Abdul

I am Cambridge Graduate (1st class intercalated degree (BA) in Psychology). I am also currently a 4th year medical student at the University of Cambridge. I have been tutoring GCSEs, A-Levels, and Medicine applications/interviews for the past 3 years. Several of my students have received offers from the University of Cambridge to study Medicine.

I also undertook a research project (looking at the effects of stress on mitochondrial biogenesis in the prefrontal cortex in rats) and a dissertation (postulating a bidirectional link between memory reconsolidation and Alzheimer’s Disease) during my intercalated degree in psychology, in which I received a 1st class.

I achieved 3A*s at A-Levels (Biology, Chemistry and Maths) and 9s at GCSEs. I undertook my GCSEs in only a year (due to complications with living in the USA for a while). During my studies in the USA, I was nominated as the student of the year in high school for various subjects and was ranked in the top 10% (Rank 8 of 1162). I also took AP (Advanced Placement) classes during my time in America. I achieved a silver award on the intermediate biology Olympiad during my A-Levels. I was also nominated as a STEM scholar by my previous schools.

Tutoring Experience

I started tutoring in my 1st year at university. Most of my students were prospective applicants or current applicants who required support with A-Levels as well as the medicine application process (entrance exams, personal statements, interview preparations etc). Most of the medicine interviews at Oxford and Cambridge are very scientific based and require a strong knowledge of the A-Level content, but also draw from content taught at 1st year medicine, and I therefore prepare my students by strengthening their core A-Level content but by also challenging/stretching their understanding to develop their application of said knowledge. Many of my students have received offers to study medicine, and at Cambridge (2 students this year out of 3) and a few of my students from last year are currently 1st year medical students at Cambridge. I have been doing this for the past 3 years, mostly online 1:1 but also occasionally in person if someone requests this. In my second year of university I decided to give tutoring younger students a go and I quite enjoyed this. I still focused on A-Level students and medicine applicants but I also started tutoring GCSE students, both online and in person. For A-Levels, I predominantly tutor Biology, but have also tutored chemistry and occasionally maths where requested. For GCSEs, I tutor all the sciences (Biology, Chemistry, and Physics) both at higher and foundation levels, including combined science. I also tutor GCSE maths as most of my students require extra support with Maths.

At the start of my 3rd year, I started tutoring in personal at 2 local tuition centres. I have been employed at these centres on weekends since the start of 2024 and have been tutoring at both GCSE and A-Level. This includes both small group in person sessions as well as 1-to-1 lessons. I particularly enjoy teaching the sciences, although the demand for maths is greater. I do enjoy teaching maths too but my passion lies in science due to my current studies in medicine. I also love to inspire my students to reach their potentials and aim high for the future. I find tutoring very rewarding. I have also recently started tutoring with an agency that provides 1-to-1 tuition to homeschool students and those preparing for the 11+.

I have plenty of experience teaching (both online and in person) all the sciences and maths from KS2 up to A-Levels and university admissions.

Tutoring Approach

I tailor my teaching towards the student’s needs, taking account the student’s strengths and weaknesses. I ensure all my lessons are focused on the specification (for GCSEs and A-Levels) or the national curriculum. I always include past paper exam questions that are also specific to the topic covered to ensure the student not only understands the content but can also apply it. I walk through exam papers, pointing out strategies to gain the maximum amount of marks. I ensure that the student develops their exam technique and is able to face any question the exam may throw at them.

I believe that a strong knowledge of the curriculum and the specification / content to be examined is crucial for the student in order to achieve success. Very few students actually look through the specification and curriculum, and most students don’t even fully know which topics/types of questions will come up in the exam. If one does not know what one will be examined on, how can one expect to achieve success?
Many students also use the wrong study techniques. Based on proven scientific research, memorisation is significantly enhanced by using techniques such as spaced repetition, active recall and categorisation, all of which I include in my lessons. I have also studied memory significantly during my time at university and believe I can inspire my students to use such methods in their revision.