James

I have been a full-time professional tutor for 9 years. I graduated from the University of Cambridge with a double first class BA in mathematics, and stayed on to complete a masters degree (MMath) in mathematical physics. I am bright, enthusiastic, and have a passion for teaching maths and physics.

The levels I teach are: GCSE, A-level/IB, and University (including University entrance). I have tried to provide tailored information for each of these levels in subheadings below - so do scroll down.

Availability: I`m available on weekdays with limited availability at the weekends.

Willing to travel: 10 miles

Experience: The levels I teach are:

- GCSE & IGCSE
- A-level & IB
- University Admissions & STEP
- University Undergraduate

My experience includes six years of 1-1 and classroom tuition, and I have worked for some of London’s top tutoring agencies and centres. I am now looking to further expand my personal 1-1 tutoring base. Students I tutor often progress rapidly, attaining and often succeeding their own expected exam grades. I believe that, with dedication and the correct instruction, any student is able to learn mathematics and science.

I have also worked with students who are home-schooled – where I’m the full-time teacher. I’ve also tutored students who need crash course revision sessions during holidays and study breaks in the run up to an examination.

I have also recently undertaken research at King’s College London in the field of mathematics education. I have an excellent understanding of educational theory, and its applications to mathematics, and also fully aware of the issues of mathematical education in schools and how these can be overcome.

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GCSE & IGCSE
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I provide tuition for Edexcel, OCR , AQA exam boards in both maths and physics GCSE. I can also tutor iGCSE.

My approach at this level varies. Sometimes the student is highly motivated, and is looking to attain a high grade to study at A-level or IB., in which case I will be pushing them academically and trying to achieve a balance of succinct explanation, problem solving, and exam technique within lessons.

However, quite often, students can become highly disengaged, (especially with a bottom set student whose self-esteem has become eroded) and are unable to see the significance that their performance could have on their future. In these cases, I will be working at re-engaging them with the subjects, in particular with open-ended problem solving, and real-life contextualized examples.


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A-level & IB
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At A-level I have prepared students in all the main exam boards: Edexcel, OCR, AQA, WJEC and OCR MEI. I am happy to provide tuition for any examination in maths (pure, further pure, mechanics, statistics, decision) and physics, including resists of old modular-style legacy exams. At IB, I have taught both maths (SL studies, SL & HL) and physics (SL & HL)

The new exams at A-level are now much more rigorous, and place a much larger emphasis on modeling and problem solving. Often, students are taught in a “bullet point” way in schools, where connections across different topics are not made – which sometimes makes learning the subject frustrating, as there seem to be an infinitude of different “recipes” for solving different problems. An emphasis will be placed on drawing connections and giving the “why” not just the “how to”.


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University Admissions & STEP
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This usually encompasses Oxbridge interview practice and/or entrance exams.

I provide support for Oxbridge entrance exams in maths, physics and engineering. One focus is developing problem-solving skills, especially to the sort of open-ended questions that are given at interview, and finding multiple solutions to a particular problem. Another focus is developing communication skills, so that one can verbally explain thought processes with clarity. I am also a ballroom dancer, and if required, I can help adjust the non-verbal communication (including posture) of a nervous candidate, to convey a greater sense of confidence.

Entrance exams are required at interview at some Universities: I can help to prepare for these. STEP exams are also used by Cambridge (and sometimes Warwick) as an entry requirement, and I have significant experience in tutoring for these - including at Cambridge University as a mentor for prospective applicants from disadvantaged backgrounds.

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University Tuition
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I have tutored students at universities including: Cambridge, Imperial, UCL, King’s, Queen Mary, City, Birkbeck, Brunel, Roehampton, Kingston and Metropolitan.

Students I tutor come from a wide range of disciplines include undergraduate and postgraduate students of: Maths, Physics, Engineering, Natural Sciences, and Computer Science.

Often University lecturers equate reading or writing out lecture notes to teaching. And this can often lead to difficulties in studying at a higher level, even for those who managed school level studies with ease. At university level I try to pull apart lecture notes into digestible and memorable chunks, highlight important results and provide many examples of the theory, encourage rigor in written solutions, and provide model solutions to past paper questions. This is easiest if the student is prepared with materials for their own course (e.g. past papers, lecture notes, textbooks) as each University has their own syllabus.

For distance learners, I can write model solutions to questions by hand, and scan these in.

A (non-exhaustive) list of courses I have taught are:

PURE

Linear Algebra
Number Theory
Set Theory
Group Theory
Real Analysis
Complex Analysis

APPLIED

Vectors & Matrices
Vector Calculus
Differential Equations
Mathematical Methods
Dynamical Systems

THEORETICAL PHYSICS

Classical Dynamics
Special Relativity
Fluid Dynamics
Quantum Mechanics

APPLICABLE

Probability
Statistics
Optimisation