Oli

Experience

• English classroom teacher @ Sherborne School, Dorset. Taught IGCSE, A Level and Oxbridge students and currently (as of 2023) still consult on Oxbridge applicants with the school.

• English classroom teacher @ SIAL School, Holland Park, London. Taught students in years 6 and 7 on their English and 11/13+ curriculum. 11+ students in preparation for UK schools applications over multiple years.

• 11+ English, Maths, Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning: ISEB and public-school exams, including pre-tests.

• 13+ English, Maths, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Geography, History, Theology: ISEB and public-school entrance exams

• UKISET

• I/GCSE English (OCR, WJEC, AQA, Edexcel, CIE)

• A-Level English Literature (OCR, WJEC, AQA, Edexcel, CIE)

• International Baccalaureate (I.B.) English Literature

• Pre-U English

• ELAT (English Literature Admission Test)

• Oxbridge Applications, English (14 out of 17 applicants were successful)

• University Dissertations (English/Drama)

• General University Support (Time management/motivation/work flow planning/essay structuring support/mentorship)

When preparing pre-tests, I build up a thorough knowledge of the 11+ Maths and English syllabus with the student focussing on comprehension, grammar, mental arithmetic and word problems. We introduce the idea of time pressure and problem solving; key components of any Pre-Test.

I have very wide ranging experience of preparing school applicants at 11+, 13+ and 16+. I have successfully helped applicants and scholarship candidates to almost all of the top UK schools; boarding and day, single sex and co-educational. Examples include Eton, Harrow, Winchester, CLC, Wycombe Abbey, Westminster, St Paul's, St Paul's Girls, Latymer, Wellington, Oundle, Sevenoaks, Brighton College, Charterhouse, Ardingly, Malvern, City of London, King's Wimbledon, Dulwich, Benenden, Sherborne, Cranleigh and many more besides.

I have extensive experience working online having completed over 5000 hours teaching over the internet. Many of my students are based abroad, in particular in Hong Kong, Singapore and mainland China.

I was a full-time English teacher at a public School in Dorset, teaching a full range of classes from 13-18. During this time I also marked Common Entrance and Scholarship papers for the school. I’ve been tutoring, or teaching English in schools, for over 12 years. I am also happy to teach Maths up to GCSE having received full marks in Maths A-Level.

I taught English in a private school in London working with students in years 6 and 7 on their English and 11/13+ curriculum.

I have considerable experience with dyslexic and SEN pupils, having myself overcome mild dyslexia and taught many of the lower sets whilst at Sherborne. I regularly teach students who have some form of Special Educational Need and I have team taught with Speech and Language Therapists and Educational Psychologists to provide a suite of learning support.

I have given talks and run workshops in Public Schools on dramatic texts in the GCSE and A Level English Syllabuses. I've run workshops and judged competitions for Public Speaking at places like Marlborough, Kingston University, St James Ashford and The Leys Cambridge.

I ran a weekly Saturday School for Westminster Refugee Consortium helping students from Years 9-11 overcome their diverse backgrounds to succeed at school.

I’ve also worked for National Youth Theatre with highly challenging students ages 14-21 excluded from the school system.

Biography

I grew up in Surrey but my roots are in Suffolk where most of my family have now returned. I went to Cranleigh School (A Levels: English, Maths, Theatre Studies and a Music AS Level) and went on to read English at Corpus Christi, Cambridge graduating with a First-class degree. At university, I was heavily involved in Drama and the Footlights.

Returning to London in 2008 I founded a theatre company before teaching English and Drama at Sherborne School in Dorset. During my theatrical career I was associate director on the West End productions of Chariots of Fire, Ecstasy and Shakespeare in Love and directed shows all over London, the UK and North America. I returned to London to my teaching career in 2017 and worked at SIAL school, in Holland Park. I’ve been tutoring or teaching for over twelve years and after eleven years of work with Keystone I’m one of the longest serving tutors in the company.

Personal Approach

My teaching style is heavily dictated by my student. My first lesson is all about discovering what type of learner they are. We’ll also talk about their interests and goals. This seemingly innocuous conversation often holds the key to motivating them towards success.

To my mind learning is always best done actively. I’ve personally never learned much by being talked at so that's not how I teach. I ask lots of questions and expect a good level of engagement during a session.

I also believe that at the heart of even the trickiest problems is a series of simple solutions. I aim to make those simple solutions clear and to help students to think clearly and effective for themselves.

