Michael

I studied Theology at both Leeds Trinity College and Durham University, where I achieved a First Class Honours degree and later Merit. After doing regular guest teaching and classroom assistance, I took the PTLLS Level 4 at the Advance Training Academy and began tutoring in 2014. Since then I have taught people from Cramlington, Durham, Dunston, Gateshead, and Sunderland (to name just a few examples). Each of my students has steadily increased their grades, achieving A*-C.

My aim is to provide first quality tuition in Religious Studies and Philosophy and to help people become more confident in these subjects. I am an individual who is committed to making education a lasting experience rather than a lecture to be endured. My experiences have taught me that each student has the potential to grow and change. To that end I take on students of all dispositions, from the confident and capable to nervous and struggling type.

If you want extra help, email me and we can set up an ice-breaker session. Each lesson from then onwards is specifically tailored to your learning style. We can then focus on a combination of extra content and exam technique. I will continuously ask for feedback to make sure that you are satisfied with the quality of service.

Consider the benefits of having a tutor:
• Raise your grades
• Increase your self-confidence
• Access to continuous support and advice

Why use me personally?
• I am patient, creative, and dedicated in helping all students be successful. I have worked with diverse sets of students with wide range of needs. Therefore, I am able to work with students of all abilities as I am flexible and adaptable to different settings.
• My lessons are very comprehensive. You will typically be given a handout on the relevant topic, discussion and past paper questions and a background on the key critical thinkers. They are each adjusted to your learning style, so we can get quite creative!

I am DBS checked and can provide references upon request.

Tutoring Experience

My experience is threefold:
• Classroom assistance: I did classroom work at Gateshead Volunteering and Opportunities Centre and New College Durham (2013). My duties involved: helping struggling students with classroom activities, helping them to express themselves and dealing with classroom behavioural issues. When working with students, I was noted for being approachable, compassionate, kind and patient.
• Guest teaching: I gave regular guest lessons in Theology and Religious studies at Leeds Trinity University College, Jesmond Methodist Church, Gosforth High School and the Royal Grammar School (2011-14). My lessons were recognised as well-prepared, thought-provoking, and thorough.

• Personal tutoring: since I started tutoring in the North East, I have taught students from Cramlington, Durham, Dunston, Gateshead, Gosforth, and Sunderland. I have also given online tuition to students at various regions of the UK (2013-).

Tutoring Approach

Tuition is conducted via phone, Zoom and email (depending on the client preference). Online tuition is available to any student in the UK.

Style of lessons is tailored to individual needs. The preliminary meeting will focus on your learning needs, and from this we will establish your goals for the tuition and the process for helping you to meet them. We will discuss how we can make the sessions play to your individual learning styles and strengths.

In lessons, we usually focus on two specific areas:
• Extra teaching: we will usually have a discussion on a particular topic.
You will be given a detailed hand-out, some discussion questions, and (if necessary) a brief background on the important key thinkers.
• Essay-writing: I will provide an essay-writing formula, which we will then
apply to past-paper questions, which will support you to write essays based on past exam papers. As part of the service, I will review the answer and provide detailed feedback to support further learning.