Simon W.

I began a career in education back in 2013, teaching both GCSE and A-level science and computer science. In 2022 I made the decision to leave teaching and venture into software development, with a particular interest in cybersecurity. Over the years I've used my experience as a teacher to help support and tutor many students through their GCSE and A levels. I'm proud to say everyone achieved or surpassed their learning goals. 

With my background and experience in teaching and my role as a software engineer I offer a unique perspective, understanding the importance of a solid foundational knowledge of the computer science curriculum and how link the syllabus to real opportunities that exist in the IT sector. I offer tutoring services to students, aiming to not only help them improve their grades but also to instil in them a deeper understanding of coding and computational thinking that will aide them through all aspects of life, in whatever passion they pursue. 

I always enjoy finding ways to merge education and computing to contribute meaningfully to both fields. Through tutoring, I hope to empower students to excel academically while also nurturing an interest in the vital profession of computer science.

My golden rule for tutoring is that you need to enjoy the time we spend together working on developing your mastery of the subject. If you aren't having fun and you aren't leaving the session feeling more confident then I have let you down.

Often my tutees gain more benefit from developing lifelong learning skills than they do from dryly going over the computer science syllabus. Teachers can teach you the subject at school. I'm more interested in discovering your understanding of the core principals of computational thinking and helping you to identify any misconceptions you might have that may trip you up in an exam setting. When I mentor a student, my focus is on developing three core areas of personal development, these are resilience, routine and consistency.

Final year exams are incredibly stressful. Resilience is a powerful tool to help develop confidence and reflective lifelong learning skills. The first step in making any progress is to embrace failure, assess progress and identify areas for improvement. The most efficient way to improve is through continual progress.

Routine is important because each person has their own unique learning style and the only way to develop effective learning strategies is through trial and error. Planning a realistic routine, well in advance of exams will help you to improve memory recall, reduce stress and balance your workload in the run up to any exams.

Finally, consistency is a personality trait that delivers success. Athletes get to compete in the Olympics because they consistently get up to train when their alarm goes off early in the morning. Consistency is getting the balance right between discipline and motivation. I try to help my students develop healthy learning habits, using techniques such as the pomodoro technique to improve focus and limit distractions and procrastination. Consistency is also an important skill required to improve exam technique. A sound understanding of the syllabus will get you so far, but knowing how apply your knowledge effectively during assessments will help you to score more marks in difficult questions with a higher weight for grading.