Testimonials

From past years

'Jo has been a huge help from my GCSEs to my A levels. Covid made these times challenging but Jo’s support and care helped me massively to achieve the grades I needed for my future plans. Not only did she help me achieve my goals, my confidence also grew a lot in my writing and academic performance when working with Jo. The tutoring sessions were engaging and productive; Jo adjusted to my learning needs, she was patient with me and listened. She also has a great sense of humour and can have a laugh. Thank you.'

A level sociology, Zoe Holland, Bristol 

'Jo tutored my daughter Zoe through some challenging years of school and A levels. She was very professional, witty and engaging which built Zoe’s academic confidence slowly so she believed in herself. Thanks again.'

A level sociology, Sarah Holland, Bristol

'We hired Joanne last September following my son's grade 2 in his year 10 mock GCSEs and just 8 months later my son achieved a grade 6 in his English GCSE. We couldn't be more pleased with the tutoring that we received from Joanne.'

GCSE English language and literature, Gabriela Parish, Bristol

'I felt as if I didn’t really have a good grasp on English at the start of year 11. However, by the time I had to take my exams I felt as if I had really advanced my understanding thanks to Joanne’s lessons. They really helped me to make plans and understand key topics that came up in the exams. I truly have to thank Jo for helping me and she is definitely the reason I managed to get a six in both English language and literature. Thank you Jo!'

GCSE English language and literature, Gene Church, Bristol

'I would like to thank Jo for her professional, proficient and excellent service in supporting me for the last three years. As a mature student, going back into the education system is hard. Jo has constantly encouraged me and supported me through thick and thin. Jo is an amazing tutor, caring about her students’ welfare and very patient. I have now established myself into University and would not have made it through if it weren’t for Jo’s encouragement.  You are amazing Jo, thank you so much, you are a gifted tutor and person.'

First year of an undergraduate degree in social work, Debbie Davies, Yate 

‘Huge thank-you to Jo for helping my boys over the years from primary school through to GCSE. This year has been very tricky for students, especially those preparing for A Level and GCSEs. The support and encouragement Jo has provided for my son has been invaluable.

Not only have I seen improvements in his grades but his confidence in English has also increased. I would often hear my son laughing while in his lesson. Jo has a great knack for keeping students engaged and enjoying their subjects. Thanks again Jo!’ 

 GCSE English language and literature, Sarah McCarthy-Taylor, Bristol

‘Thank you Joanne for helping Owen Comley through his GCSEs this year. He found it very helpful and useful.’  

GCSE English language and literature, Sam Comley, Bristol

‘Jo has tutored students in our neighbourhood for a number of years and so came highly recommended to us.  She managed to navigate our son through his Year 10 and 11 GCSE years (just finished) using her expertise and experience.  He was not overly enthusiastic about some of his GCSE options but Jo has been able to inject interest and life into these topics/subjects to motivate our son; all the while keeping things as light-hearted as possible.   Jo recognises that humour aids learning and is therefore, an effective tool in tutoring students and encouraging their progress.   I would recommend Jo to support your children during their school years.’  

GCSE English language and literature, history and maths, Charlotte Peploe, Bristol

‘My daughter has had in person and online tutoring from Joanne for a couple of years and can’t thank Joanne enough. She is efficient, knows the exam criteria well and has massively boosted my daughter’s confidence in English and other subjects in preparation for her GCSEs. Thank you Joanne.'  

GCSE English language, literature and maths, Lesley Pullin, Bristol

'Thank you Jo for supporting me as a mature student in gaining my Grade A Maths GCSE through COVID 19. Through the tears, tantrums and tiara's of myself you have been very patient, but always supportive and actively encouraging me when I was in total despair over numbers, Algebra and Pythagorean theorem. You are truly a gifted tutor and I appreciate all support and confidence you have given me. I can never forget all that you have done for me, once again. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.'

GCSE maths, Debbie Davies, mature NHS Student, Wales

'I just wanted to say a huge thank you for the absolutely brilliant job Jo did tutoring Ava.

The turn around in her grades and confidence has been unbelievable thanks to her. Even though the pressure is off due to her unconditional offer, I am confident that she will get the grades that she would have been required to get A,B,B a far cry from the end of year 12 when she was predicted three C's.

