Greg

Experience

• A-Level Maths: Edexcel, OCR, CIE and AQA

• IB and Pre-U Maths

• University Entrance Exams (MAT, STEP, TMUA, CSAT, AEA)

• Oxbridge Preparation (Mock Interviews etc.)

• GCSE/IGCSE Maths: AQA, CIE, Edexcel and OCR

• GCSE Additional Maths (OCR FSMQ, CIE IGCSE Additional, Edexcel IGCSE Further Pure, AQA Level 2 Certificate in Further Maths)

• Programming Skills in Python and C#

I began tutoring informally while I was taking my GCSEs in 2009. I attended an all-ability school in Northern Ireland and typically found subjects much easier than my peers, so I began to teach those around me. This is where I initially developed a passion for teaching, and it inspired my school to introduce a program where older students could tutor younger students in a more structured fashion. Alongside this and outside of school, I offered private tutoring sessions to GCSE, and later A-Level students.

I continued to tutor on moving to university. Throughout my four years at Imperial I tutored a range of ages both Maths and Science. At Timeline Tutorials and Study Centre I worked with students in Years 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 helping them with preparation for their GCSEs and A-Levels in both Maths and Physics.

In my third year at Imperial, I was offered the opportunity to complete a teacher training course at the university which enabled me to teach a GCSE Further Maths class at Pimlico Academy. I have also tutored at university level at Imperial College, assisting first year Maths undergraduate students by delivering group tutorials and one-on-one intensive catch-up sessions.

Since joining Keystone in 2016, I have specialised in tutoring year 12 and 13 Maths (A-level, IB and Pre-U) while also tutoring Maths at lower levels and Science at 13+ and GCSE. I also teach for the MAT and STEP, which are admissions tests used to select applicants to Maths courses at Cambridge, Oxford, Imperial College and other top universities. In addition, I have helped facilitate courses for the MAT run by Oxford and Imperial College on 7 occasions, after graduating from Imperial College myself.

In a given week, I currently spend around 20 hours tutoring online, so I have a lot of experience with this medium and stand by its effectiveness; it is certainly no compromise when compared to face-to-face tutoring.

I am a very passionate tutor and hugely enjoy helping students to engage with, better understand and ultimately, feel more confident in both Maths and Science.

Biography

After going to school in Northern Ireland, where I studied Maths (A*), Further Maths (A*), Physics (A) and Biology (A) at A-level, I went to Imperial College London to study Mathematics in a 4-year Master's degree, achieving first class honours.

While at school and university, I tutored part-time and so have built up a vast amount of experience since 2009. I joined Keystone in 2016 as a professional tutor, which allows me to solely devote my attention to tutoring.

My blog posts

21/06/2022: A Guide to STEP Maths

08/02/2019: The Maths Admissions Test (MAT) at Oxford

Personal Approach

It is my fundamental belief that making lessons interesting for my students is crucial in effective teaching. This is especially so for mathematics, where a huge amount of learning takes place while students are doing unassisted exercises. Through my encouraging and animated approach to tutorials, I aim to instil a passion in my students, so that they will respond to such exercises with enthusiasm and confidence.

I feel that the needs of every student are unique and that one-on-one tutoring offers the ideal environment to adapt to these needs. Personally, I love the process of forming questions that are tailored to specific students in order to give them a deeper insight into a topic. In my view, this is an art, especially with students who are already on A or A* grades, as it can be quite challenging for a tutor to come up with questions that are pitched correctly: Pitch the level too low and the student is bored and doesn't learn anything new. Pitch too high, and the student won't be able to fully engage with the material, meaning the tutor will have to do most of the work for the student, and so it is of little value to them. But pitch the question just right and the student learns something new and, crucially, learns by going through their own thought process, meaning that they are much more likely to be able to recall the key ideas later.

Ideally, I want my students to feel that every new topic or idea that they come across is something that they could have invented themselves, given enough time and the correct initial line of thought. Therefore, when time allows, I tend to teach the reason behind each formula and result that we use in Maths, rather than just teaching how to apply this to a question. I even encourage my more able students to derive these results themselves, with some assistance, where necessary. In recent years, Maths exams at GCSE and A-level have tended to increase in difficulty and I feel, now more than ever, the extra understanding gained by learning in this manner is paramount in setting students up for the more difficult questions on their paper; when an unfamiliar or particularly difficult question appears in a paper, students with a deep understanding will be more able to adapt than students who have just been 'taught to the exam.'

