I am a professional tutor who graduated from Cambridge with a 1st class BA degree and an MPhil in Education and Literature - I have been tutoring ever since.
I tailor my tutoring to best fit my student's needs and learning style. With extensive experience ranging from primary to undergraduate students, I am confident tutoring for students of different ability and interest levels.
As a published academic writer with experience of private school and Oxbridge admissions processes, I am further confident tutoring to an extremely high level of tuition for a number of top-level schools and universities. Past students have gone on to study at Harrow, Eton, a number of London private schools and of course Oxford and Cambridge, among other universities.
My successes with students are not only due to my own expertise, however, but to my passion for inspiring a love of English in my students as well! During our time together my students not only come to feel more confident in the subject, but also to enjoy it!
I've worked successfully as a tutor for GCSE and A-Level students for a number of years now, helping them drastically improve their grades. I've also done considerable work as a university supervisor and mentor for undergraduate, master's, and first-year doctoral students at the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and other institutions. My expertise is in university admissions, and I have recently written a bestselling book on History admissions for Oxford, the Ultimate History Aptitude Test Guide.
My approach is mainly trust based, my students are often amazed by just how much they can do for themselves if they're in a learning environment that isn't adversarial, oppressive, or plain dull. Beyond A-Level, I also have teaching experience at the University of Oxford as a tutor and seminar leader for undergraduate history and sociology students, and I have degrees in both Archaeology and History. My background of experience is technological, and I work as a civilian consultant to the NASA Ames Human Factors laboratory in that capacity. Central to my approach is an understanding that my students are people, with their own unique strengths, weaknesses, and abilities, which need to be nurtured and supported in order to get the best possible results.
In this way, learning can, and should be of a reciprocal exchange of ideas, and by embracing this in a more relaxed and curiosity-driven approach, it becomes far easier for many to explore, absorb, and abstract their understanding of both the surface learning of school qualifications, and the deep learning of the concepts behind them crucial to getting the very highest grades.
I'm an enthusiastic teacher with lots of experience working with young people of different ages and abilities. As well as tutoring English, Latin and Classics to students from primary to degree level, I've taught drama to teenagers and English at IB summer schools. I'm familiar with the AQA, OCR, Edexcel and WJEC exam boards. I believe that I've got the creativity, organisation and communication skills that make a good tutor, as well as specialised knowledge and heaps of enthusiasm!
I have taught everything from music theory to English as far afield as New York and Madagascar, in classrooms, 1-to-1 and online. I have a Congratulatory First in Modern Languages from Oxford and have been tutoring a range of subjects for the last 9 years. I also have experience of living, working and studying in both France and Germany. Although my style of teaching is friendly and laid-back, I take immense pleasure from academic achievement and from inspiring others to achieve their academic goals.
I have been teaching & tutoring Psychology, Research Methods & Academic writing (essays and reports) for over 7 years now to students of all ages whether mature students at undergraduate level & masters level; part time & full time students or seminar based and 1-1. This includes the joint UCL-Birkbeck Masters course for Critical Analysis which is a high level, rigorous module that develops the student's understanding in how to critique journal articles, how to remedy their shortcomings and writing future research or research proposals. I have also taught academic writing workshops, general foundations and was an honorary research fellow after graduating which led to the publication of my undergraduate dissertation.
Having trained as an outstanding A-level Psychology teacher with UCL (IOE) I can offer in depth exam technique for the new linear specification as I have worked closely with examiners & key authors of textbooks. I also offer assistance for writing structure, exam technique across degree and A-level.
I have successfully tutored a number of students in mathematics, physics, and computing in the past, at both A-level and GCSE. Among my most notable successes was helping a student who did not have classes in Further Maths available at school to achieve an A (highest grade at the time).
The best tutor will guide the student through a process of self-learning and tailor this skilfully to the individual student. It is paramount to properly motivate the pupil to ask the right questions to himself, whilst instilling an interest in the subject as much as possible. The tutor should generally enhance the learning experience beyond what any textbook or routine exercises can provide. With respect to mistakes, it is always important to be gentle and sympathetic, and encouragement should be given when progress is made, though not to the degree of fostering overconfidence. In brief, I believe in a highly interactive and open dialogue between teacher and student.
I have 23 years of experience in tutoring learners to achieve their goals. I tutor GCSE, A-Level, CAIE/CIE, EPQ, IB, PRE-U, Undergraduate, Postgraduate/Doctoral students, UCAS and Oxbridge applicants, and professional clients in Academic Research and Writing, Business Studies, Creative Industries, Critical Thinking, Cultural Studies, Drama, Education, English, Essay Writing, Film, Government and Politics, Marketing, Media, Oxbridge Entrance/UCAS, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Social Sciences, Theology, Theory of Knowledge, and Visual Arts.
I combine two decades of experience in the education sector with my earlier career in the creative industries to offer engaging learning opportunities relevant to our daily lives. I am a passionate advocate of 'affective' learning and well-being through creativity, critical inquiry and philosophical reasoning. I invite you to engage in these ways of thinking that can empower you with relevant skills to support your personal growth. I have extensive experience in tutoring GCSE, A-Level, CAIE/CIE, IB, PRE-U, EPQ, Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Professional learners. My presentation style is engaging and interactive. I convert complicated theories and paradigms into straightforward ideas, with practical worth, and impart useful advice for my clients.
I pride myself in the quality of working relationship quickly developed with students of all ages. Whether reaching for examination confidence, mastery of subject content or skills, or progress with emotional, behavioural or cognitive needs, all tutees should expect teaching that is entirely personalised and constantly adaptive to their evolving learning, including:
- guidance for pupils toward understanding and pride in all supported subject disciplines, while troubleshooting all associated challenges, from frustrations with phonics to maths anxiety, from the art of the essay to that of examination-timing and from Alternative Vote in politics to ‘alternative conceptualisations’ in chemistry;
- mentoring or life-skill teaching: identifying and fostering scholastic and general skills beyond those specific to particular academic subjects yet required for flourishing within educationally related outcomes generally;
- support for atypical educational needs. Teaching in this area is important to me, and I am currently extending my training with additional part-time postgraduate studies. Inwardly, special-needs are never what I see; what I see are special opportunities: exciting opportunities. My teaching teaches for exciting futures, not needful ones.
My aim is for each of my students to discover the tools, skills and conviction to achieve all the outcomes of their and of their parents’ hopes. I want my students to discover what they can do and to inspire themselves by what they find.
I have extensive tutoring experience, combining my love for the humanities and social sciences with my passion to help other students succeed. My lessons are engaging and interactive, whilst highly tailored to the student's direct needs. Online tutoring provides a dynamic platform that enables me to develop a unique and productive relationship with my students, helping them to achieve their potential.
I have three years’ experience tutoring the humanities in person and online. I have an excellent track record of preparing students for English and History to GCSE, IB, and A-Level.
In Summer 2016, I helped a student go from a D to an A in A-Level History resits. The previous year, one of my students went from a U-grade mock to a B in GCSE English in the space of 6 weeks.
In addition to my BA in History from the University of Cambridge (2013), I hold an MA by Research in History and Music from Durham University (2015, AHRC Scholarship).
