Fiona Pocock is the Principal at Oxford Tutorial College and insists she be called Fiona rather than any deferential term of address.

“When students progress to university and then move into the workplace, they’ll almost certainly be working in teams where first names are used and at OTC we believe that working with young people in partnership promotes respect rather than undermines it.

We find that students adjust quickly, from no matter which style of former school and the relaxed ambiance between students, staff and tutors is hugely beneficial. I tend to think of students as work colleagues since we are all working together to achieve the best results.

Successful students trust and have faith in their tutors. To build this trust requires some courage! Students need to bare their weaknesses at times so that a tutor can understand where they can offer support or rectify a misunderstanding. In our very small groups or one to one tutorials, there is nowhere to hide if work hasn’t been completed and so the student has little option but to work openly and honestly, sometimes revealing shortcomings.

We promote a friendly, warm and sometimes gently mischievous atmosphere within the college public areas. This is often commented upon by visitors. It’s more the result of the caring nature of our exceptional administrative team than something that was carefully planned!

However, the pleasant tone is infectious and even the shyest or most grumpy teenager generally leaves us with hugely improved confidence and the ability to engage maturely in conversation. If there were A levels in this, we would top the league tables!

There is quite a lot of fun in the air here, although teaching and supervised study times are definitely for serious learning and the students understand that it’s hard work that leads to good results.

Telephone: 01865 793333
Email: info@otc.ac.uk
Website: www.otc.ac.uk