Above all, learning doesn't happen very well if a student isn’t engaged. I’m good at helping my students become interested in what they're studying and, even if it takes a little while, it's more than worth it.

What I do when I am not tutoring

In my spare time, I make plays, films and write. I enjoy running and I am a big cricket fan. My wife and I love cooking and are always working on weird and wonderful ways to feed friends. My perfect Sunday is a day at the great British Seaside in the Summer, or a country walk and a roast dinner in Winter.

Testimonials

"Armaan has really enjoyed working and learning from you. I want to thank you for that. Your contribution has been invaluable." (Mother of IB student, based in New Delhi)

“My son has found his sessions with Oli incredibly helpful; invaluable actually and we are all delighted to have him. “ (Mother of university student)

''I am very pleased to inform you that my daughter has just received an unconditional offer from Benenden. We feel very grateful for your online Math tuition. You have been extremely clear on delivering lessons and guiding her through curriculum which hasn’t been covered in Hong Kong.'' (Mother of Benenden applicant)

''Oli was brilliant with her over the weekend - going out of his way to genuinely give her accurate, concise, precise and timely help - I was very impressed by his desire to ensure that she submitted her best work.'' (English Oxford applicant from Singapore)

''He did himself proud at the Harrow Test. He said he couldn't have done it without you. We just wanted to say the biggest thank you to you for all your help. We are totally relaxed with the result but we feel you have given him confidence and a spring in his step!'' (Mother of a Harrow Pre-test student)

''Sessions with Oli are always fun, and after each one I feel that my knowledge has grown. He is very comprehensive in his approach, with each tutorial not only being engaging, but incredibly well planned as well. English with Oli is great!'' (IB Student, New Delhi)

''Hi Oli, I received the offer from Cambridge this morning and am obviously delighted. Once again, many many thanks for your incalculable help.'' (Cambridge English candidate)

''Can't believe I've got an Oxford offer! Just can't believe it, I'm in tears. Can't thank you enough, seriously. Just one more stretch of hard work left, but couldn't have a better motivation to do it.'' (Successful Oxford Candidate)

''My sessions with Oli went very well and I have an interview at Cambridge. I felt that he was a wonderful tutor throughout the 8-10 week period and helped me enormously in completing the application, submitting essays and preparing for the interview. Most importantly, he showed great kindness and sincerity in applying himself to the task of my application, often going out of his way when I needed assistance. My only regret is to not have contacted Keystone prior to September, which would have given me longer to work with Oli. Nevertheless I did not feel underprepared going into interview and Oli enabled me to improve my skills significantly over a short period of time.'' (Cambridge University English candidate)

“My son had fantastic tuition with Oli Rose. He had his test for the school we would like him to go to and we feel that for now we would like to stop his tutoring until we hear from the school and either way figure out what our next steps will be. Thank you so much for this amazing service. The best help we got to move back into the British education system.'' (Mother of Year 6 student moving from US to UK)

"Oli offers a holistic approach to his clients. His sessions with my son resulted in accessing a well hidden motivation, focus and drive toward independent achievement. My son describes Oli as a genius who makes him want to do his work! I’d describe Oli as fully involved and extending beyond the excellent academic input to treating both of us with genuine care, concern and involvement. I have recommended Oli to my favourite people and will continue to do so." (Mother of a final year University Student)

''I think Oli was an excellent tutor. He was always very kind and made the learning fun. There were times when I found a topic difficult, but he always found a way to explain it to me. I would definitely recommend him. I’ve enjoyed my sessions with him and will certainly miss him a lot!'' (Year 8 student preparing for Common Entrance)

He got in to Eton! We are so shocked. And super happy. Thanks sooooo much for all your help again. He wouldn’t have been able to do it without your help. (Mother of Hong Kong based Eton applicant)

''Oli has taught my son during these unprecedented times; it was an absolute delight to have known him. A huge thank you to Oli for the outstanding work that he has done. He has been a great inspiration and exceptionally encouraging. Oli is a very passionate teacher and has assessed my son’s level accurately, putting in place a plan of action to help him improve in all areas. He has been kind, supportive and an inspiring role model. I have witnessed a great improvement in English.'' (Mother of Year 7 student)

Oli has developed an enrichment curriculum for my son. It is wonderful that Oli has anchored lessons around interesting and thought-provoking topics which were selected collaboratively with my son; broadening his horizons and helping him discover areas of interest which he may choose to delve into in greater depth. My son loves Oli’s lessons and really looks forward to them each week. Oli is an amazing tutor who is kind, caring, discerning and has an impeccable work ethic. He goes the extra mile to understand his students and customises lessons to keep them engaging and to optimise learning. We are grateful to Oli for believing in our son and helping him to reach his highest potential. Thank you for providing him with a safe and encouraging environment where his talents and passions are cherished and nurtured. (Mother of Year 9 student.)

