Tom N

Physics, Biology and Chemistry – preparation for the Eton King’s scholarship exam

I have been tutoring this extremely capable Dulwich Prep student for two years in preparation for the KS exams. His level of understanding and knowledge far exceed that expected for his age group, and his parent’s want him to have someone with whom he can continue to explore beyond the confines of the syllabus, maintaining his enthusiasm and excitement for science. Our work together has two main strands, firstly exploring advanced topics that excite him, these can range from GCSE/A level material through to primary research and philosophy of science. Secondly helping the student develop the quality of his exam answers particularly in terms of the detail and scope of his answers. This is particularly important for the style of questioning used in the KS exams as they are often much more oblique than standard questioning styles.

Biology iGCSE (Edexcel) – Home Schooling

This student had been out of school for several years. He was a very bright student, previously high-achieving, but was extremely behind. We worked together for one year with the goal of getting the student a pass in a science GCSE and enabling him to move on to the next stage of his education. It was an extremely busy year for the student, but we managed to cover the entire iGCSE biology syllabus in the year, alongside his ongoing recovery, culminating in a score of grade 6 in his summer exams in biology.

Biology, Chemistry and Physics GCSE (Edexcel)

I worked with this student for nine months in the final run up to his GCSE exams. His performance in his mocks was a bit of a shock, so he wanted a tutor to help him improve his performance and get his grades in science in line with those of his other subjects. It was clear that there were a few gaps in his understanding across the three subjects that were leading to uncertainty and mistakes in his answers. Firstly we filled in the holes in his knowledge, subsequently moving on to work on a wide range of past exam questions improving his familiarity with the questioning style and the precision of his answers. After our work together the student scored 9s in all three sciences.

Chemistry GCSE (AQA), subsequently Chemistry A level (AQA)

I tutored this student over the course of four years, she was a hard-working student who had historically struggled in science, particularly with chemistry. Our main area of work together initially was improving her understanding of the fundamental principles underpinning much of the theory in Chemistry. This lack of foundation was preventing her from moving on and getting to grips with more advanced material. With this work completed the student went on to score a 9 at GCSE, and as a result decided to take on studying chemistry A-level in order to study psychology at university. We continued to work together throughout her A-levels, primarily helping her understand questions and give sufficiently detailed answers. She is now studying psychology at Bristol University.

Biology and Chemistry A level (AQA)

I tutored this student (attending an academy in west London) for the final year of her A levels. She was an extremely bright and capable student who wanted support in ensuring she maximised her exam performance as she felt her exam grades didn’t reflect her class performance. Our main focus was developing her confidence with respect to exam questions, and the precision with which she used her knowledge to give detailed answers. We worked on these skills by practising using old questions, and discussed the wording of mark schemes so that the desired marking points were clear to her. She went on to score to A*s and is now studying medicine at Cambridge.

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