I enjoyed teaching maths for many years, and also very successfully tutored individual pupils over that time, including supporting pupils through the demands of the 9-1 GCSE maths and the AS and AL maths exams.
I have retired from maths teaching in schools but I continue to enjoy the mathematics and to share my expertise by offering private maths tuition more widely.
I have a very strong educational background in maths, a secure knowledge of maths at all levels from key stage 3 upwards, and a particular interest and understanding of nearly all of the KS5 modules and topics for AS and A2 Maths. I also have many years experience of marking examination A level maths papers so that I can confidently advise pupils where marks are gained and lost.
I am currently tutoring only online on Zoom
I taught in secondary schools in both the Independent and State sectors and I have a full knowledge and understanding of the requirements of the maths syllabuses from school year 7 (pupils aged 11 years) to school year 13 (pupils aged 18 years). This also includes the new GCSE 9-1 and the new AS and AL schemes of work.
My pupils vary in ability from the very able to the least able and most of them have not only achieved the grades they needed, and often exceeded these, but also increased their enjoyment and confidence in their maths.
I firmly believe that the key to success is hard-work and motivation and I delight in the achievements of these determined pupils at whatever level.
I am particularly pleased and proud of the achievements of many of my students in the public exams as the results have included numerous top grades and significant grade improvements, and comments from parents such as ' she is ecstatic about her A grade, she couldn't have done it without you!'
At present I am only tutoring online using zoom, using an additional camera so that the pupils can see what I am writing. As I cannot easily see their work and presentation, I generally set some homework to be done after each lesson. Then I ask the pupil to send a photo of their solutions to me for comments on mistakes and suggested improvements.
During the first few tutoring sessions I find out each individual's mathematical background and aspirations, and which areas they are less confident about. I explain topics in as much detail as necessary to enable the pupil to successfully solve problems in that area, and strongly encourage pupils to show and understand a clear method, rather than relying on rote learning or guesswork. I also encourage pupils to ask questions freely and am happy to explain topics many times and in different ways until a real understanding and competence can be achieved.
I do expect pupils to complete a reasonable amount of practice questions in between sessions as this is the only way to truly consolidate learning. I am happy to mark and correct these solutions. I am also keen to review topics taught in their school lessons to ensure full understanding, and briefly explain where the topic is going next so that pupils can develop the confidence to contribute more in class. I was delighted to hear the following comment recently: ' actually I quite like fractions now'!
Languages | English (British) |
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Availability | Weekends, Weekdays (all times) |
References Available | On File |
Sheffield University | 1975 | Bachelors | BSc First Class Honours Pure Maths | |
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Sheffield University | 1978 | Masters | MSc Pure Maths by Research |
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