REBECCA Ginger grew up on the estate so rough that it inspired Trainspotting, where shooting up heroin in school toilets and bringing a machete to class were normal.
And just like Ewan McGregor’s character Renton in the dark film about Edinburgh’s seedy underbelly, 51-year-old Rebecca escaped for a new life.
Now, she is turning over up to £200,000-a-year running the UK’s leading online maths teaching program, Fables World.
Born and raised in Edinburgh, Rebecca went to school in the Eighties at the time of the Scottish Teachers Strike, meaning she only went into school on Mondays and Fridays.
She missed around two years worth of lessons – all while suffering with undiagnosed dyslexia, dyscalculia and maths anxiety.
“Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we were roaming the streets – and everyone was getting into a lot of trouble,” she tells Fabulous for Bossing It.
“I thought it was normal when I was going through it – and I was in the bottom set with all of the bad boys.
“I felt like I was worthless.
“Even when I was working, I felt so stupid.”
Despite her dyslexia and struggling with numbers, Rebecca went on to have a successful career as one of MTV’s top directors.
She landed this by working as an intern for free for two years at 24-years-old while claiming benefits to stay afloat in London.
She soon became the creator and director of channel’s most successful and long running show, Dirty Sanchez.
But when her children started struggling with maths at school and teachers said her daughter Romy, now 18, “won’t pass an exam in her life”, Rebecca realised a career in media wasn’t her calling.
“I taught my eldest, Jago, 20, using our secret technique, but since he was already good at maths, I didn’t think much of it,” she explains.
“Then I repeated the technique with Romy, who really struggled with maths aged eight.
“It wasn’t until my youngest, Indiana, now 15, was eight-years-old, and I had to teach him maths that I truly began to believe that it could work so effectively for other children.”
Fables World founder Rebecca shared her top five tips for other women looking to set up their own business...
Thanks to Rebecca’s tutoring, Romy shot from the bottom to the top of her maths class in a year.
This was done by tapping into her children’s love of stories to unlock visual learning when practising times tables and divisions.
Soon enough, Rebecca turned her skill at making maths easy into a business that has now made a huge difference to thousands of children’s lives.
The visual learning method is the key to Fables World success, with Rebecca teaching children mathematics with cartoons.
“I was a successful producer but I didn’t think I could ever set up my own business,” she says.
“But it was like this social obligation.
“I couldn’t watch all of these kids struggle at maths because I wanted to show them they’re not stupid.
“They just weren’t taught in a way that made sense to them.”
Rebecca set up Fable’s World, then known as Table Fables, in 2017 by remortgaging her house.
She also heavily relied on her brother John, who she refers to as her “secret weapon”.
“He does all the technical stuff behind the scenes,” she says.
“I was working as a PA at the time because it worked around my three kids, and I set up the business at the same time.
We did it all on a shoestring budget – we clawed our way here. But we survived because it works
Rebecca Ginger
“My brother helped out for free – and I can’t tell you how many sleepless nights I had at the beginning.
“I was like, ‘not only am I wasting my brother’s time, money and energy, but we’re going to lose our house’.
“We did it all on a shoestring budget – we clawed our way here.
“But we survived because it works.”
The business relaunched as Fables World last year and now turns over anywhere between £150,000 to £200,000-a-year.
It was initially set up for children with dyslexia, dyscalculia, maths anxiety or reluctant learning from four to 14-years-old.
I felt like I was worthless. Even when I was working, I felt so stupid
Rebecca Ginger
But through countless hours of research in school classrooms and with siblings joining in the fun during sessions, Rebecca soon discovered her fun method of teaching works for all children – no matter what their learning style.
To date, over 10,000 parents have used Fables World to help their children learn maths where traditional teaching methods have failed.
It’s not just for children, though – plenty of adults use the service too, Rebecca says.
The tutoring entrepreneur even teaches prisoners, and says her childhood on the rough estate means she’s not scared of working with anyone.
According to Rebecca, research demonstrates that recalling funny characters and stories is more accessible than numbers.
That’s why Fables World uses funny cartoons that “effortlessly” show children how to add and subtract – rather than just showing them numbers on a plain piece of paper.
“Our human brains are hardwired to remember stories – the ruder the better,” she says.
This technique can be applied to maths too.
The Fables World tutoring technique embodies this exciting way of learning numbers, and Rebecca says it boosts kids’ scores across all subjects.
“We transform a kid’s maths and then all their other subjects improve – and so does their confidence,” she says.
A 12-Month Fables World subscriptions start from £60 a year – a far cry from the £50 per session Rebecca knows some parents pay for tuition.
You can also try a seven day free-trial and there’s a 100% guarantee or your money back.
However, Rebecca says nobody has ever claimed that thanks to how well her system works.
