amazing how far and long word of mouth can go!

Using BitPaper for online tutoring. I love this whiteboard!

Since then, I have gotten busier and busier at Easter. The Easter season is a really intense period of tuition for me, but also very rewarding. I am at my most present, focused and dedicated. I manage all my tuition, client feedback, enquries and admin. I tutor all 7 days a week, and while Sundays can be up to 3 or 4 hours a day, my other days are all more than 6 hours, typically 7 hours or more.

Last Summer I took the plunge and decided only to tutor online from now on. Inevitably I lost a small fraction of my in person clients as some of them were not keen to try out the new medium. But as planned the opening I made for new online clients paid off very well indeed. I had a slow start in September and October and panic somewhat set in at the time, as after all I was used to being booked solid pretty much all year round. But it has all worked out. This time all over the world, and now I can claim to be a truly global tutor. At Easter I tutored students in Singapore, Malaysia, India, Spain, UAE, Baharain and Canada. I tutored students going to British Schools abroad and somehow my own story of growing up in different countries and going to a British school in Kenya has resonated with my new clients and students.

Hanging out with my client’s horse. Dave is relaxed 🙂

There were days I finished tutoring and couldn’t believe how just with one click I can travel to a new country, a new world, different weather, time zone and accents. A slice of being in a different space and part of the world is now instantly available to me, and I feel I have transcended the limits of geography in many ways. I am fortuante to be in this position and my calculated gamble to go all online has well and truly paid off. There is no better valididation of that during the Easter tuition period. I’ve made gambles and trade offs like this before, and it takes a little time for the results to come through fully. I’ve certainly tutored more hours this Easter than ever, but the great thing is that it does not feel like it. With no commute, and from the comfort of my own home I’ve been a lot more relaxed this time of the year.

Despite the full move to online tuition, I have kept going to Yorkshire to see a couple of families to tutor. It was amazing to go there again, and although I have been tutoring 7 days a week flat out, including in Yorkshire, it was great to have a break away from London. I went for walks and had some great dinner time conversations with my clients. Easter is a great season to see tiny lambs running around and bleating, so it’s been great to reconnect with nature’s cycle. 2017 marks my 10th Year of going to one family in the Yorkshire Dales who are like my second home there. I go there in the Summer holidays to visit as well.

This is Charlie the Ram. Met him in Yorkshire as well 🙂

The ball is well and truly in motion for my continued move to online tuition, and next year things will get even better. Although I’m still tutoring every day in May, the hours are reduced now and I’ve had a refreshing break with friends and family. One last push for the busy exam period of May and June and then a nice Summer off, both for me and my students 🙂