Penguin Tutoring Blog

June 2010, Johannesburg - Penguin Tutoring and the I am Changing the World Trust (iACTw) have teamed up again to provide personalised extra lessons to previously disadvantaged learners from Grades 10, 11 and 12 in Maths, Accounting and Life Skills.

The week-long program conducted from 21 to 25 June in Sandton was dedicated to improving the understanding and capacity of the learners as well as providing them with the guidance to realise their individual potential.

‘The end goal of this program is for learners to consider their futures more seriously and how it is possible to become successful by harnessing the power of education’, says Murray Legg, Marketing Manager at Penguin Tutoring.

Penguin Tutoring is a national company that offers the highest quality one-on-one tutoring in all school subjects and has enjoyed a 100% success rate of assisting its learners to improve their individual marks - during its four year lifespan. Penguin teamed up with I am Changing the World in 2009 to extend this service to those in need.

There is no doubt that an alarmingly high percentage of learners around the country are suffering from poor quality education. It is not the desire within the learners that is lacking, but rather access to qualified material and teachers, suggests Sonia Berisford-Murray, founder iACTw.

Together, Penguin and iACTw hope to make available the opportunity for all learners, from all backgrounds, to excel in their chosen subjects and fields so that they are equipped with the best tools to make a success of their lives, and South Africa as a whole.

‘Success for us is about promoting and enabling the positive difference every individual can make in preserving our environment, society and wildlife. Education is the basic platform required for the advancement of all citizens – both in South Africa, and globally, concludes Berisford-Murray.

If you are interested in doing a project with us, please contact us at 2010@penguintutoring.co.za.

We are proud to announce the arrival of the brand new Penguin! After weeks of being ‘on ice’ and eagerly but nervously anticipated, the new baby is here.

After intense consultations with our Marketing team, the new face of Penguin was launched at the beginning of the year to reflect the ethos of our Company. Forward thinking, crisp, professional, clean and slick.

Following on this, the next phase in the re-branding exercise was to pay attention to all your suggestions and requests for a smoother, easier system. We listened to you, our tutors, clients and administrators and we hope we have managed to get to all your great ideas.

We moved onto the new Penguin system early this morning and we hope you like it. As with all new things, there will be some glitches and minor mishaps but we would like to assure you that they will be ironed out as quickly as we can get to them. Please assist us in making the transition as smooth as possible and log all your comments in an email to  2010@penguintutoring.co.za

We’re still expecting a few sleepless nights with the new baby, but see a happy future ahead for all of us.

Penguin Tutoring is the leading provider of specialist academic tutors in the country. Our professional management and extensive tutor database will ensure that your children get everything they need and more out of their extra lessons.

Penguin Tutors - Heading for the Beach!

Matric exams are almost over, schools and universities are emptying and 2009 is drawing to a close! Those familiar signs of exam panic on the faces of South African students have been replaced with tans and care free smiles! There can be no mistake now…it’s finally holiday season!

Our tutors have worked exceptionally hard this year, with some incredibly rewarding results. Long term friendships have been forged and the company has grown enormously but most importantly, hundreds of  learners, from Cape Town and The Winelands, to Johannesburg and Pretoria, to Durban and Pietermaritzburg, will be going into the next academic year feeling confident and enthusiastic, all because of the superior work of our tutors!

We would like to say an enormous thank you to every one of our tutors and wish them a fantastic holiday! With all the amazing choices our country has to offer for a good getaway, we can’t know what all of our tutors will be doing. But I think you can guess where most of our Pretoria and Johannesburg tutors will be going…just like these gorgeous African Penguins, they’ll be joining that wonderful summer pilgrimage to the beach!

Happy Summer Holidays!

Penguin Tutoring is the leading provider of extra lessons in Pretoria and all over South Africa. Each of our specialised tutors  is screened and trained to offer your child the best possible academic support, right in the comfort of your own home.

Emile Thiele has been inspiring learners through Penguin Tutoring since Feb 2009. He has completed over 140 lessons for Penguin and he tutors in Centurion, Pretoria. Here he shares his memories of his first experience as an English tutor.

I helped my first client Christi with preparation for her Grade 12 English Examination. She was studying through Damelin part time at the time, while pursuing a professional tennis career.

Over time, we formed a great friendship, and worked unbelievably well together as we immersed ourselves in Shakespeare’s Macbeth and William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’.

It was not long before I noticed how Christi had started opening her mind to poetry and literature in a new and exciting way, and it was inspiring to see her elation and amazement with the subject matter grow day by day.