I know she has found Jo's lessons invaluable, she especially has seen a massive improvement on her essay writing especially under time pressure.'

A Level English literature and geography, Louisa Britton, Bristol

'Jo tutored my son for his English Language GCSE resit, which he has now passed despite his dyslexia.  Working through past papers, Jo really helped him to gain a better understanding of what was required by the questions, so that his answers were more focused and structured.'

GCSE English language, Harriet Heaven, Bristol

'Jo tutored my two sons for about 6 months prior to them taking entrance exams for secondary school which they both passed. The main area they needed help with was literacy, which improved enormously over those months and she also helped them with how to approach their exams so they knew what to expect. The lessons also greatly helped them to keep their concentration for more than a few minutes at a time, without which they would have struggled when faced with almost 3 hours of exams.'

11+ entrance exams, Cathy Bettridge, Bristol

'I decided to look for a tutor for my son Josh as he was in yr 6 and not up to standard for secondary school.  He had totally lost interest in some subjects especially literacy, so I searched and found Jo she sounded just what my son needed to bring fun back into learning.  So I booked him in and from the first lesson they hit it off.  Josh started with literacy but we then alternated between that and maths, and by the time he started secondary school he was up to standard and had moved up in literacy and maths which was amazing!  I had also noticed his confidence had improved with his reading and writing.  Jo carried on giving Josh lessons up until recently, but if he ever got behind again wouldn't hesitate to give Jo a ring.  Jo is a great tutor and has a way of making learning fun, she became a good friend too.'

KS2 English (literacy) and maths, Joanne Pittaway, Bristol

'Jo tutored Mekesh for about five months and changed his attitude to writing as this caused him anxiety.  Jo always started with a fun game which made Mekesh focus on the task at hand.  He lacked confidence in writing but with Jo planting ideas on how he could improve his writing he has made real progress.  She tasked him to do some writing about a holiday and when he had finished she said it was so good that she would put it on her website and also laminate it for him as a keepsake.  This just instilled so much confidence in him and he has progressed well at school.  He loves maths and she would have a single challenging question at the end of the session.  He so looked forward to this that he paid attention to what he was supposed to do with his writing.  She asked him to come up with a maths problem and when she said she was going to try it on her other pupils he was bursting with joy.  

Mekesh really enjoyed his sessions with Jo and we have already recommended her to a number of friends where their children are finding difficulty with literacy and writing.  I would not hesitate to use Jo again if we felt that Mekesh needed any additional help during his secondary education.'

KS2 English (literacy) and maths, Daksha Mistry, Bristol

'My brother Wayne recommended Jo as she has taught my niece & nephew with excellent results. Jo now teaches Keira who at the time was 7 years old to help give her more confidence & understanding different ways of solving maths questions. Keira has come along way since Jo has been teaching her since April 2013 Keira's confidence has increased significantly & she enjoys her lessons as Jo makes it fun learning as well. Keira went up a maths group after about 4 months into her teaching. I am really pleased so far with the results.'

KS2 maths, Shelley Pitcher, Bristol

'We hired Jo to help our daughter through her 11+ and entrance exams for secondary school which produced fantastic results for Courtney being offered the school of her choice at Colston's. Jo worked with Courtney for a full year and as we noticed the benefits and improved results at school for Courtney Jo now teaches Morgan who is 10 and has been taught by Jo for the last 18 months. 

I would also like to add that Jo has worked with 2 other friends children who also uses her services on a weekly basis for the same reasons.'

11+ entrance exams, KS2 English and maths, Wayne Foster, Bristol

'Jo has tutored both of my children. The first during year 6 at primary level to help support my daughter to be ready for her literacy SATS exams, Jo was always very prompt & organised, she made lessons both fun & enjoyable whilst ensuring that my daughter understood each stage that was covered. She really enjoyed the games especially the ultimate alphabet game! My daughter was over the moon to get a 5A & we cannot thank Jo enough for all her help & support.

My oldest child had lessons throughout his year 10 studies & this has prepared him for his GCSE exams. He has become very confident in both English & Maths & has made fantastic progress.'

