Simon V - Tutors - Keystone Tutors

• GCSE Religious Studies (Eduqas & AQA)
• A Level Religious Studies (Edexcel): Particularly New Testament Studies.
• KS3 Philosophy and Ethics

I have taught at several very highly regarded secondary schools, including Michaela Community School, Putney High School and The Kingston Academy. My experience spans a wide range of abilities, and I have successfully helped pupils on course for 5s reach 9s for their RS GCSE, as well as helping A Level pupils achieve the required As and A*s needed to see them secure places in Oxford and Cambridge.
Alongside classroom teaching, I have regularly provided individual and small-group academic support, including GCSE and A Level revision sessions, extended essays and EPQs, university interview preparation, and mentoring for pupils considering studying Philosophy at university. Other experiences have included running Philosophy Futures seminar courses which introduce students to university-level content, and supporting pupils who’ve gone on to win prizes such as the John Locke Essay Prize.

Born in 1979, I grew up in Brighton until 1993, when my family moved to Missouri, USA, where I attended high school for two years. I returned to the UK in 1995 and completed my A Levels in History, English Literature and Psychology at Cardinal Newman School in Hove. Following my A Levels, I worked in a number of different roles in Brighton, including work in the Metropole Hotel, in the Housing Benefits office at Brighton Council, and various labouring and other temporary jobs.

I subsequently studied Intellectual History at the University of Sussex, which I enjoyed profoundly. Since university I've been mainly involved in work serving and leading churches, and in education, particularly since 2015.

September 2003 – December 2004 – Student Worker, Westminster Chapel, London
I worked at Westminster Chapel, an historic church in central London, in a role involving a mixture of student work, administration and wider church ministry.

January – March 2005 – Sabbatical in Cape Town, South Africa
Following my role at Westminster Chapel, I spent approximately three months in Cape Town, South Africa, where my sister and her family are based.

April 2005 – August 2009 – Youth Worker and Leader, New Life Church, Biggin Hill, Kent
On returning to the UK, I took up a role as a youth worker and leader at New Life Church in Biggin Hill, Kent, where I remained for just over four years. During this period I met and married my wife, Caroline.

September 2009 – August 2015 – Senior Pastor, King’s Church Kingston
In 2009, my wife and I moved to Kingston upon Thames, where I became Senior Pastor of King’s Church Kingston. I remained in this role for six years, with responsibility for preaching and teaching, pastoral care, leadership and the wider life and direction of the church.

September 2015 – July 2016 – Schools Direct Teacher Training / Religious Education Teacher, Sir John Cass’s Foundation and Red Coat School
In 2015 I decided to pursue a new direction in teaching and began teacher training through the Schools Direct programme, specialising in Religious Education. My main placement was at Sir John Cass’s Foundation and Red Coat School in Stepney Green (now Stepney All Saints Church of England Secondary School), where I taught RE. My training year also included a second placement at The Kingston Academy, then a brand-new secondary school taking its first Year 7 cohort.

July 2016 – August 2019 – Philosophy & Ethics Teacher, The Kingston Academy
Following my training year, I remained at The Kingston Academy for a further three years as the school's Philosophy & Ethics teacher. As the school’s sole specialist in the subject, I taught almost every pupil in the school and greatly enjoyed the opportunity to create and deliver an exciting, original curriculum and establish the subject within a new school.

September 2019 – August 2020 – Religious Education Teacher, Michaela Community School, Wembley
In 2019 I took the opportunity to join Michaela Community School in Wembley, where I taught Religious Education. I found the year extremely stimulating and had the privilege of working alongside Katharine Birbalsingh and an exceptional team of teachers. Ultimately, however, the long commute, together with the arrival of our third child, made the role unsustainable in the long run.

September 2020 – August 2026 – Religious Studies Teacher, Putney High School (part-time)
From September 2020 I took up a part-time role teaching Religious Studies at Putney High School, where I remained for six happy years. I taught Religious Studies across Years 7–13, including GCSE and A Level, with particular responsibility for New Testament Studies at A Level. I found the teaching work extremely rewarding and greatly enjoyed working with students across a wide range of ages and abilities.

September 2020 – Present – Teaching Pastor, Life Church Richmond (part-time)
Alongside my teaching at Putney High School, I have served as Teaching Pastor at Life Church Richmond since September 2020. My responsibilities include preaching and teaching, pastoral ministry, leadership, and involvement in the wider oversight and direction of the church.

September 2026 - Present - Teaching, Community & Pastoral Support, New Life Church, Biggin Hill (part time)
I've just begun serving New Life Church, Biggin Hill, one day a week, in a role which has a broad scope including training others, leadership development, pastoral and preaching responsibilities.

At the end of the 2025-2026 academic year, I decided to step back from school teaching in order to devote more time to my work in church leadership (now in two churches) and teaching, while also exploring opportunities to use my teaching experience in a more flexible tutoring context.

Overall, my career has combined academic study, teaching, leadership and pastoral work. I have particularly enjoyed helping young people to think clearly, communicate well and engage thoughtfully with challenging ideas, and I am keen to bring this experience to tutoring.

I've always loved teaching, and have now been doing so for decades, in various settings. I love the subjects I teach, and really enjoy engaging with teenagers, especially when it involves looking at such exciting ideas together.

At the moment I am continuing in my ongoing role serving Life Church Richmond as Teaching Pastor, where I am employed for three and a half days a week, including Sunday mornings. I have also recently begun a new role with New Life Church, Biggin Hill, Kent, serving in Teaching, Community & Pastoral Support. This is for one day a week and one Sunday a month.

These roles leave me with a degree of flexibility during the working week, which is one of the reasons that tutoring is an attractive opportunity for me at this stage. In an ideal scenario I would be able to devote one day a week primarily to tutoring, but I appreciate that tutoring opportunities will not necessarily fit neatly into a single day. Fortunately, my church roles are relatively flexible, and I would be very happy to arrange tutoring sessions at different points across the week, including afternoons and potentially some evenings, where required.

When I'm not at work I tend to be with my family. My wife Caroline and our daughter Lucy (14), and sons Samuel (11) and Isaac (6), keep me very busy! I also enjoy reading, sport, music and films. I play drums and guitar, and used to sing in a terrible band.

Over the next few years, I expect my work to continue to centre around teaching, church ministry and working with young people. Having recently stepped back from full-time school teaching, I am particularly interested in developing tutoring as a complementary part of my work. I would hope to build up a sustainable portfolio of tutoring work alongside my church commitments, while continuing to enjoy the flexibility and variety that tutoring can offer.