What I do when I am not tutoring

Outside tutoring and Maths, I enjoy playing piano, visiting new places, going on walks and reading.

Testimonials

"Just to drop you a line now that exam has come to an end. May I say that regardless of the outcome, I found your contribution to my son’s preparation very significant. I cannot judge how your help and mentoring has impacted his marks, but I did find my son so much more confident this time, certainly compared to his preparation last year. So, thank you very much for the help. He definitely appreciated, which coming from such a stubborn, capable and confident person, must be taken as a Big Thank you from our side." (Mother of ECAA student)

“I wanted to let you know that my daughter came down to supper last night absolutely buzzing after your tutorial. She is so enjoying your lessons and loves the fact that you are happy to explain to her how various formulae and rules work rather than just telling her to accept these at face value. Thank you so much for inspiring her and indulging her intellectually - it is just what she needs.” (Mother of GCSE student)

''Greg did an amazing job assisting my son with his Further Maths A level. My son was awarded an A*, which secured him a place at a prestigious university – in no small part due to Greg’s brilliant teaching. My son is fairly forthright in his assessment of teachers, and his feedback on Greg could not have been more glowing. Greg explained concepts very logically and has a very easy, calm and encouraging manner. I can’t recommend Greg highly enough. Indeed, he is now teaching my daughter Further Maths – her feedback is similarly glowing.''

(Mother of A Level Further Maths students)

''We were absolutely thrilled to hear that X got an offer from Cambridge last week. We are very grateful to Greg for helping X prepare for the mock interview and CSAT exam. [He was] absolutely fantastic!'' (Mother of student applying for Computer Science at Cambridge)

“We are all delighted with X's results (A* in both Maths and Further Maths), due in no small part to working directly with you. I am in no doubt that the one to one made the difference for him so well done you too.” (Mother of A-Level Maths and Further Maths online Homeschooling student)

“I thought you’d like to know my results. I got an A* !! 94 in C3 and 100 in C4! Thank you so much for all your help, it’s such an improvement on my marks from last year! I also enjoyed all our lessons so much and really miss them this year.” (A-Level Maths Student repeating A-levels)

''I have just finished my MAT and am very happy with how it went. [The] rest of my friends found it quite hard, so I think I have a very good chance of getting in. [...] Thank you for all the support you have given me in the last three months and I am very grateful for all the help you have given me.'' (MAT student applying for Maths at Oxford)

''X has been really enjoying her lessons with Greg and has felt a tremendous improvement in terms of her problem-solving ability.'' (Parent of MAT and STEP student applying for Maths and Computer Science at Oxford and Imperial)

“I would like to thank you very much for all the tuition you have given X over the past year. Your passion for your subject is infectious and X has very much enjoyed being taught by you. Never did I think she would come to enjoy Maths lessons! You have been one of the best tutors we have had.” (Mother of IGCSE Maths student)

''I found your contribution to X's preparation very significant. I cannot judge how your help and mentoring has impacted his marks, but I did find X so much more confident this time, certainly compared to his preparation last year - [and compared to] before you started the tutorials - that I can only assume that it must have had a positive effect during his exam. So, thank you very much for the help. He definitely appreciated [it], which, coming from such a stubborn, capable and confident person, must be taken as a big ''Thank you'' from our side. (Mother of ECAA student)

“The first lesson went extremely well. X can be a little difficult but Greg appears to have made a connection and found common ground with him. X is actually looking forward to the next lesson. So I am very happy.” (Mother of MAT and STEP student, online)

“X has given very positive feedback to me about Greg. She particularly likes the way he focuses on understanding rather than rote learning. There is no doubt that X not only learns more with Greg, but enjoys the lessons far more than those at school.” (Mother of A-Level Maths student, online)

''Winchester College has just confirmed that X has passed the Entrance Exams for admission to the College in September. A huge thank you for all the work that you did with X throughout the past 2 years helping him to prepare for the Entrance Examinations. Coming from an American system, it wasn’t easy to bridge the British curriculum. Your help has been invaluable and X could not have done this without you.''

