From “I Can’t Do Maths” to “I Love Maths”: Pauline Suarez’s Relationship-Led Approach to Tuition
One of the things I love most about these finalist interviews is hearing what sits underneath the results.
Because a child moving from zero in their mocks to fours and fives is incredible, but the real story is not only the grade.
It is the trust that had to be built first.
In this episode of The Class Business Podcast, I sat down with Pauline Suarez, Principal Director of Conexus Tuition Canary Wharf and Ladbroke Grove, to talk about her journey from 22 years in the classroom to building a tuition business grounded in confidence, inclusion and trauma-informed practice.
Pauline launched her Conexus Tuition franchise in 2024 and has already built a team of around 15 tutors supporting learners from early years through to GCSEs, A Levels and even postgraduate study.
From Rural Canada to Inner-City London
Pauline’s story begins in Gull Lake, Saskatchewan, a Canadian town of around 1,000 people where, in her words, “There are more cows than people.”
After university, she applied for teaching jobs around the world because she wanted adventure. London was not necessarily the carefully planned destination, but when a recruiter asked who wanted to go, Pauline put her hand up.
Her first teaching role was in Hackney, and her introduction to the city involved arriving hours before anyone else and waiting outside the school with what she described as “super rats”.
It was a dramatic beginning, but Pauline stayed.
She went on to spend 22 years teaching in inner-city schools, building the experience that now shapes every part of her business.
Why Relationships Come Before Results
Pauline did not leave teaching because she had stopped loving education.
She left because she believed she could make a bigger impact through tuition.
Working more closely with children allowed her to understand them in a deeper way, adapting the teaching around their individual needs, interests and experiences.
“I loved getting to know them inside out, backwards, forwards,” she explained.
That relationship-first approach is central to Conexus Tuition.
Pauline believes children learn better when they feel safe, known and genuinely liked by the person teaching them. She takes time to understand what matters to each child, whether that is their favourite football team, artist, colour or hobby.
Her team focuses on:
- Building trust before pushing academic outcomes
- Celebrating progress and effort
- Avoiding shame around mistakes
- Adapting learning around interests and needs
- Helping children leave feeling more confident than when they arrived
As Pauline put it, “We never say no, we never say mistake. We build them up, we give them confidence.”
Supporting Children Through Trauma and Anxiety
One of the most powerful parts of Pauline’s story is her work supporting Grenfell Tower survivors.
Over time, she became well known among support workers because families saw the progress children and young people made through her tuition.
Pauline supported learners with a huge range of needs, from a four-year-old requiring specialist one-to-one support to a postgraduate student with dyslexia who needed help getting her thoughts onto the page.
Her approach is rooted in trauma-informed and relational practice.
She believes progress begins with understanding the child fully, including what they enjoy, what they dislike and what may prevent them from engaging.
“When children are empowered, they can do whatever they want,” Pauline said.
That principle also shapes her work with children experiencing emotionally based school avoidance, anxiety and neurodivergence.
Pauline received her own ADHD diagnosis recently, and she is especially passionate about supporting neurodivergent girls to feel successful, confident and able to reconnect with education.
Progress, Not Perfection
Pauline spoke passionately about the pressure children face.
There are academic pressure points throughout school, but children are also navigating social media, comparison and the constant message that they are not enough.
Her response is to change the language around progress.
“It’s not about being perfect. It’s about progress,” she said. “If I’m one per cent better today than I was yesterday, that’s brilliant.”
Pauline wants children to understand that failure is not a final outcome.
It is part of learning.
She describes it as:
- A first attempt rather than a last attempt
- Evidence that something new is being learned
- A chance to try a different approach
- A step towards greater confidence
- Something that should never define a child’s ability
That mindset is already changing lives.
From Zero in Her Mocks to a New Career
Pauline’s favourite success story is a young person who arrived scoring zero in her mock exams.
She was experiencing educationally based school avoidance, hated school and would only attend Pauline’s tuition centre.
By June, she was achieving grades four and five and had moved from being at risk of becoming NEET to training as a dental nurse.
“She is my favourite ever story and my superstar of Conexus,” Pauline told me.
That result matters, but so does everything behind it.
A young person who had disengaged from education began to believe in herself again.
That is the real work.
Watch Pauline’s Full Interview
Watch my full conversation with Pauline Suarez to hear more about building a trauma-informed tuition business, recruiting values-aligned tutors and helping children move from “I can’t” to “I can”.
Watch the full interview here.
You can also meet Pauline at The Class Business Live and The Class Business Awards & Afterparty on Saturday 10 October 2026 at the National Conference Centre in Solihull.
The Class Business Live runs from 9:00am to 3:00pm and brings finalists, judges and sponsors together for a high-energy day focused on connection, visibility and impact. Expect guest speakers, mastermind table discussions and plenty of opportunities to build meaningful relationships before the evening celebrations begin.
