Tomas

Experience

I have three years of experience tutoring students in the following subjects at KS2, KS3, GCSE, AS, A-Level, IB (Both SL and HL):

- English Literature

- Economics

- Extended Essay

- History

- Spanish

- TOK

- Philosophy

- EFL

-I have also guided and assisted students with personal statements, university applications, and the application process for UK and USA universities.

I tutored at Cloud9Academy (Madrid, Spain) for 2 years, and freelanced for over 3 years for students mainly attending British (KS2/3, GCSE, A-Level) and International Schools (IB Diploma). I am passionate about social sciences, humanities, and literature (English, Spanish, French, and Russian), which in combination with my international experience and highly developed interpersonal social skills, allows me to rapidly build trust and mutually respectful bonds with my students.

In regard to IB Economics, the last two students I tutored one-on-one have been able to improve their grades from 4/7 to 6/7 and 7/7, achieving 7/7 in their Internal Assessments. For A-Level I have also helped students aged 16-18 in Economics and Business Studies improve their grades from Ds, Cs and Bs to Bs, As and A*s, allowing them to achieve the grades required to enter universities in the UK, Spain and the Netherlands. One of the last students I had failed his A-Levels and had to retake his examinations in Business Studies and Economics at the age of 19. After working with him on a one-to-one basis twice a week for a year, he managed to achieve a B in both Economics and Business Studies. I have also taught GCSE students in English Literature, History, Economics, and IB and A-Level students in TOK, Philosophy, History, and English Literature with similar results. The last student I taught as a freelancer, an adult EFL learner (22) that struggled with his EFL Cambridge examinations, managed to turn around his grades and achieve a 96% in his finals.

Biography

I am Argentinian by birth, but have lived in Spain, France, England, Scotland, USA, China and Hong Kong. I hold a BA in International Relations (2014) from Emory University (Atlanta, USA) - U.S. PPE equivalent -, and achieved a 2:1 in my MRes (MSc) in Social Anthropology from the University of St. Andrews (2021, Scotland) while working part-time. Spanish and English are my native languages; I attended British schools from the age of 5 to 18, and have studied and worked in Anglo-Saxon countries primarily.

I am an interdisciplinary creative thinker with extensive inter-personal and communication skills. Passionate about anthropology, sociology, philosophy, ecology, literature, economics, history and politics. I have spent the majority of my career developing strategy for global brands, carrying out qualitative and quantitative research on a variety of subjects, and leading workshops for clients seeking to understand consumers from alternative points of views - anthropological, sociological, philosophical, economic, political, historical, etc. Nevertheless, I am currently doing a PhD in Anthropology, and as a result, have been tutoring professionally for over three years in order to learn and improve my pedagogical approaches.

Personal Approach

I genuinely believe in an ergonomic approach to tutoring, that is, everyone is different, and thus, I prioritise knowing my students and finding ways of teaching subjects that resonate with their own interests and affinities. This means I rely on bringing in real world examples of the concepts learnt in their respective curriculums so that they can understand how their textbook concepts are practically applied all over the world, and more importantly, how it affects them individually. Furthermore, I believe that tutoring is not only about relaying and making academic concepts understandable, but is also about developing a students confidence and finding their own voice.

I have three siblings who have recently graduated from high school (IB Diploma) and are currently in Universities in the UK and the Netherlands, which I have personally tutored during my free time. This means that I not only empathise but understand the challenges and issues younger generations face today, which is crucial in terms of approach, comfort, and academic development.

What I do when I am not tutoring

I dedicate my free time to volunteering, calisthenics, climbing, reading, writing and partaking in collaborative creative projects.

Testimonials

''Tomas is one of the greatest teachers I have ever had; not only did he help me succeed in my advance English exam but he ameliorated my doubts. The classes I had with him were as fun as they were educative, implementing interactive resources and exercises that I had never experienced and found rather helpful and productive.'' (EFL Student)

''Tomas tutored me in Economics HL and Business Studies HL for two years both online and face-to-face. Unlike other tutors I have had, Tomas not only knew the content and curriculum, but also understood the expectations needed to succeed in the IB. He made me enjoy Economics and Business Studies. He is very empathetic, a good listener and great at communicating abstract concepts in a way that makes them easy to understand and that actually apply to the real world. I was able to raise my grades from 4/7 in both subjects to 6/7.'' (IB Economics & Business Studies Student)