Jack

Experience

- 11+ English and Maths and public school entrance exams, including pre-tests

- GCSE English

- GCSE Maths

- GCSE World Literature (CIE)

- A Level English

- A Level Maths

I first became interested in tutoring when I was studying in Sixth Form. I realised how useful having a tutor would've been in pushing me further towards my own goals - particularly in A Level English, where success relies on a high degree of engagement with material beyond the syllabus. In a sense, the most important work happens outside the classroom. I took up most of this work myself, but this is, of course, what tutors are here for.

Since joining, I have completed Keystone’s rigorous Professional Tutor training which includes the 11+ curriculum, ensuring that I have the thorough knowledge required to help students gain entry to the most prestigious schools in the country; I have assisted students with 11+ or 13+ entry to such schools as Eton, Harrow, Winchester, St. Paul's, Brighton College, CLSG, and Henrietta Barnett among many others.

I am equally comfortable tutoring Maths as English at GCSE and A Level across the exam boards, with a particular focus on essay planning and writing skills in English. I have taught for international English GCSE modules such as CIE World Literature, and helped students work on entries for essay competitions. Lastly, I have also worked on residential jobs.

Biography

I studied for GCSEs and A Levels at The Grange School in Hartford, a town not too far from Manchester. I achieved 3 A* grades in A Level English Literature, Maths and Further Maths, as well as an A* in a fun philosophy and maths-based EPQ project on time travel.

I went on to read English Literature at the University of Edinburgh, during which I studied abroad for a year at the University of California, Santa Barbara - an eye-opening experience, during which I received invaluable lessons from that university's renowned filmmaking/screenwriting and ecological literature departments. In 2021, I graduated from Edinburgh with first class honours and was subsequently awarded both the James Elliott Prize and the Jo Wilson Prize: the former goes to the graduating student whose work in literature is deemed the best in the cohort by the examiners; the latter goes to the student with the best performance in a Creative Writing class.

I then moved to London, where I studied an MA Creative Writing at the Royal Holloway and graduated with Distinction. I specialised in non-fiction, although I am intending to return to fiction before finally moving on to a PhD in English in a couple of years.

Personal Approach

The best tutors are engaging, which by my definition means being capable of reading the student's thought processes and adapting to them. In the past, I've had brilliant teachers who knew how to nudge me along towards my own interests without me even realising - a nuanced style of teaching which pre-empted and guided my learning because it understood how I thought. I incorporate this style of teaching into my approach, helping students achieve desired grade targets and exam successes through, first and foremost, an open and reflexive learning environment.

This also means tailoring the curriculum to the student, finding out what they respond to. Most of the time when students feel disengaged or disenfranchised with learning, or struggle with their goals, it's because they haven't been helped to understand things in their own way. I believe that all educational and academic targets are achievable when they are approached with an open mindset - not just seeking to take in a syllabus of information but to plot a particular path through it which represents each student's bespoke, individuated way of thinking.

The ultimate goal, of course, is to develop the student's way of thinking to the point that they don't need a tutor any more, ready to incorporate whatever learning and life throw at them into a pursuit of their own developed interests.

What I do when I am not tutoring

I am always either reading or writing - over the next few years I intend to develop some of my short stories into novels. Several novels I encountered when I was younger revealed to me new possibilities for what writing can do - Cormac McCarthy's 'The Road' and Max Porter's 'Grief is the Thing With Feathers' - and I've spent a lot of time thinking about why these works impacted me so much. More recently I've been delving into the poetry of T.S. Eliot and Anne Carson.

I'm also starting an independent zine publication with a friend from my masters course - writing about football by people who don't care about football at all. (I am nonetheless a big football fan.) Aside from literary hobbies, I'm a musician - grade 8 violin, guitar, piano, and some experience with software music production - and try to be as involved in London's vibrant music culture as possible.

Testimonials

“Jack has been a wonderful help, he is punctual, organised, engaging and enthusiastic. I have never once had my son complain about jumping on a session with Jack (which is a definite change from previous experiences with tutors!). Jack has dealt well with keeping my son's focus, which with ADHD is a challenge! They have predominantly focussed on English as my son needed a lot of support for his 11+/ ISEB exams. I have definitely seen my son’s technique and application improve with work he has done with Jack.

A huge thank you to Jack, and I would highly recommend him, he has been brilliant” (Parent of ISEB/11+ student)