About Jacqui Robinson
How it all started
Why I Set Up Jacqui Robinson Education
I saw a better way to help children learn.
With two young children of my own, I imagined the education system I wanted for my boys. One where they were given confidence and understanding, where their own learning styles were taken into account and where they were inspired and given the skills and self-belief to be happy in school and in life. A learning experience that was not aimed at 20 or 30 students in a class but tailored to their needs.
The frustration I saw in my hard-working, dedicated colleagues was that there was never enough time for everyone that needed them. Demanding or troublesome students would gain their precious attention while the determined, quieter, well-behaved students would be missed and left to get on as best they could.
As a young teacher in a grammar school, I saw classes change every hour. With thirty students in a class, if I managed to lead the lesson from the front and then give even 5 minutes each to those who were unsure, I would still only manage to personally help 4 or 5 students an hour and then always with the main focus on what the rest of the class were doing and of course the time.
On a daily basis I saw students who, given an extra hour of my time, would easily grasp a subject if it was just explained and demonstrated to them in another way.
I began to tutor and right away I was inundated with students.
Parents love their children just like I love my boys and they wanted the best for them. Within weeks, my dining room table had become a school room. Light and airy, with a plastic garden table and four plastic garden chairs (early days and I had my kid’s swimming lessons to pay for) with three students at a time I tutored after school and while the boys were at sports clubs.
Moving up in my school career, having worked in a good grammar school then a wonderful comprehensive school-where I helped design and implement detailed, well-resourced, structured series of cross curricular schemes of work aimed at developing the skill of all abilities of students- I moved into the independent school sector, of course still tutoring evening and weekends.
We moved around the country with my career often with private students and their hard-working parents following, some travelling enormous distances.
Within weeks of arriving at New Hall in Chelmsford, I knew this was the type of school I wanted for my boys. Smaller classes, fantastic resources and an ethos I had never seen before. The caring, calm, supportive environment, in grandiose surrounding, was a back drop to the way we, as teachers, were encouraged to think of every child as if they were your own. This still required seeing students before and after school and at lunch times but that is what good teachers do.
My private tuition grew and grew; a parent offered his sumptuous offices at weekends for free if I would allow his children to jump my waiting list; I grasped the opportunity. I loved the results my private students were achieving. Their core English and Maths skills; CSSE 11+ results and GCSE results were impressive by any school’s standard and the confident, able young people who walked out of my classes were so different to the nervous self-effacing children who walked in.
Tuition was what I really wanted to do. The bureaucracy in even the best of schools is crushing. In private practice I could teach and do it well. If I wanted to do this on a full-time basis the business had to grow. It took me 8 months from making this decision to grow the business to the point where it overtook my school salary. Within a year I had both of my boys at good independent schools. I had trained an amazing teacher in my ever-improving schemes of work and how to bring the best out of individuals (the Jacqui way). We had mentors, who were our A level students, making drinks and supporting us within our small groups.
When my family moved from Maldon to Colchester in 1999, over 60 students and their families followed.
The caring, understanding, confidence building ethos is the core that runs through my business. Every member of our team wants the best experience possible for both our parents and our students. We respect parents' hard work, dedication and love for their children. By delivering a thorough curriculum in a way that accommodates every student, we change lives.
The Jacqui Robinson Education Centre is now housed in a refurbished police station in Colchester as well as having an online element run from the same premises.
We continue to flourish, with over 350 students each week attending, and the aim is to teach and help as many young people and their families as we can. We will continue to grow. I hope we can help you.