Neil T.

I am originally from Ashington, Northumberland, I now live in Muswell Hill, North London.

After gaining my chemistry degree in 1993 from Wadham College, Oxford, I have taught for over 26 years for the same employer, the AlphaPlus Group, at their colleges Abbey College London, DLD College, and Abbey College Cambridge (Abbey College London and DLD College are now merged and called DLD College).

My job titles during this time were Chemistry Tutor, Head of Chemistry, Head of Science, Director of Studies, and Acting Principal. In addition, I carried out the roles of Examinations Officer, Vice Principal, Easter Revision Coordinator, Chemistry Olympiad Coordinator, and Private Tuition Coordinator. 

At these colleges I taught examination-focussed chemistry lessons to highly motivated students, and, particularly at DLD College, gained valuable SEND experience. During this time I taught groups of students for many years on the Edexcel and OCR A specifications, and individual students on the AQA and OCR B specifications. I have also taught groups of students on Edexcel IGCSE for several years, and individuals mainly on AQA GCSE.

I am happy to teach specifications other than those mentioned above, I always resource my lessons with the correct specification and relevant past papers.

After working through the pandemic at Abbey College Cambridge I decided to save time commuting and use the skills I learned in online tuition methods to work fully from home via Teams and Zoom, which I have been doing since 2022.

I have an enhanced, current DBS certificate and have been an examiner for AQA GCSE chemistry.

From my availability it may look as though I have no times available but this is because I work for several agencies and I can't keep it properly up to date, so message me first and I will let you know what I can make available. 

I offer A-level chemistry tuition in an examination-oriented, skills-based manner.

The majority of marks in an examination come from material that can either be rote-learned (such as giving the definition of ionisation energy) or material that is routine, and can therefore be rehearsed (such as interpreting a graph of ionisation energies). Difficulties often arise when questions are asked in an oblique way, meaning the inexperienced student may not write the answer down, even though they actually know it.

Underpinning the subject is a range of skills, such as being able to confidently manipulate the various and confusing ways that organic molecules are depicted, that are sometimes taught quickly at the beginning of a course. If not correctly grasped and fully developed, these can affect vast swathes of the subject.

Consequently, I teach by breaking down the subject into material to be memorised, individual topic skills that can be rehearsed, and broader subject skills that need to be fully understood and developed. This is coupled with early introduction and emphasis upon board-specific past-paper questions, in order to develop examination technique and identify barriers to achievement.

I am patient, encouraging and supportive of students who want to improve their chemistry.

From my availability it may look as though I have no times available but this is because I work for several agencies and I can't keep it properly up to date, so message me first and I will let you know what I can make available.