I was so pleased when Christi phoned me up and informed me that she had walked out of her final English examination with a smile on her face. She was a fantastic first student, and I firmly believe that she will one day reach great heights, as she showed such a tremendous amount of potential and dedication.

Each learner is different but with each tutoring challenge comes great friendships and the same amazing level of reward. I really love working for Penguin Tutoring!

- Thanks Emile, for your dedication and professionalism! You’re an inspiration to your learners in Pretoria and to all of us!

Emile, tutoring Xoliswa Mazomba, another of his learners with Penguin Tutoring!

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Penguin Tutoring is the leading provider of extra lessons in South Africa. We have branches all over the country with academic  tutors waiting to help our country’s learners achieve the success they deserve.

Kathu  Nndwammbi is one of our tutors in Johannesburg. He has completed 19 lessons for Penguin Tutoring to date. This is his story.

I joined Penguin Tutoring early in the year and have accomplished a lot since that day.

I have had five client contracts so far and I have really enjoyed my time as a tutor for this company. Tutoring has so many rewards, not only for the scholars but for my own self worth as a tutor. I personally look forward to every session with my learners, as I work hard to develop a professional yet social and fun learning environment with them.

As a student myself, I understand how helpful additional lessons and consultations can be and how important they are to the confidence necessary to approach the relevant subject with the will to do well.

Over my short period at Penguin Tutoring, I have managed to assist scholars and students achieve grades that, at first, seemed out of reach. It is always a good feeling to see the remarkable contributions that you as a tutor can make in the accomplishments of these pupils.

Penguin Tutoring is the leading provider of extra lessons in South Africa. Our specialist tutors are standing by, ready to help your child achieve academic success with private lessons conducted in the comfort of your own home.

Dewald du Plessis has been a tutor in Pretoria for two years. He has completed 87 lessons for Penguin Tutoring.

Proudly Penguin - Dewald has been a Penguin Tutor for over 2 years!

His first client was a matric Maths student who had been struggling with marks of around 30%. During the original assessment, Dewald asked her what she wanted to achieve for Maths and she said she had hoped to matriculate with a mark of 70%.

This would be tough, because she only had two weeks left before her finals! But, Dewald recalls, “70% was quite attainable because she was hard working and willing.”

So, with the patience and dedication that we expect from all of our tutors, Dewald sat for as many lessons as possible until they had covered all the work.

“In the end, she got 69%, which I was really proud of, considering she had been doing so badly throughout the year.”

Dewald’s advice: “The biggest challenge as a tutor is to motivate your client to do well and succeed. Remember that where there is a will, there is always a way!”

Penguin Tutoring is the leading provider of inspirational extra lessons in South Africa. Our specialised tutors are carefully screened and trained to provide your child with the highest quality private tuition in the comfort of your own home.

Penguin Tutoring would like to wish every single one of South Africa’s matric candidates the very best of luck as they write their final exams! We are especially holding thumbs for all of our own matrics across the country who benefitted from the knowledge and guidance of our extra lessons. Please don’t forget to let your tutor know how the exam went when it’s over and also how your results improved when you find out how you did!

Some of our best tutors are the ones who know first hand, how important good extra lessons can be, so if you’re heading off to university next year and are thinking about getting a student job, why don’t you consider becoming a Penguin Tutor yourself? Go to www.penguintutoring.co.za/tutors/apply to fill out an application!

Good Luck Class of 2009!

Matric 2009: You're Never Alone with Penguin Tutoring!

Penguin Tutoring Pietermaritzburg personalises the placement of a screened and trained tutor, matched to your child’s needs, and provides inspirational extra lessons and tutoring for them in the comfort of your own home. Visit www.penguintutoring.co.za to find out more.

Penguin Tutoring Pietermaritzburg would like to say a very big welcome the newest tutors who have joined as members of our tutoring team. We are extremely excited to have you all on board and look forward to a great 2010! Among our newest members we have tutors who, as well as having received excellent matric results, hold among them honours degrees in soil science, accounting sciences, marketing management, special needs education and even homoeopathy to mention a few. These exceptional qualifications allow them to tutor subjects such as accounting, Geography, Biology, Maths, English and Science. Each tutor is passionate about the subjects they specialise in and among them have great experience working with children of all ages including those with special needs. Who could ask for a better tutor than one who is a passionate expert with real world experience in the subjects they tutor? Welcome to each of you!

We would also like say good luck to all those learners in Pietermaritzburg who are preparing for their final exams. We wish you the very best. If you need help, remember there is still time to give us a call for any last minute extra lessons!

You can contact Jessica Scholey to assist with arrangement of your extra lessons by contacting her here.