Qualified Primary School Teacher with 10+ years of experience teaching Maths, English and Eleven Plus. Available online!

We were so sorry to hear from Isabel that Chris is leaving our school at the end of this academic year. Isabel has told me throughout the year that Chris has been a 'fantastic' teacher, and that she has learned a lot from him. On the occasions I have been in or around the classroom it's been apparent that Chris offers the children he teaches a wonderful mix of warmth, enthusiasm and humour that the children respond so well to (though Isabel tells me he can also be rather 'strict', which she acknowledges is a necessary attribute for a year 5 teacher!)

Personally in our interactions with Chris we have found him to be engaging, enthusiastic and committed to supporting the children to do as well as they possibly can. We have also noticed the care that he puts in to the written feedback in Isabel's homework book; the comments are so encouraging which has been a very positive thing for Isabel to see.

Additionally, we came away from both parents evenings feeling that the meetings were the most helpful we've had during our time at the school. At the first parents evening, just a few weeks into the first term, Chris started the meeting with a caveat that as it was early in the year he was still getting a sense of the children; he then proceeded to provide an extremely astute account of Isabel's personality, her academic strengths and weakness, and ideas about how to promote her confidence at home and at school. He presented this information in a highly professional, well-organised, clear and coherent fashion. Throughout the meeting it was apparent that he loved teaching and felt a genuine warmth for the children. I understand from many other parents that they had very similar experiences of their parent-teacher meetings with Chris.

Chris' warmth, wit and creativity do, I think, make him one of those teachers who children will remember for many years to come.

From our first meeting I knew we had an excellent tutor for our daughter last year. Chris totally understood our child, not only in her academic abilities, but also had a good insight into her character and motivations. She was initially worried about having a male tutor but Chris quickly proved himself to her and she has thrived under his guidance. As a parent whenever I needed to talk to Chris, I found him very approachable, considerate, mature and fair. I have been impressed by his insightful and accurate observations, from our first progress meeting with him. His ongoing dedication and ‘can do’ approach to supporting our daughter’s growth and development, and communicating progress to us, has been much appreciated.