Kumon Albion Park gives free trials to celebrate 3rd birthday

An Illawarra tutoring service offering individualised mathematics and English programs to boost students' confidence and ability is turning three. To celebrate, Kumon Albion Park is offering free trials in August.

The owner and instructor is Sarah Sharp, a former maths and science teacher who was drawn to tutoring after moving to the South Coast with her family.

"I felt it was time for a change from being a high school teacher," Sarah said.

"I loved helping students learn and my own children had benefited so much from being Kumon students themselves. Having a strong foundation in the basics of maths was making a difference to their confidence at school but the nearest Kumon centre was too far to get to each week. So I decided to open my own local centre!

"The Kumon approach to learning made a lot of sense after seeing how challenging school can be for students who have missed out on understanding key concepts. Supporting each student at the right level for them helps them catch up and experience what it feels like to be successful.

"Many students then prepare for high school by studying above their school grade level."

Sarah's love of teaching has its roots in her own public school education and tutoring at university.

"I'm originally from the suburbs of western Sydney, where I went to local public schools and going to the beach was a rare treat," she said.

"Science and maths were always my favourite subjects but I still had no idea what I wanted to do in life by the time I'd reached Year 12. I postponed any decision-making by studying for a Bachelor of Science at Sydney University, where I grew up a lot and found that I enjoyed tutoring younger students.

"After university I made my first big trip overseas to the UK and Europe, meeting family I'd often heard about and cramming in as many sights as possible. After spending all my money, I headed home and decided to combine my love of science with my enjoyment of helping students learn, so I went back to uni and earned a Graduate Diploma in Teaching.

"Fast forward 20 years and I had taught maths and science to thousands of students at high schools from Western Sydney to the Inner West and the centre of Sydney.

"I'd married my best friend and we'd travelled all around the world together. We had two awesome children. But it was time for something different."

Sarah's Kumon centre is based in Shellharbour's historic suburb of Albion Park, known for its aviation and light railway museums, rainforest walks and outdoor adventures. The beauty of the wider region was a big appeal for her family.

"I'm a huge fan of Kevin McCloud and Grand Designs and my husband missed the country after growing up in the rural UK. So we bought an old house on the beautiful South Coast and had a go at building our own grand design."

The best part of Sarah's job is seeing how students progress.

"It's definitely seeing the look of pride on a student's face when they come in and show me an award they have achieved at school for a subject they were finding so difficult before starting Kumon," she said.

"They might have gone up a maths group, or their parent tells me that they've performed better in their NAPLAN test. All their effort is being rewarded and I'm so glad they're finding their schoolwork easier."

Like many small business entrepreneurs, Sarah found opening her enterprise harder than she imagined. "You have to be resilient and very quickly become an expert in accounting, employment laws, advertising etc, as well as making sure each student has the best experience possible," she said.

"Kumon also offers an English programme, so I had to brush up on my grammar! Every student is unique and making the time to get to know them is crucial in helping them learn."

At the end of the day, Sarah said she feels lucky to live in such a beautiful place.

"Walking around the local beaches is my favourite way to unwind. I have my favourite spots but there's something different to see every time. Watching a movie with my family at the cinemas in Shellharbour is always fun.

"And there's a great Thai restaurant near the Kumon centre on Tongarra Road where I often have lunch – they make sure I'm well fed and ready for all our students and their afternoon of learning."

Take a free trial in August

Kumon Mathematics develops the quick, precise calculation skills necessary for the study of high school mathematics while Kumon English builds a high level of reading comprehension ability. For more information, contact Sarah on 0401 10 35 35 or visit the Kumon website.