Matt

I am a Politics specialist with thirty years’ teaching experience across the state sector, independent schools, and higher education. I hold a PhD in Politics, and early in my teaching career I taught in higher education, teaching UK Politics and related subjects at Brunel University and Oxford Brookes University, alongside foundation level courses for overseas students preparing for university study.

After completing my PGCE at Oxford University in 2005, I worked as a teacher and Head of Department at Wood Green School in Oxfordshire. During this time, I established and grew A Level Politics and also taught GCSE History.

Since 2012, I have been a full time Politics teacher at Radley College, where I teach A Level Politics and I lead on whole school teacher development. I have published subject specific and academic writing in Politics Review and the journal Representation, and my work on anarchism is cited as recommended further reading in McNaughton’s Ideologies textbook.

Central to my tutoring is clarity and structure, attuned to the needs of the individual student. I place strong emphasis on diagnosing obstacles to success, identifying incremental solutions to achieve progress. Much of my work involves helping students to:

• construct clear and sustained lines of argument

• select and deploy examples with precision

• understand what examiners are really rewarding

• engage in focused academic dialogue about how to improve performance

I believe students consistently benefit from being taught how to think as well as what to know. Sessions are therefore highly interactive, with students encouraged to question, test ideas, and reflect on their own thinking. My aim is to develop confidence, independence, and intellectual control, so that students are not only better prepared for exams, but more articulate and secure thinkers.

When not teaching full-time or tutoring, I enjoy reading both fiction and non fiction. I have recently become absorbed in reading Stephen King, which perhaps connects to my long standing enjoyment of Doctor Who. I also enjoy getting outside, spending time walking (usually accompanied by my two miniature dachshunds), and unwinding with films and television.