Billie C - Tutors - Keystone Tutors

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“Billie knows exactly what to teach, when to teach it, and how to explain it. The results have been phenomenal, far beyond anything we expected. Used Billie for almost everything she teaches and this was the case for every single one. Accessible teachers of this calibre are very rare!”

Parent

13+ History
GCSE Economics & R.S.
A Level Economics, Philosophy, Politics, R.S. and Ethics
Test of Academic Reasoning for Admissions (TARA)
Law National Aptitude Test (LNAT)
Undergraduate Philosophy
Undergraduate Politics

I am now approaching a decade of working as a tutor, primarily online though in-person in a handful of cases; I have 2700+ hours of experience in private tuition, with over 200 different students. I help prepare students for Oxbridge admissions, historically focusing on the TSA, advice for further reading, and interview preparation. I also teach A Levels across a variety of subjects and exam boards, including Economics, Politics, Philosophy, Religious Studies, and History. In a few cases, I have also helped younger students in preparation for 13+ exams. I have found a particular niche in helping students with ADHD, adopting a teaching style focused on working with, rather than against, students’ neurodiversity. Students with ADHD and Autism are often made to feel lesser: one of the benefits of 1-to-1 tuition is that I can adapt my teaching style to each individual student, so that no one is made to feel less “normal”.

In a rather different context, I have worked as a Teaching Assistant for postgraduate seminars in philosophy: this involved marking coursework, leading classes, and offering one-to-one advice on set texts. I also completed a course on Teaching and Learning in the Arts, where I developed a reflective process of education, always thinking about how I can better help my students.

I grew up in Somerset, attending an independent school before going to Oxford. I completed my BA in PPE in 2020 having been awarded the Alan Webster Prize for outstanding achievement in moral philosophy at The Queen’s College. Since then I have gone on to receive an MPhilStud (Distinction) in Philosophy at the Centre for Research in Modern European Philosophy (CRMEP), for which I won the Annual Fund Scholarship and graduated top of my year. I am now completing a PhD in the same department on the relation between a “materialist” concept of society and what is known as the “Black radical tradition”, particularly thinking about the concepts of value, narrative, and relation. I began tutoring part-time for Oxbridge admissions in 2017, as soon as I arrived at Oxford, and have been tutoring ever since. In the year between finishing my Masters’ and beginning my PhD, I tutored full time (around 25 hours per week), and have continued to work part-time while completing my PhD. I published a book on utopian philosophy in 2023.

“We owe Billie a debt of gratitude for reigniting our daughter’s passion for her subjects, at a time when she was feeling somewhat jaded with the A level slog. The breadth of Billie’s knowledge has been invaluable, as has her versatility in targeting specific knowledge gaps. Always professional, always reliable and with timely communication, our only regret is that we didn’t engage Billie earlier. (Billie’s teaching style goes beyond the curriculum, which would be an advantage to anyone needing to prepare for university interviews, or for students who are serious about securing top grades).”

Parent

“Billie was excellent in supporting my daughter with her Religious Studies, Philosophy and Ethics preparation for A-Levels. She helped her improve her exam technique and essay structure, which were areas she had not mastered before, and she didn’t know how to improve. Billie’s tutorials made a real difference to her preparation.”

Parent

“Billie has coached me through my entire Oxford application for PPE and really helped boost my TSA score and interview technique. She’s also very kind and caring and above all genuinely interesting to talk to! I’d highly recommend her support.”

Parent

My general belief is that students of any age deserve to be treated with intellectual respect, and as having something to say: I always encourage students to have their own views on the material, finding that this increases both retention and enjoyment. As such, I always encourage my students to think about a topic before the session, rather than afterwards, so that they might present more clearly what it is they are finding difficult or, in some cases, we can have a discussion that helps them refine their view in preparation for writing essays.

I am nearing the end of my PhD project, which I hope to submit in early 2027. I love tutoring, and will continue tutoring regardless of whether I undertake further study or find some part-time work as a lecturer in a few years' time. Outside of academic and tutoring work, I have long had an interest in music, and continue to give talks, host interviews. I also occasionally appear on podcasts focused on philosophy.