The Journey of Canto Cruncher Tutoring

This is part of our Lessonspace Case Study Series. The purpose of Lessonspace is simple: Make Teaching Easier. We meet with dozens of companies, districts, teachers and schools each week to understand how we can do that. The Case Study Series is a way for us to publically highlight a small number of the remarkable people behind the brands we work with and share the interesting lessons they have learned and taught us, so we can share them with the world.

Private tutoring is an excellent way for students and recent graduates to hone their teaching skills while establishing a flexible working schedule and a steady income. Hollyann Pye, a Specialist English Literature and Language tutor with Canto Crucher Tutoring, quickly fell in love with this way of life and teaching. As a PhD candidate and aspiring lecturer, Hollyann saw private tutoring as an excellent way to prepare for her future career.

The beginning of Canto Cruncher Tutoring

Hollyann began tutoring while working an office job. She quickly became hooked on the experience, and it soon became her preference to work with Tutorful, a UK tutoring company. Last year, Hollyann extended her services from one-on-one teaching to group tutoring, which meant double the work but double the fun!

While the group tutoring was a huge success, Hollyann's employer abruptly cancelled all classes, leaving her with almost no group sessions. Thinking quickly, Hollyann had to realise her potential and decided to start her own tutoring business Canto Cruncher Tutoring. With benefits came challenges as well, but with over 3,5 years of tutoring experience, Canto Cruncher Tutoring was ready to face them.

Mission statement: 'Private tutoring, personal success. On both sides.'

While running her own tutoring business means lots of freedom for Hollyann, it also means being a one-woman operation. Facing new challenges every day, the greatest challenge so far for Hollyann was (and partly still is) whether to offer lots of different classes or specialise in one subject (Shakespeare), offering more in-depth tutoring classes for students. Besides this, marketing and securing new students is something that most tutoring companies, including Canto Cruncher Tutoring, struggle with.

To overcome these difficulties, Canto Cruncher Tutoring places a strong emphasis on student desired experience and user experience, resulting in a creative and nurturing environment for students.

My mission statement is simple: Private tutoring, personal success. On both sides.

This means that both the tutoring session and all other user experiences (including the website, marketing, and so much more), particularly the first impression, are critical for a long and successful relationship between the tutor and the client.

Destined for success

I’m an academic at heart, but that doesn’t mean that I have to do either/or [tutoring]. Learning and sharing knowledge, and enjoying literature as a group with my students is part of who I am.

When asked to share one of her greatest success stories, Hollyann shared a very personal example of how to handle online tutoring creatively and considerately.

One student had regular late evening lessons scheduled during Ramadan. I noticed that he was struggling to concentrate, so I asked them if they needed to reschedule. 30 minutes into the session, we rescheduled our lesson to 6 am the next day. The student was eager to learn, he really wanted to focus on our lesson, so I figured: we can’t be there without each other. It’s a collaboration [...]. So we met early next morning for the next three weeks.

Canto Cruncher Tutoring focuses on the strengths of both the tutor, Hollyann’s expertise, and the dedication of the student, when, how and why they learn, whether it's preparation for GCSE, A levels or any other reason for learning.

Tips from Canto Cruncher Tutoring

The first impression is key! Canto Cruncher Tutoring recognised early on, that good marketing and first impressions are key to success. Whether it’s the first page of the website or the very first slide a student sees on their intro session, having a structure and keeping in touch with the client base is essential.
Ask for feedback! As important as first impressions, asking for constant feedback is crucial to ensure quality tutoring. This feedback can be used to lay the groundwork for the next course or to encourage students to speak up and share their ideas.
Adapt and inspire! “Literature is so far-reaching! My personal love for education stems back to reading from a young age and so I will always build my work around that passion.” Constantly inspiring, motivating and teaching learners is often a difficult, but rewarding task. Learn from your students and clients and understand their needs, how they get inspired and how they can inspire you.
To find out more about Hollyann and Canto Cruncher Tutoring, visit https://www.cantocruncher.com/. For any questions about Lessonspace, visit our website or reach out to us at support@thelessonspace.com.