''X did very well on his A levels [....] and, as a result, has made his Oxford offer. [...] He felt that Greg was an excellent tutor.'' (Mother of A-Level Maths student, now studying at Oxford)

''Now that my A levels are finally over I just wanted to say thanks for all your help over the last year. The papers were challenging but I know I tackled it a lot better than I would have without your help!'' (A-Level Maths student, online)

''I thoroughly enjoyed the lesson with Greg'' (Mature student studying for the MAT)

“With Greg, not only X but Y both love his lessons. Math can be boring and tearful for most of kids. However, they see the interesting parts of Math with Greg. He is a great Math and science tutor. My girls told me that Greg makes the complicated questions become simple and straightforward. I’m so happy nowadays with the new technology. We are sitting in our home in Shanghai and having first class tutoring from London.” (Mother of 11+ and 13+ Maths students in Shanghai, online)

“I am really enjoying my tutoring with Greg, I am feeling far better prepared for my MAT exam. Greg is full of such handy tricks to find a way into longer problems!'' (MAT student, online)

“X got 91% in her recent Maths test. This is a record for her - and she is so pleased that she had done better than some of her friends. This has to be down to your efforts with her. Thank you!” (Mother of A-Level Maths student, Online)

“I wanted to thank you for all the fabulous work you’ve done so far with X. I feel his confidence in maths has improved a lot and he is now facing the prospect of his Cambridge interview with calm confidence.” (Mother of Prospective Computer Science student at Cambridge)

“Just to let you know that X is very pleased with her Maths result [...] Thank you so much for all your excellent tuition for her maths.” (Mother of IGCSE student)

“Greg is great! X immensely enjoys his tuition with him.” (Mother of MAT and STEP student, online)

“X is getting on very well with Greg and really looks forward to her Thursday sessions. He seems to have got the measure of her and her weaknesses. Interestingly she got 91% in her most recent Maths exam which was a big improvement from a ‘B’ at the end of last year! So I dare not stop the lessons!” (Mother of A-Level Maths student, online)

“I can't believe how much my Maths has improved thanks to you.” (GCSE Maths Student)

“X definitely feels more confident with his Maths overall and feels very well prepared for his Cambridge interview, which is excellent. Many thanks to Greg!” (Mother of Student preparing for an interview for Cambridge)

“X has been very happy about your lessons. He feels that he’s been making good progress and also that as a result of your teaching, he is more confident in his Maths ability. Thank you for that.” (Mother of CSAT student)

“We are planning to send X to MPW in September for 6th form, [however,] he would like to continue with his Maths and Further Maths with you, rather than start the Maths course with MPW. This reflects the enjoyment he gets from his classes with you.” (Mother of homeschooled A-Level Maths student)

“Thank you very much for [the lesson] I found it very helpful.” (Student at Duke University studying Linear Algebra, Online)

“X thought you were very helpful and loved your pointers.” (Mother of 16+ student)

“Thank you so much, Greg. You’ve been a tremendous help to X. We are very grateful and wish you all the best.” (Mother of a Singaporean IGCSE Maths and Biology student, online)

“A* in Maths and Further maths. Has got his place to do Natural Sciences at Durham. We were very pleased with Greg, his tutor.” (Mother of A-Level Maths and Further Maths student, online)

“I just want to say thank you SO much for tutoring me for those few months, I couldn't have done it otherwise [...] I will 100% recommend you to my year below friends.” (A-Level Maths student)

“X really loves her sessions with Greg and I plan to keep them going for the foreseeable future. I am so pleased to hear from him that she has gained some confidence.” (Mother of A-Level Maths student)

“The first lesson went extremely well and was really productive. Greg is a great tutor.” (University student)

“Greg went above and beyond what you would expect of a maths tutor.” (Maths Student at Imperial College London)

“I would highly recommend Greg without a shadow of a doubt because his tuition has given me excellent foundations for the remaining years of my degree which, without him, would not be as strong as they are now!” (Maths Student at Imperial College London)