Gregory

Experience

•GCSE/IGCSE History & English: AQA, CIE, Edexcel and OCR

• 16+ History & English: public school entrance exams

• A-level/IB/Pre-U History: AQA, CIE, Edexcel, IB and OCR

• A-level Politics: AQA and Edexcel

I have been Head of the History Departments at two leading London Colleges, prior to which I held research fellowships in History and Politics at the University of Kent and Brunel University.

I have taught History and Politics for many years over a range of topics and periods. I particularly specialise in early English, European and modern European themes, on which I have published extensively. My experience of teaching the various GCSE, IGCSE and IB syllabi is also broad. I also teach English language from 11+ to GCSE.

Biography

I am a graduate of several British Universities the last of which was Oxford, where I read for a Masters degree in History. I obtained my Ph.D in International Relations from Kent University. I have over 15 years of teaching/tutoring experience, mainly in small classes and one-to-one environments. I write regularly on my areas of academic interest, notably on late Medieval English history, the Reformation, modern International relations, Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union and Russia. My work has appeared in various publications, including the ''Modern History Review'' to which I was asked to contribute regularly.

Personal Approach

Students differ from one another in their learning methods and as such teaching needs to reflect this. Having had many years of experience in various academic environments, I am able to identify learning styles and adapt my teaching accordingly. This can be gauged pretty quickly through initial assessments of both written work and discussions of topics. However, whatever the level that a student has reached, I would expect total commitment to overcome difficulties and build on strengths. Teaching methods would take into account a student’s learning styles and could take the form of talks, question and answer sessions, interactive exercises, note taking, compiling of mind maps, quizzes, presentations and so on. At the higher levels, lessons would focus on the understanding and analysing of key concepts, planning of arguments, essay writing techniques and analysing of source material. Students would be guided through historiographies, methodologies, especially comparative methodology and exam techniques to ensure they fulfil their academic potential. At a time when the new A Level, GCSE and IGCSE syllabi have become much more academically rigorous and entry to the top universities more competitive, it is essential for students to be fully aware of the demands. Only then can they maximise their chances of success in their studies. I would ensure that the methods and approaches that I adopt would offer students the best possible chance for them to do this.

What I do when I am not tutoring

Many of my activities outside of teaching are based on academic research, which enables me to keep up to date with all the subjects I teach. I could while away hours in quirky archives and libraries researching the finer points of sixteenth century monastic life, for instance, or the theological reasoning behind Henry VIII's Great Matter or the geopolitical basis of contemporary US-China relations.

Totally away from academia I like to participate in a number of sports, particularly mountain biking, skiing, canoeing and hiking, which I like to do in as many counties as possible. I also like collecting books so any spare time is spent on reading.