Glenn

We stand on the shoulders of giants. I take my inspiration from my Calculus and Biology teachers, both of whom encouraged me to reach beyond what I thought possible and took a personal interest in my education, both in school and out. As a result I have a passion for learning, and I am constantly discovering things from my students, colleagues, and research.

Aside from my teaching credentials below, I have lived in intentional communities in Pennsylvania and Wales to care for and educate young people with special needs and talents. I also started a thriving home-based business specialising in organic clothing and bedding.

While studying for my PGCE at the University of Sussex I made a life-changing visit to Mbeya, Tanzania, where I had the honour of stepping in to cover an O-level science class of 100 16- to 20-year-old pupils in a dirt-floor classroom. They queued through lunch period just to have me give the coveted green tick-mark to their homework. So began my life-long dream of teaching, at first briefly in the UK state system and then at the Steiner school my children were attending, and as they say, it's the best job in the world.

Tutoring Experience

Background:
I worked in the field of Electronics Engineering for 10 years, progressing from draughtsman/ technician, through hardware design, to cutting-edge networking software. I take from these experiences a passion and ability to seek out challenges and solve problems.

Training:
I trained for the PGCE at University of Sussex, specialising in Physics, and became the first Secondary-level student in the Heart of Teaching in-service training at Michael Hall Steiner School.

Exams and Beyond:
I proceeded to take on the GCSE and A-level Physics teaching at Michael Hall as well as provide support in Maths, Chemistry and Biology, and my students consistently led the field in their Physics results, with a 100% pass rate. Initially to attract the interest of a few recalcitrant students, I created the Mousetrap Car Race engineering competition, which blossomed into a much-awaited feature of the year for the best and brightest. I developed a private tutoring practice and coached candidates through their A-level Biology (with A and A* results) and GCSE Physics, results A (7-8) and B (6-7).

Teaching the Teachers:
I provided training, support and inspiration to Key Stage 2 and 3 teachers in their Physics lessons, and I have been a visiting teacher and consultant at the Altea International School in Altea, Spain.

Tutoring Approach

I love experimenting, engineering, making things and taking them apart, getting down to first principles to help students really understand how things work, and how we know what we think we know. I feel this is especially important for young people in this age where truth is no longer absolute, and the honing of a confident capacity for clear judgment must be the aim of any good education.

I will provide a realistic timetable and framework for success with the GCSE or A-level exam whether you are using the Edexcel, OCR, AQA, or WJEC exam board, or enrolled in a BTEC programme and need support. I will provide exercises to build up your problem-solving muscles and fully understand the underlying concepts. As students approach their exam dates we concentrate on Past Papers, which we will dissect to understand common mistakes and analyse students' particular weaknesses.