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Volunteer Spotlight – The more you teach, the more you learn!
With a varied career rooted mainly in teaching English as a foreign language, our volunteer tutor shares how her love for learning and her desire to give back led her to GT Scholars. She understands the lasting impact of support and encouragement, and uses her skills and spare time meaningfully to help young people grow and build confidence.
Tell us about yourself, your background and where you are today.
I have kind of a varied career. It’s mainly based on teaching English as a foreign language. I wanted to use my time in a meaningful way, which is why I looked at volunteering opportunities.
What made you decide to become a volunteer tutor?
When I saw GT Scholars, I liked the ethics and values of the organisation and saw that the requirements for a tutor are within my existing skill sets. I also struggled at school, and I think when you do struggle at school, it can have quite a long-term effect on the way you think about yourself.
I look back and wish I had support in different areas. So I also wanted to help a young person with that.
What did you enjoy most about tutoring?
I think it was making that connection with a young person and seeing her really flourish was quite exciting to see. As a tutor, you often doubt yourself sometimes and think, “Am I helping this person? And am I making an impact?” You don’t always get that immediate feedback from someone. So then, to notice how my tutee improved and grew in confidence was nice to see.
What would you say was the most fulfilling part of tutoring your tutee?
I definitely saw her confidence grow. It doesn’t always happen in a really obvious way. I think just compared the person that I met in our first session and then the person she was at the end, and not saying that she completely changed as a person, and it might not be very obvious, but just seeing how much more forthcoming she was with expressing herself and her ideas. It was really fulfilling.
What goals have you helped your scholar to achieve?
It was mainly for her confidence in English and her writing. By the end of the sessions, she was producing written work that was a little more coherent and well-structured. She always knew what she wanted to write, and it was just believing that what she had to say was relevant and just knowing how to put that information forward.
What qualities do you think your scholar had that made her a good tutee?
She was really engaged, and it was great when we had discussions or when I sent her homework, and I could see that she had taken in that information and then applied it. She was motivated, which is really important. Someone has to want to improve themselves or want to kind of learn from the experience, and she obviously had that. Her work was also very unique. I think that’s really important for all young people to remember that their own ideas are valid and important. This applies to English, where it’s not like Maths with specific formulas, but it is based on the words that you produce and the way that you produce them. She had the motivation and the desire to communicate and express herself, while thinking independently.
Why do you think tutoring is valuable to young people?
I think it’s valuable because, one, it’s just showing themselves that their development is important. I don’t think ever having kind of extra support should ever be seen as a weakness, which it might be in some people’s perspective. It just shows that they value their own learning, and it is good to spend that time on yourself and your learning. I think as well that one style of learning does not fit everyone at all. I’m not knocking schools, but I’m sure that when you’re handling a large class size, you can’t really give everyone that individual kind of support. So it’s about the tutor and the scholar to find out what fits this person’s style of learning and way of thinking, and what’s really going to help them flourish.
What do you think is the most important skill to have as a tutor?
The first word that came into my head is patience. Trusting the process and not expecting immediate results is important, and trusting yourself and the scholar. It’s about trust in each other.
How important has support been in getting you where you are today?
I think it’s really important, especially when you’re young. Having supportive voices tell you that you’re doing okay can make all the difference in your self-belief and how you approach situations, and whether you have that growth mindset or not. Of course, we sometimes push this narrative that you just kind of work hard and be independent. But none of us exists in a vacuum. We’re social creatures, after all. So the more we uplift other people, we uplift ourselves as well.
Would you recommend becoming a tutor with GT Scholars, and why?
Yes, and I would. And the reason is that it’s just quite fun, actually! It’s nice to have that weekly check-in from GT Scholars and to have a positive impact on someone. Team members saying, “I would like to give this time to spend with you, to support you”, is what I really appreciate about GT Scholars.
It also doesn’t feel like a massive commitment. It was actually something quite enjoyable to do once a week, and I could manage my time easily. It’s always just been a nice thing to say, “Oh, this is happening this week where I’m going to speak to my tutee, and we’re going to discuss this topic.”
What did you gain from volunteering with GT Scholars?
One thing I gained is that I actually realised how interested I am in English. I have an English degree, so I was actually looking forward to talking about this and to hearing my tutees’ ideas, so that was a pleasant reinforcement of how much I enjoy it. It just felt like an equal exchange, and by hearing her ideas and seeing her progress, I could see my motivation being reflected to me.
What would you say to anyone thinking of becoming a tutor with GT Scholars?
I’d say if they’re thinking about it, then look into it and look through the website. The nice thing is that you have a really clear induction process, so you learn a lot about GT Scholars and how it works. I’d recommend doing it. I can’t imagine anyone who would not benefit from the experience.
GT Scholars is an award-winning education company and social enterprise. We run high-impact tutoring, mentoring & enrichment programmes for young people aged 11-18. If you’d like to give your child the support, skills and strategies needed to achieve their academic and career aspirations, you're in the right place!
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