Jim

I am an experienced, qualified teacher and tutor with a long record of success helping students overcome specific difficulties in physics and maths and greatly increasing their confidence in these subjects.

I graduated from Cambridge in Physics and Theoretical Physics, then worked in the oil industry as a seismic field engineer and as an instructor officer in the Royal Navy before becoming a teacher in 2002 and a tutor since 2013. I recently completed an MSc in Astrophysics at Queen Mary University London.

I like tutoring because of the progress you can see a student make when you can give them your undivided attention and when they are motivated. Of those students who came for help preparing for Summer exams in 2013 for example (and who gave me news of their results), one student moved his grade from a U to a C*, three moved from a U to a D, two more moved from E to B, two from D to A, one from D to B and one from B to A.

*(January module result against resit result or final result as relevant. Unfortunately as there were no January modules in 2014 similar data are not available for that year).

On other tutoring platforms I have been using for longer I have received 56 pieces of feedback, with an average score of 4.96 out of 5. Some of the things people have said:

From Ken (5/5): (A-Level Maths) Jim, the tuition you have provided Emma leading up to her A-Level Maths exams has at times given her a different way at looking at problems a solutions and given her much greater confindence in the subject matter. As a result Emma was able to improve her AS modules by two grade levels and acieve the overall A-Level result she needed to get in to her preferred University course. Your tuition was definitley a significant factor in helping Emma achieve this.
Many thanks Ken and Emma

From Safwan (5/5): (A-Level Maths) Jim was a fantastic tutor for me this year, his ability to breakdown topics to help me understand the concepts was very useful! He was also extremely patient when i`d struggle, and would push me to tackle the most difficult questions! I would like to thank Jim for his services this year, and would highly recommend to any other A-level students!

From Jenny (5/5): (GCSE Physics)

From Vanessa (5/5): (A-Level Maths) Very quickly understood problem & provided excellent explanation & strategies to solve any difficulties with A level statistics. My daughter felt much more confident & able to tackle these problems afterwards. Would definitely recommend.

From George (5/5): (A-Level Maths) Jim really helped our daughter who was struggling with some areas of A2 maths. He was very thorough and provided support questions in the areas she was weaker in. I am very happy to recommend him .
Julie

From Deborah (5/5): (University Physics) My son is in his 2nd year at Imperial reading Physics and needed some guidance before his end of year exams. Jim put in many hours of preparation time before the tutorial and was very helpful in answering his questions and bolstering his confidence.

From Amanda (5/5): (GCSE Physics) Brilliant tutor. Thorough and great explanations. My son achieved an A at GCSE due to his help.

From Sarah (5/5): (A-Level Physics) When my son started working with Jim he was disinterested in physics due to the college tutors. He was predicted a D and had an E in one of the As modules. Jim was very patient and enthusiastic about the subject. Adam enjoyed his sessions. I felt able to liaise with Jim about progress. To secure his place at uni he needed a C. He re took the As module and converted the E to an A. In the A level he got a C but was 3 marks off a B. We were delighted that With Jims help he gained his place at his preferred university. I would highly recommend Jim.

From Rudi (5/5): (A-Level Maths) jim has been involved, attentive and proactive in helping francesco attain his goals. it was important that he not only knew his subject very well but was able to adapt his teaching to the specific areas and techniques that gave francesco the maximum benefit.
thank you.

From Chris (5/5): (A-Level Maths) Jim tutored our son for Maths and Further Maths during his A2 year. Our son found him patient, approachable and very good at providing specific help for areas where he needed additional explanations. The sessions with Jim gave him a real confidence boost going into his exams and we are definitely planning to use Jim to help our next son with both AS and A2 levels.

From Lydia (5/5): (A-Level Maths) Excellent style of teaching which really made me understand each step of the methods used. Very understanding and encouraging!

Availability: Weekdays, morning, afternoon and evening

Willing to travel: Home Only

Experience: I taught A level for 8 years at a large sixth form college in Winchester and then for a year at a public girls` school nearby. I`ve also worked over several years with two revision colleges in Oxford. In the last two years I have also been a professional tutor and have worked with over a hundred students from age 9 to university level.

In maths, I tutor many students for OCR MEI A level (Maths and Further Maths, C1-4, FP1-3, S1,2 D1), but also some for OCR, Edexcel and the International Baccalaureate (IB). GCSE and IGCSE have been mostly Edexcel.

In physics, the boards have so far been mainly OCR B and OCR A, AQA A, Edexcel and IB at A level and Edexcel and AQA at GCSE/IGCSE

I help students prepare for the Oxford PAT test and the Physics Olympiad as well as pre-university courses in maths and physics and professional entry tests (for pilot and commercial marine engineering courses). I also tutor students on University courses.

Tutoring Maths and tutoring Physics call for rather different approaches, as do tutoring for GCSE and tutoring for A level and University, but in all cases the approach is to work with you (the student) to identify what your needs are in relation to the subject and then to address those.

For some students who may have struggled up till now, a lot of the time the first need is to gain confidence and begin to see that these are subjects that
a) make sense and
b) they can do.

Often this is achieved by being helped to `see through` the unfamiliar terms used to recognise that what is being talked about is actually something familiar and sometimes even commonplace.

For other, advanced students who have been doing well but want to `guarantee` an A/A*, it`s more often just concise explanations of whatever key ideas have not been clear till now and coaching on giving good exam answers that are needed.

Younger students often need lots of encouragement and help to achieve some early successes in the subject which leads to increased motivation and means students tend to believe more in themselves in the subject, trying harder than they would otherwise do to solve problems (increasing what psychologists call their `self-efficacy` in the subject).

Applicable in all these cases is the idea that above all these subjects are principally about what you can DO, not what you know and as in learning how to do anything, there`s no substitute for being shown how to do it and then doing it a few times for it to start to become easy.

The main point though is that what is appropriate will depend on you and your particular needs.

Some more feedback:

From Elizabeth (5/5): (A-Level Maths) Jim worked with my son who is preparing for his Maths A level this summer on a particular aspect of the subject. He was very efficient and prompt in all correspondence, gave clear instructions as to where we would meet up and what information he expected my son to bring with him. His teaching was a genuine help and provided clarity on certain issues. In the tutoring period they covered a great deal of ground and helped my son with areas of the curriculum he had missed due to illness. He was able to advise on aspects of study and exam performance that my son struggles with. We were very happy with this experience and would be glad to ask for Jim`s services again.

From Alison (5/5): (A-Level Maths) my daughter has had her first lesson with Jim and is very happy.

From Susan (5/5): (A-Level Physics) Jim is excellent tutor.My daughter said "he makes the physics very simple and easy to understand" . My daughter starting to enjoy physics again after having a lesson with jim. She even ask me to book math lessons with Jim.I wish i knew him long time ago. Thank you so much jim. you are star.

From Kayla (5/5): (University Maths) Jim has an in-depth understanding of both maths and physics and was able to quickly discern the help I needed. He is very patient and all lessons (both in person and over Skype) helped me feel confident and prepared. I would highly recommend Jim!

From Clare (5/5): (A-Level Physics) We used Jim for a few weeks leading up to Physics A level for our daughter.
We would have no hesitation in recommending Jim he helped give our daughter added confidence heading into the exams.

From Claire (5/5): (Secondary Physics) I would strongly recommend Jim as a tutor for GCSE Maths and Sciences. Jim was very patient and thorough with our sons tutoring, very pleased to say he got all his required grades in these subjects, to move on to his chosen college A level courses! Thank You again Jim.