Harry

I am an Oxford Graduate (philosophy) with a three year Masters in music (jazz saxophone) from Trinity Laban conservatoire, and, as of 2017, am a qualified teacher. I am now a full time tutor thus, while playing saxophone every day, treat tutoring as a full time job, so am able to fully commit to aiding students with almost any academic difficulty, however complex or time demanding.

Tutoring Experience

I tutor many different areas, am a qualified teacher with experience teaching in the classroom, and have twelve years experience as a tutor, mostly as a full time private tutor, or a home school teacher. I estimate that I have had about one hundred and fifty students for GCSE, A Level, and entrance exams in total over the past eight years.

I have and continue to work with a number of 11+, 13+, and 16+ applicants to all of the top independent schools in and around Greater London. I also tutor the maths at GCSE and the humanities at GCSE, A Level, Pre U and IB, working every weekday after during and after school, and all Sunday. Adding to this, I have home-schooled two (GCSE - sixth form age) students over the last three years. My specialty has become Oxbridge preparation for Theology and Theology with Philosophy, and have had a three out of four success rate thus far, which I am quite proud of!

I teach History, English, R.S (Philosophy, Ethics), and Government & Politics to students taking GCSEs, A Levels, and the IBO. Over the last couple of years this has involved teaching students everything they need to know over a one or two year period, as if the school was not involved at all, helping students with homework or coursework in tandem with the school, as well as meeting students a few days or weeks before their exams for an intensive period of revision. I have also met with students who board during term time and want some extra help whilst they are at home for their school’s holidays.

Over the last few years I have enjoyed spending may summers with various families who have asked me to help make the most of their children's free time during their summer break. This has ranged from 11+ to Oxbridge preparation.

Tutoring Approach

My approach to tutoring is informal but rigorous. One of the benefits of one on one tuition is that there is no need to develop a single 'one size fits all' approach, much as is needed when teaching three hundred children a week in a school environment. Instead, I aim to tailor my approach to each individual. I have built up a lot of experience preparing Oxbridge applicants to philosophy related course, such as PPE, so can push a student to achieve an A* or explore beyond the syllabus. However, I have also taught students with learning difficulties, such as ASD and dyslexia, so can tailor my approach to a student who is struggling academically, even to the point of dropping out of school. Every teacher is a teacher of special educational needs, because, ultimately, every student has some unique barrier to their learning. For example, some of my Oxbridge students have been severely dyslexic or autistic. My approach is to push any student to achieve the best they can, which, for almost any student, is a B. This can involve a great deal of involvement with the family, and I often find that, in the lead up to exam times, I play a crucial role in organising and guiding students as much as teaching them.