The principal student is a 13-year-old girl in Year 9 who has experienced significant disruption during Years 7 and 8, including prolonged school refusal. She is now attending school more consistently but remains disengaged, highly self-critical, and markedly negative about her academic abilities and future prospects. She has recently been diagnosed with ADHD, which provides important context for earlier difficulties with organisation, working memory, and sustained engagement. It was clear from talking with the student in person that she has never experienced a teacher who has really excited her interest in a topic, and this has affected the young woman profoundly. It is essential that her Tutor is the kind of person who can illumine any subject and scaffold the student's learning so that she starts to experience the kind of success that reverses the negative feedback loop she is in now.

The family environment is supportive and academically engaged. The student has selected a reduced GCSE pathway consisting of maths, double science, English language, English literature, geography, drama, and art. Her parents are not placing pressure on academic outcomes and have been explicit that they do not expect high grades; instead, they are prioritising emotional wellbeing, engagement, and the rediscovery of pleasure in learning. Creatively, she shows strong potential. Her parents describe her as particularly drawn to art, drama, theatrical make-up, fashion, and sketching, especially line drawing. She is currently working with a specialist art tutor, whom she is keen to retain. During an academic assessment session, she responded extremely positively to conceptual and puzzle-based mathematics, demonstrating rapid comprehension once concepts were revealed in an engaging way. Her demeanour shifted visibly from withdrawn and negative to animated, confident, and proud, suggesting that her difficulties stem from lack of positive academic experiences rather than lack of ability.

Emotionally, the student presents as low in mood and motivation, with limited enjoyment of activities and a tendency to dismiss interests she demonstrably enjoys. She struggles to articulate positive preferences and has limited engagement even with responsibilities connected to her pets. However, when she experiences success or insight, she responds with warmth, enthusiasm, and a strong desire to share her achievement. She expressed enormous relief when her negative experience of schooling was recognised and validated, and she felt 'heard'.

The Tutor’s role is as much restorative as it is academic. While supporting GCSE-level work and homework across the student’s subject portfolio, the primary objective is to reverse a long-standing downward spiral around learning, ability, and self-worth. The Tutor must bring optimism, emotional steadiness, and a genuinely positive presence into the student’s daily routine.

The Tutor will work closely with the student after school to help her catch up on missed content, reinforce classroom learning, and develop organisational skills suited to an ADHD profile. This includes helping her plan tasks, break work into manageable components, and experience success regularly rather than being overwhelmed. The Tutor must be able to hold high expectations without pressure, offering encouragement and consistency rather than judgment.

Conceptual clarity and intellectual revelation are central to this role. The student responded exceptionally well to teaching that illuminated underlying structures and connections, particularly in mathematics. The Tutor should therefore be someone who enjoys explaining ideas clearly and creatively, helping her see patterns, logic, and meaning rather than rote procedures.

Creative alignment is extremely important. While the Tutor will not replace the specialist art teacher, they should have some personal ability or experience in a visual art medium such as drawing, painting, or sketching, allowing for shared creative language and collaboration with existing instruction. Musicality would also be a strong advantage. Although the student previously disliked piano lessons when forced, there is a belief that music could become a source of calm and expression if approached informally and positively.

Beyond academics, the Tutor will act as a steady adult presence who models curiosity, emotional resilience, and enjoyment of learning. The family is specifically seeking someone who can rebuild self-esteem, challenge entrenched negativity, and gently reintroduce the idea that effort can be rewarding. This requires patience, emotional literacy, and an ability to remain upbeat without being artificial. A calm, positive disposition is essential. The Tutor must be someone who genuinely enjoys working with teenagers and who can remain patient and encouraging even when progress feels slow. This is a high-trust role requiring emotional intelligence, resilience, and warmth.

The Tutor will also liaise, where appropriate, with existing subject tutors and support the family in maintaining a coherent and supportive educational environment. This is not a role for someone seeking purely academic outcomes; it is a role for someone who understands that emotional recovery must precede academic progress. But it does also require a Tutor who is able to support all the subjects (except art) with confidence and room to spare.

The Tutor will work Sunday to Thursday from approximately 4.30 pm until the evening, with Friday and Saturday treated as the weekend. Hours may extend depending on homework demands and whether the girl is off school sometimes, and tutoring through Ramadan. The family anticipates extended holidays, particularly during July and August, when the Tutor will not be required to travel with them. These longer holiday periods have been factored into the overall structure of the role.

The Tutor will live-in at the family's home in Dubai. She will have her own room and ensuite bathroom, and shared use of the other public spaces, including the pool and beach access from the property. All meals, while living in, will be provided by the family. This living arrangement is not permanent -- after three months, the Tutor can move out to small apartment that the family will organise, if the Tutor prefers. This move will not be immediate and will take some planning and the Tutor is expected to be patient and helpful in this regard.

The family does not expect the Tutor to travel with them during holidays and has made clear that time away during longer breaks is both acceptable and expected.

No car is provided for this role, but all transport requirements needed for the Tutor to carry out the role will be covered by the family.

The Tutor must be emotionally mature, discreet, and comfortable working in a private household with a sensitive adolescent. Experience supporting students with ADHD, low self-esteem, or school refusal is highly desirable.

The Tutor will be physically fit and healthy, a non-smoker.