Matt

I went to boarding school aged 7 and then Lancing College, where I was a School Prefect, Head of CCF and played first team hockey. I gained an Army Cadetship and went to Leeds University (via Sandhurst) to study a BSc (Hons) in Economics and Statistics whilst serving with the Light Infantry. On leaving the military I completed my PGCE in Secondary Maths and Sport at Cheltenham. I have worked at Caldicott as Head of Maths, Bede’s as Head of Maths and Housemaster, and then Cheam, for 20 years, where my roles rose from Head of Boarding and Head of Maths to Assistant Head, DSL and much more! I then became Head of The Unicorn School in Oxford, which is a specialist Independent SEND school. I have now taken the decision to become a full-time tutor – something I have done part-time throughout my teaching career.

I am a calm, supportive teacher who always aims to grow a pupil’s confidence. As I have worked with a wide range of abilities I have a variety of skills, resources and teaching styles.

Lessons are engaging, structured, unique and highly tailored to the student's particular interests or familiar perspectives. The focus is not only on improving grades, but on kindling curiosity, rendering difficult topics intuitive, reducing feelings of intimidation, and giving students the confidence to ask questions and think independently. This is generally achieved by rephrasing the topic in terms which are familiar, accessible, and comprehensible to the individual student, drawing on their interests and hobbies for context where possible.

I have made the decision to come out of mainstream teaching and management. It has been hugely rewarding but I am ready for a change! I intend to do some Mental Health First Aid training in schools throughout the year, but these will be on a sporadic basis, most frequently during INSET sessions. Therefore, I would run this alongside maths tutoring, which will be my full-time employment. As a family we are relocating back to Berkshire in the summer and will be under 40 mins from London for face-to-face tutoring or online.

When not tutoring I love dog walking, cooking, golf, shooting and polo. As a family we enjoy time in Polzeath, North Cornwall. My wife is a Senior Nurse at Bradfield College and my 2 children are in their 20’s, one is an osteopath and the other a professional harpist and currently completing her PGCE.