GCSE English and maths, KS2 English (literacy), Helen Morgan, Bristol

'Jo helped my son Jacob achieve an A in his English lit GCSE (he was only 2 marks off an A*) ! His predicted grade had been a B, but he had been struggling with the course and did not do well in his mock exam. Jo was able to guide him in the right direction, and through building up his confidence he was able to get the grade that he needed in his final exam so that he was able to study the subjects he wanted to do in the 6th form.

Jo was always extremely punctual, and full of enthusiasm. She was able to motivate Jacob, so that he pushed himself just that little bit harder. 

I would certainly recommend her to tutor your son or daughter.'

GCSE English literature, Anna Millard, Keynsham, Nr Bristol

'Jo has tutored my 16 year old son for several months, following a recommendation from a friend. 

 Nathan had been predicted a grade C in both English Language and English Literature.  He wanted to acheive grade Bs in his GCSEs, as this would give him more options when selecting his A Levels. 

 During the weekly sessions, Jo really inspired Nathan, giving him the confidence to express himself and be self motivated whilst working with her.  This helped improve his overall performance in all areas of English.  Nathan felt that the skills he had developed with Jo were also used in his other subjects.'

 We are delighted to say that Nathan achieved his grade B in both English Language and English Literature!  

 Thank you Jo!'

GCSE English language and literature, Debbie Legge, Keynsham, Nr Bristol

'Jo has been tutoring both of my children since June 2011 - Lucas aged 10 and Libby aged 8.  They both have different needs in terms of development areas but Jo has encouraged, motivated and challenged each of them to achieve their best.

Jo has introduced various techniques and teaching tools to make the whole learning process enjoyable, fun and engaging - I often hear them laughing together and genuinely loving their tutoring session.  The children have developed their own relationships with Jo and she is able to understand and adapt each session to enable them to remain focussed and get the best of of each session.  Their individual process and confidence is very evident both in their attitude and also school grades.

I can thoroughly recommend Jo.'

KS2 English (literacy) and maths, Joanna Sadler, Bristol

'Jo is currently tutoring my daughter Lily in numeracy and literacy. The fact that Lily looks forward to her sessions with Jo is testament to Jo’s ability to really engage with her. Lily says that she “makes learning fun and easy to understand and has helped me a lot."'

KS2 English (literacy) and maths, Catharine Ross, Bristol

'Jo has been my English tutor for six months and I’m absolutely happy with her classes. One of my main difficulties with the English language is the pronunciation and she helped me to improve it with practical activities. I like her tutoring classes because they are interactive. Also I could improve my writing skills learning natural English expressions in order to write my works. In my opinion the most important thing to learn a language is to be motivated and have fun whereas you are learning, and you can trust me: that’s guaranteed in the Jo’s classes.'

 English as a foreign language, Jone Garcia Lurgain, Student of English and Journalist, Bristol

'Hi my name is Annie Corcoran, and for a good couple of months being tutored by Joanne Priest having English lesson on skype and face to face, when Jo was teaching me in those months we had 1 hour a week and some times more. I felt like I had learnt more of her than I had my whole school years she was an excellent tutor I was so glad that I able to have Jo as my tutor when revising for my GCSE’s. Jo doesn’t just tell you what something means she will describe it until you understand which really helped me with my learning disability and also never told me that I was wrong she would say what else it could mean. When having the lesson with Jo she made me feel confident with each task we went through making sure I understood each bit of it. With out having the lesson’s with Jo I don’t think that I would have felt confident when doing my exams.'

GCSE English language and functional skills, Annie Corcoran, Exeter

'I employed Joanne Priest to work with my son George from December 2005 through to June 2006 when he took his GCSE's. She helped him with all 3 Sciences and did some History revision with him closer to the exams.  Jo instantly struck up a very good rapport with George and worked methodically through topics of the syllabus that seemed to have passed him by. During the holidays and work study period Jo came more frequently and enabled George to thoroughly cover all revision topics and exam papers.  In the 6 months that Jo worked with George she was always well organised, punctual and maintained a very friendly relationship with George.  I can thoroughly recommend her - George got AA for Science and an A* for History so it was money well spent!'

GCSE science (double award) and history, Jo Jolliffe, Bath