''Oli has taught my son (Year 9) for 4 years, and my daughter (Year 7) for 2 years now. I cannot be more pleased with their progress and Oli’s efforts. Oli is a terrific teacher and offers guidance and assistance just at the right place and time whenever needed. He is experienced, thoughtful and patient; always providing the right supporting material to help my children learn and excel. What’s more important is that Oli makes the classes enjoyable with his input, perspective and interesting learning materials. My children especially find him kind and understanding, which we all appreciate greatly. He pays careful attention to details and is always encouraging. I will certainly have my children continue their studies with Oli in the coming years.'' - (Mother of Year 9 and Year 7 students in Hong Kong)

''I am pleased to let you know that Colchester Royal Grammar School has offered a boarding place for me at September 2020. I would like to thank you for teaching me and putting a lot of effort in helping me achieve my goal. Once again, thank you for everything you have done for me.'' (Year 11 student in Hong Kong)

''He has brought English up to an A in Lit an an 8 in Language. These are incredible results, owing in large part to his work with you. We are very pleased and grateful. Thank you!'' (Mother of GCSE English Student)

''Every lesson with Oli is so much more than just an hour of instruction. I learned to think in these classes and that is something I am so grateful for. The results speak for themselves; I achieved a 45/45 in the IB program and was the world’s highest scorer in English literature’s drama paper, with a 25/25, and a near perfect score on the unseen poetry analysis paper, with 19/20. I must attribute my success in IB also in some part to the revision strategies that I learned during our time together. He is much more than a teacher of English and he really does go the extra mile. Dependable is the word that best describes him in the context of our relationship, and brilliant is the word that defines him generally. There are no safer hands than Oli’s!'' (IB English Student)

Oli has been tutoring our son now for a few months in both English and Mathematics. Oli has built up a real relationship of trust with our son and he enjoys attending the tutorial sessions with Oli, even English which he’s previously found to be a challenging subject. Oli has adjusted his tutorial style for our son’s needs including different approaches and pace between English and Mathematics given his different levels of ability in each. In English, he has converted his aversion to reading and he is now starting to read more challenging novels and we are seeing an improvement in his writing style and spelling. Our son is very much enjoying his mathematics tutorials and being challenged to extend himself in a way that he is not at school. Oli is also incredible with feedback to us as parents on a regular basis covering both his academic progress and how we can be supporting our son on both his technical and soft skills including resilience. We are very impressed by Oli and incredibly grateful for his support. (Father of Year 6 UK school applicant based in Hong-Kong.)

''I am so happy to say that I have received a perfect score of 45/45 in the IB with a 7 in English literature SL and an A (the highest grade) in my extended essay, which we worked on extensively together.

I want to take this opportunity to thank you for the last 3 years of sessions. More than anything, you made me really love English and for this I am forever in your debt. Thank you so much for pushing me and truly unlocking the joy of studying!'' (IB English Student)

''You are a highly-talented and consistently effective teacher and have added immeasurable value to the work of the school and the lives of the children you have taught. Thank you!'' Headmaster of a Holland Park-based school, at the end of two years of teaching at the school.

I have particularly appreciated Oli's sensitivity towards and engagement with me in understanding the precise nature of the difficulties I've experienced with this piece of work (and more generally during my time at university). He has been incredibly helpful in discussing those issues and finding ways to overcome them, and I feel very encouraged that I can begin to apply these ways of thinking more generally beyond university and be able to complete work without getting myself into these same rabbit holes (University student)

Oli Rose has worked with our son on a weekly basis for the past six months. Following a shock set of A level results his confidence took a battering and he has struggled to settle at university having gained a place at Liverpool to study International Politics through clearing. My son was recently diagnosed as dyslexic and Oli has been an invaluable support to him, helping him settle into his academic studies and working tirelessly to build his confidence. Oli has been instrumental in helping him with effective study strategies giving him the tools to plan and produce essays and revise for end of module exams. Oli relates so well to my son and and has offered patient and caring moral support as well as outstanding academic teaching. Oli is always on hand to help and is totally committed to my son's academic progress and wellbeing. We are delighted with the service which he has provided, not only my son but us, as parents.'' (Mother of University student)

