Oliver C

CIE IGCSE Mathematics

I helped an IGCSE maths student who was sitting her exams a year later than normal after being out of school for more than a year. We had an intense program of lessons over the space of a month before her exams. In the initial lessons we worked through a pack of exam questions separated by topic that she had been working from and worked on areas she had been struggling with. She showed a good aptitude for maths but was lacking in self-confidence, sometimes concepts had to be explained in a few ways for them to click but once she understood something she seemed very capable. After working through the remaining topics she wasn’t confident on, she started doing past papers which I would then mark outside of lesson. It was quite a short amount of revision time in the end, but she was getting consistent low to mid As in her practice papers and received an A overall in her final result.

Oxford International College Entrance Exams

Over two months I successfully helped a GCSE physics student pass his entrance exams into Oxford International College, one of the best sixth form colleges in the UK. The student had a great enthusiasm for physics but had a few misconceptions when we first started working together. By explaining concepts from a more fundamental level and sometimes delving into details beyond the specification we were able to work past those misconceptions. We also worked hard on exam technique so he could learn how to gauge how much is expected in an answer based on the number of marks and maximise his grades. In response to his enthusiasm for physics and science we also had some extra sessions exploring topics outside the syllabus.

Edexcel A level Maths

Over the course of Year 13 I worked with an A Level maths student to help improve his grades. We spent the first half of the year mostly focussing on developing a better understanding of concepts as they were learned in class. This student had shown a good mathematical ability in lessons, often understanding questions after working through examples but hadn’t put everything together quite yet, receiving an E in his February mocks. As we approached the final exams and in response to the mock result we focussed more on revision strategies and having a clearly organised revision schedule. This lead to the student surpassing his own expectations and achieving a B.

AS Edexcel Level Maths / Further Maths + AQA Physics

Over the course of year 12 I supported an A Level student in maths, further maths and physics. In our lessons we spent time working on concepts/methods that had been difficult in class – often looking at topics in further maths that required familiarity with material normally taught in the second year of A level maths. We also spent time looking at answering worded questions in physics where terms and concepts require rigorous clear definitions – also clarifying how equations, units and definitions are all linked. The student made steady progress throughout the year and achieved an A* and 2 As in his end of year mocks in maths, further maths and physics respectively.

Edexcel A Level Mathematics + OCR A Physics

Over the course of Year 13, including some summer lessons before, I provided ad hoc lessons (around 30 over the year) for an A level maths student – with a couple of physics sessions too. The student would book sessions with me whenever she was struggling with particular topics and would come prepared to the lesson with questions from homework or previous tests. We would then work through these problems to clarify concepts and methods, and look at similar questions to test her understanding. At the end of the year she achieved the grades needed to get into the University of Manchester which was her preferred choice.

Undergrad Hospitality Maths + Excel module

Over the course of a couple of months I helped an EHL hospitality university student with a resit of her first year maths and excel module. This comprised of working on GCSE maths level concepts like percentages, linear programming and compound interest and also translating these concepts into spreadsheet formulae. After running through previous practice test questions, I was able to create batches of similar questions for the student to practice with. She successfully passed the resit after our lessons together.

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