Oliver

Experience

• A-Level Psychology (All exam boards)

• A-Level Religious Studies (All exam boards)

• GCSE / A Level Italian

• GCSE/IGCSE English

• GCSE Religious Studies

• 11+ English and Maths

• 16+/13+ Entrance Exams

• Interview Preparation at all levels

- Experience with SEN students

I started my tutoring career over five years ago during my second year at university, helping students struggling to structure their essays into coherent pieces of writing. I fell in love with tutoring after seeing how quickly my students progressed, and the newfound enthusiasm with which they approached their work. Their progress and gratitude inspired me to continue tutoring, since I realised how fulfilling tutoring was for me.

Over the years, I have achieved excellent results with my students and absolutely love inspiring them to achieve their full potential. I have helped numerous students achieve top marks in their A-Levels, GCSEs, Entrance exams and school exams. I have helped numerous students gain entrance into their first choice universities and secondary schools. One such student is currently studying at Cambridge, while another recently gained entrance to Durham, achieving excellent results in his A-Levels after a year of homeschooling.

I am experienced at working with all age groups, from 7+ to university level students, and am particularly adept at teaching exam preparation and essay writing technique. I also have ample experience in both online and face-to-face teaching. Across all my primary subjects, I have taught to all ages and across all exam boards. As such, I have a thorough understanding of the subject content and exam technique for each course.

In addition, I have taught seminars and held research presentations at Postgraduate level and thus have experience teaching groups.

Biography

I was born in London to an English dad and Italian mum and am therefore bilingual. I currently live in London, where I am completing my PhD in the History of Psychology and Religious Studies at University College London. Through my academic career, I have had the opportunity to teach undergraduate and postgraduate seminars. I have also presented research papers at a variety of conferences, as well as publishing articles in leading, peer-reviewed academic journals for Psychology and the history of Religious Studies.

Before my academic career, I attended Westminster school, where I achieved 2 A*s and an A at A-Level. I went on to study Philosophy at the University of Sussex, where I became particularly interested in the Philosophy of Science. During my BA, I started tutoring part-time and became fascinated with the art of teaching. The following year, I went on to study an MA at King's College London, before deciding to take my studies further to PhD level, focusing particular on Psychology from a theoretical and historical perspective. I continued to tutor part-time over the course of my MA and PhD, which provided me with years of invaluable experience teaching a wide range of students.

During my academic career, I became interested in applying my conceptual knowledge on a practical and clinical level. I thus enrolled as a trainee with the Society of Analytical Psychology in London, where I am currently training as a psychotherapist. My training has provided a practical application of the theoretical concepts studied over the course of my doctorate research.

Personal Approach

Having tutored for over five years, I have learnt the value of a structured approach to teaching. My lessons are always interactive and customised to the student's needs, strengths and weaknesses. My teaching resources and materials are uniquely designed to engage students' interests while, at the same time, preparing them specifically towards their exams and assessments.

One of the most important aspects of tutoring is understanding the specific needs of the student. Therefore, no two lessons I teach are exactly the same. In my first lesson with a new student, I try to gauge their current understanding. In subsequent lessons, we aim to build a solid foundation of conceptual knowledge, essay skills and exam technique. To achieve this, I use specific activities, for example, essay planing exercises, memory techniques and interactive quizzes. As lessons progress, we consolidate the knowledge and techniques learnt in previous lessons, so that they become ingrained in the student's understanding.

I consider myself a patient, friendly and highly enthusiastic tutor. I seek to inspire students through my own passion for the subjects I teach, while retaining a specific focus on pedagogical techniques. Experience has taught me that students become more engaged, motivated and confident in their subjects as they see improvements in their grades.

What I do when I am not tutoring

I am a full-time tutor, but during my spare time, I am preparing my PhD thesis to be published as a book, as well as continuing to write articles for academic journals. I am supporting my theoretical PhD studies by training as a clinical psychotherapist with the Society of Analytical Psychology.

I love playing sports, and play football for the Old Westminsters Football Team twice a week. I also regularly play tennis, go running and go skiing during the winter holidays, whenever I can.

I am also very passionate about music and am constantly listening to new music, particularly jazz. I absolutely love playing the piano, and try to practice for about an hour each day (if possible).

Testimonials

‘Oliver has been tutoring our daughter for her A level psychology since May 2021. She found it all very confusing and struggled to understand concepts and methods covered. This led to low confidence which was effecting her studies. Oliver’s well structured weekly lessons covering precisely what was needed to boost her understanding, has given her the knowledge followed by confident ability to answer even the most challenging questions. Oliver has a very positive attitude and calm and friendly nature making for an ultimate learning environment for our daughter. Most grateful she has had the chance to work with Oliver!’ - Mother of A-level Psychology student.

‘Excellent news! A in my final exam. Off to Durham in September. Thanks so much for your help, I couldn't have done it without you.' (A-Level student, 2018)

'Dear Ollie, I’m extremely happy with the sessions and with your approach - which includes this very helpful and professional update. The girls told me how pleased they were and that they feel you give them a real opportunity to discuss the material, develop understanding and then consolidate.' (Mother of two A-Level Psychology students, 2020)

'Thanks so much Ollie for making the subject come to life. Achieved an A* in my exam. I couldn't have made it without your help.' (Religious Studies A-Level students, 2018)