Hi Oli, I submitted about 2 weeks ago and so far have got offers from Manchester, Nottingham and Loughborough so just waiting on Bristol and Leeds! Thanks so much for your help it made a massive difference to my personal statement! Gradually going through my personal statement with you from start to end was extremely helpful as you managed to identify some needed changes whilst making me understand and think myself what could improve it. I also think throughout the sessions you were helpful in making me more confident in my thoughts and answers preventing me from “waffling”. I don’t believe there was anything else you needed to do to improve be completely honest! It was overall very helpful and I will let you know if I hear from any more unis! (UCAS Personal Statement applicant)

''We are very glad that we found Oli Rose, he has been an excellent tutor for 11+ entrance exam,he was really helpful, full of support and had an extensive knowledge, he explains things very clearly and his sessions are enjoyable. With more application and help my daughter has greatly improved her grades and as a result she received the offer of Wycombe Abbey School, we are very pleased. We would not hesitate to recommend him.'' (Mother of 11+ student)

Thank you so much Oli! I'm incredibly grateful for your help in tackling this piece of work. There have been numerous points where I felt that I wouldn't be able to produce this essay. You've given me a great deal of confidence in helping me get to a place where I could submit a piece of work I was ultimately pleased with, and which I feel reflected the research and thought I'd given to the subject. It's been very helpful to hear that many of the problems I was experiencing are not actually that unusual, and that there are ways round them, even when everything is feeling a bit desperate and insurmountable. (Post-graduate university student)

Oli was excellent thank you. We were impressed and whilst he is direct with his approach this for myself and our son is the perfect fit. His explanation of Atom was superb. I am also pleased that Oli is very familiar with Hampton and Dulwich. So all in all a super start. (Mother of UK based year 6 student)

''Thanks again so much for all your help. Fantastic.'' Hong Kong Mother of two students, third and fifth grade.

''We are extremely happy with Oli. We like the fact that he takes time to brief us on my son’s performance after each lesson. He asks questions and takes time to understand his personality and customises his lessons to get the best out him. Oli is firm but still promotes positivity and encourages histo want to learn. So far we have nothing but praise for Oli. You sent us the perfect tutor!'' (Mother of a 9 year old home-schooled student.)

“Oli Rose - what a totally delightful chap! Harry had some exceptional sessions with him and has given him some very structured and clear guidance. His help has been much appreciated...The difference in performance and confidence is very impressive.'' (Mother of 12 year old homeschooled student)

“The twins thought he was ''amazing!'' High praise from teenagers indeed!'' (Homeschooled students, ages 12-15)

“We are so grateful to Oli for his time and patience and his enthusiasm, intelligence and love of the subjects impressed enormously” (Mother of homeschooled student aged 11)

“Oli instilled my daughter with confidence and revived her love and appreciation for English” (11+ Entrance student.)

''My daughter very much enjoyed yesterday's session and talked about it a great deal afterwards. Clearly you made a very positive impression, so thank you for that!'' (Mother of 11+ Student)

''Hi Oli, just wanted to say that I've been offered a place at Peterhouse, Cambridge! Thank you for all your help and support, you have been wonderful.'' (Successful Cambridge applicant)

''Hello Oli, my daughter got an offer from St Catherine's. I can't thank you enough for work you put in, she really owes you.'' (Successful Cambridge applicant)

''Oli has been a stupendous help in preparing my daughter for the ELAT and I wish that I had managed to get him earlier! He will, I am sure, be equally helpful with her re-take in January.'' (Oxford Applicant)

“A massive thank you for all the help you gave me with my Cambridge English application. I got an offer from Emmanuel yesterday! Am over the moon!“ (Successful Cambridge applicant)

“You were probably the best teacher I have ever had! I got an A in both IGCSEs (not bad for set 5!).” (16 year old English Student)

“Oli managed to make my son appreciate historical context and fired up his interest in history and politics too.” (AS Level student)

“With Oli’s help the twins got 3 A*s and a B at English Lit and Lang GCSE!” (Two GCSE students)

''Thank you for everything that you helped me with on my university dissertation over the past few months. You have been incredible.'' (University Student)