Tommy C.

I am a supportive and encouraging tutor with extensive experience, including on the National Tutoring Programme. It has been a privilege to support so many students on their journeys.

As a student I excelled in Economics and Mathematics. I dropped one mark in the AQA A Level Economics course. I self-taught A Level Further Mathematics, GCSE Mathematics, GCSE Statistics and the FSMQ, and I achieved a perfect score in the A Level Pure Mathematics papers. 

I hope to use the experiences that I have gained via self-studying and through my own studies to support students in tackling difficult courses. More importantly, I can pass on my understanding and expertise to students who are looking for support.

I attained a First in Part I of the Cambridge Economics Tripos, and a 2.1 in Part II. I attained 4A* grades at Advanced Level in Mathematics, Further Mathematics, History and Economics.

For just under one year, I was employed by a former university tutor to help create a new app for A Level, GCSE and IB Mathematics. I have also assisted students at the Sutton Trust Summer School in Economics at Cambridge University.

I look forward to supporting more students. Please do not hesitate to contact me and I will endeavour to respond to you at my earliest convenience.

My sessions are based around the preferences of my students. Based on our initial discussions, I make a plan of areas to cover, tailored to their needs. However, I constantly tweak my plans to keep them in line with students' ongoing learning priorities, as well as my assessment of how best I can accelerate their progress.

For students whom I tutor long term, my approach to tutoring is based around ensuring students have a firm grasp of the material before enabling them to apply their understanding to practice questions. My sessions involve rigorous theory to improve students' conceptual understanding of topics as well as ample practice. I am adept at intertwining the two so as to help students understand problems from multiple angles.

For students whom are already confident with the material, I help students to focus on translating their subject matter knowledge in a manner that is amicable to examiners. For the evaluative essay questions in Economics, I discuss in detail optimal approaches for Introductions, Conclusions and Essay Structures. Having tutored many students taking multiple essay subjects, I am receptive to the idea that what constitutes a successful essay structure in Economics can differ from other essay subjects. I also help students to develop the level of detail required to construct compelling evaluative paragraphs. Central to this is an 'Essay Writing and Evaluation' session which I encourage students to undertake prior to us attempting any evaluative practice questions, as this enables our practice to be much more efficient. 

A significant aspect of my tutoring involves helping students to weave current affairs into their arguments. This is much appreciated by examiners. In my full time role I am responsible for helping colleagues to understand the impact of wider Microeconomic and Macroeconomic developments on the hotel industry, and I incorporate this skill into my tutoring.

One of the advantages of having tutored so many students is that I can draw upon a comprehensive set of essay plans, real world examples and approaches - particularly for the AQA and Edexcel A courses - to different types of questions to aid with practice. Nonetheless, my focus above all else is on helping students to be confident enough to tackle any question posed of them in an organic way, including those requiring creativity. 

I handwrite the content/sketch the graphs of each session onto the interactive whiteboard, as my sessions are based heavily on student input. I ensure that the content of each session is written/sketched out in real-time so that students can follow along and that our notes are based around what we discuss. Accordingly, students gain considerably more from each session than would otherwise be the case. Students can export the whiteboard notes from each session as a PDF afterwards.

My communication and explanation of key concepts are pitched at just the right level. I have the best interests of students at heart, being at pains to prepare sessions that add value to their learning - thereby boosting their confidence in the subject.