Jyoti Sanyal is a centre manager at First Class Learning, Teddington.

She grew up abroad where she found school teaching very different but now resides in Surbiton. As a data analyst, she says that "education is [her] passion".

Jyoti decided to start tutoring when she found that her seven-year-old son, who is now in Year 3, was struggling in school.

She told Teddington Nub News: "When my son was in Reception, I started to realise that schools teach things randomly, for example, they'll teach one thing one day and a different thing the next. So, I noticed that he was struggling with Maths and his sounds in English."

Jyoti then began giving her son some extra teaching at home, which garnered the attention of her friends who asked Jyoti if she would tutor their kids too.

Thus, she began tutoring other kids part time and did so for three years.

After this, Jyoti decided to launch her own tuition centre with First Class Learning at Sacred Heart Primary School in Teddington.

Jyoti Sanyal is a centre manager at First Class Learning, Teddington (Credit: Tilly O'Brien/ First Class Learning)

What makes First Class Learning different?

First Class Learning Teddington offers Maths and English tuition to children aged four – 16.

Unlike many tuition services, it ensures each child receives individual attention and personalised programmes.

Each child completes an initial assessment in both subjects, helping Jyoti identify their strengths, address gaps in knowledge, and build independence and focus.

Lessons are then tailored to the individual and progress is only made once the child fully understands a topic.

Jyoti explained: "It's very personalised teaching. And although it's not one-to-one, it's a very, very small group so that all kids can learn.

"When I first meet a child, we do an assessment to see what level the child is in, because if a kid is in a very advanced level, we don't have to start from scratch with that kid unlike we may have to do with others. So, we start from where the level of the child is, whether it's English or Maths and that applies to all the kids."

She added that the assessments are free and that she will then create a personalised plan for each individual child following the assessment. The children will also be placed into groups based on their age and academic level.

Jyoti says that she offers "continuous support" to her pupils.

First Class Learning Teddington offers Maths and English tuition to children aged four – 16 (Credit: First Class Learining)

She added: "My son is in year three, so I'm going to teach him up to GCSEs and A-levels. Our tuition is a continuum, and, while schools are very much national curriculum focused, we offer a wider prospect.

"So, we do much more than what they do in school. And we do quite difficult things as well, which school doesn't focus on, so that our pupils can pass the grammar school exams as well."

Jyoti says that her background since childhood has been in numbers and that unlike in the UK, she was taught about how numbers impact our day-to-day lives.

She said: "We started learning about numbers, but they don't learn enough about numbers, money or anything, which is very important."

The tutor added: "And some kids might lack in confidence for various reasons, but I think tuition helps build confidence."

So why Teddington?

Jyoti says she thinks Teddington is a "good area" and has "excellent" schools.

She currently runs her classes at Sacred Heart Primary School on Saturdays but is looking to add more days.

You can find out more about First Class Learning Teddington here.

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