Owen

I have just finished my first year studying for a BA in Geography at Oxford University, achieving a distinction in my first year exams. I`ve always been interested in many different areas from the sciences to the arts, and found it very hard to choose a subject to study at university! But geography has allowed me to keep studying a diverse range of areas to a high level – my first year has covered everything from the economy and geopolitics to ecology and climatology, for example. I’m passionate about sharing my interest and knowledge in a wide range of subjects to help others and inspire them to study further.

At Dartford Grammar School I achieved 13/13 A*s in my GCSEs, including all the subjects in which I`m available for tutoring, as well as a Free Standing Maths Qualification in Additional Maths (A). I then completed the International Baccalaureate, with a total of 44/45 points, including Geography (7), Physics (7) and Chemistry (6) at Higher Level, and Maths (7), English (7) and Latin (7) at Standard Level, alongside an AS Level in Maths (A). Having also passed the 11+ test to get into the school, I have first-hand experience of the stresses involved but also the skills required to be successful in it.

I’m very grateful for the experiences I’ve had, and I’d love to pass on the knowledge and advice that I’ve gained to help others achieve their goals!

In my tutoring, I will firstly talk with students to find out in what area(s) they are struggling and what targets they have, and work with them to create a strategy to help them improve. I will then try to explain the concept to the student, providing examples to help understanding. Then, I will use questions to help me see how the student is thinking and where they are in their understanding, encouraging them to ask questions if they are still struggling or want clarification. Through this two-way process, I hope to reach a point where the student is able to explain to me what they have learnt – if they can do this, then they will not only be in a very strong position to answer exam questions effectively, but they will have a clear understanding of the topic and will gain in confidence!

The lessons are not rigid though, and can be tailored to suit the individual student’s situation and requirements. The most important part is that there is great communication between us – this ensures that we both know what we need to be overcoming, that I know how the student is finding the work, and, most importantly, that the student knows how they are progressing and what areas to keep working on, which will provide them with confidence and clear, targeted goals.

Overall, my aim is to create a friendly, interactive environment in which the student confidently achieves their goals whilst being inspired to continue pursuing them into the future.

Availability: I am available for one-to-one tuition: from the middle of June to early October from early December to the middle of January and from the middle of March to late April. During this time, I am available during weekday daytimes and evenings as well as Saturdays.

I am also available for online tuition when I am not available for one-to-one tuition. During this time, I am mainly available during weekday evenings and Saturdays.

My schedule is changeable so please feel free to get in touch and I will do my best to ensure that I can fit into your schedule.

Willing to travel: 10 miles

Experience: During my gap year I worked at a tutoring centre, working with 5-14 year olds to improve their Maths and English skills and increase their confidence in their own ability. I really enjoyed working through problems with the children and explaining tricky ideas to them - the spark when they suddenly understood a difficult concept or worked out a complex problem was great to see and definitely worth the effort! Spending time getting to know and help the children there was great fun, but the nature of the job meant I often had to hurry between 5 or 6 children all the time so I wasn`t able to spend as much time with each of them as I`d have liked. So my experience has made me very keen to continue tutoring, but especially on the more individual and tailored basis that one-to-one tutoring provides.

I also have experience prior to that as a teaching assistant at a primary school, working in all the classes throughout the school and experiencing a wide variety of ages and teaching styles. Therefore, I can empathise with the difficulties children can face with classroom teaching, with teaching styles that don`t suit them causing some to fall behind or others not to be pushed far enough, for example. I know how frustrating this can be for children and parents, and I`m confident my tutoring experience can enable me to help overcome this kind of situation.

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