Tom S - Tutors - Keystone Tutors

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“Tom is a great maths teacher and helped my daughter really understand maths, not just remember it. She achieved great success in her sixth form IB maths exams, attaining the highest grade.”

Parent

I have been a maths tutor for the past 17 years. The bulk of this has been one to one, but has also included a good deal of work in small groups, for example holiday study groups, and work in the classroom environment. I have been placed in charge of high-flyer groups to give them more challenges, and to give extra time to those who struggling with the subject. This has also included work with SEN students, and those struggling with dyslexia and dysgraphia. From Key Stage 1, all the way up to second year degree students, I have tutored at every age, every syllabus' and at all levels of ability, including for A-Level single and Further, IB SL and HL, MYP, GCSE, 13+, 11+.

I was brought up in Middlesbrough and later Derby, before studying Maths at Bristol. Having graduated, I travelled around Africa and Latin America, teaching English and Maths, before moving to London, where I have been tutoring ever since.

“Tom has tutored and supported our daughter and our son over the past three years, and both managed A*/A grades (maths and further maths). Our daughter managed to get a place to study computer science at Durham, and our son is heading to Edinburgh to study mathematics. This would not have been possible without the excellent support and tutoring from Tom.”

Parent

“My daughter has been making a steady progress in Mathematics ever since she started working with Tom. She has grown significantly more motivated and more confident. Tom has been very organized, committed and patient. I have nothing but positive feedback on my daughters experience with Tom. She also agrees.”

Parent

“Tom has been an absolute life-saver throughout my IB. He helped me grow into the top student in my class through his bottom-up approach. His teaching style of explaining concepts from first principles allows me to grasp them, allowing me to answer even the more difficult questions in the maths HL applications syllabus. Apart from being a great teacher he is also such a great person to work with!”

Parent

“Tom worked with me throughout my final year of the IB diploma to learn and solidify HL maths content. The lessons were upbeat and well organised with all concepts explained clearly and tested with relevant IB practice questions. Tom ensured a concept was completely understood before moving on and was able to explain ideas in a different manner when necessary. My lessons with Tom enabled me to understand novel content as well as strengthen my understanding of fundamentals.”

Parent

The key advantage to personal tuition is that the lessons can be tailored precisely to the students particular needs. I spend the first lesson or so working out strengths, weaknesses, and best working practise, then tweak my approach based on what is required.

I have a friendly but focused approach, finding the best way for the student to grasp the theory then apply it to questions, prioritising a depth of understanding for each topic. With a mere procedural grasp of the methods I find that techniques are quickly forgotten and cannot be turned to more convoluted questions, where the top marks are awarded.

The best way to improve of course is through practise, and all lessons have a heavy emphasis on exercises, with particular use of past exam papers. I believe it is important to encourage confidence through a systematic thoroughness, but also to make lessons engaging and varied.

I have two young children, so most spare time is spent with them. When I get a spare afternoon I love drawing, writing, playing the piano, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.