I have been tutoring for three years now, starting just after my GCSEs. During this time I have tutored both privately and for organisations, from primary to sixth form students, from a range of levels and abilities. Tutoring primarily in maths and economics, I have learned that there are many different factors playing into exams and school performance, all of which need to be taught. From concepts, to practice, to time management and exam technique.

Further, I have also mentored students looking to build their applications into applying to university. With this, I gained experience in keeping track of students’ progress thoroughly in many areas, academic, extracurricular and supercurricular, finding ways to encourage them to do certain activities without being overbearing.

My main approach in tutoring comes first from a level of understanding of what the student wants and needs. From there I cater the content to suit the goals of the student, I believe this initial step and communication is crucial as no matter how well a tutor may teach, if it is not what the student needs then it can be redundant.

I also aim to keep the lessons interactive, constantly engaging and involving the students, both to test their understanding and also to keep them involved and comfortable, a more conversational approach which gives them the option to interrupt and ask a question to clarify anything that might be unclear.

Another aspect of my tutoring is a focus on practice, after concepts have been explained, I find that not only for me but also for other students, it is essential to drill practice. This helps build confidence in the student, a mental aspect of academia that is often overlooked.