Adam Octavian

I am a graduate from the University of Edinburgh who studied Chinese, which included a year studying at a Chinese university. I have had experience providing tutoring to a range of ages and subjects and I very much enjoy tutoring. I currently work in a primary school. I hope I can provide a useful service and help to you.

Tutoring Experience

I have extensive tutoring experience in tutoring for 11+ entrance exams, French (oral and written), Science, English and Maths GCSE, music theory, music aural and Chinese tuition. I have also recently passed a qualification for coaching IELTS preparation. I also have knowledge of the various admissions procedures and exam set-ups of different schools having been an Invigilator. This is useful for preparation for entrance exams.

Highlights of my tutoring experience have been:
⦁ A student gaining 100% in his English paper for an 11+ entrance exam to an competitive independent school
⦁ A student improving by three grades in her Maths GCSE
⦁ A student gaining a top mark in Latin GCSE after struggling beforehand
⦁ A student gaining a top mark in his cohort for verbal reasoning for 11+

I am TEFL qualified with a 120 hour course and further week long Teaching Skills Course and have taught English as a Foreign Language on a 6 month placement and a further 2 month internship in China. I have taught all ages from primary school to adult learners. I have also taught business English at a company in central London.

Tutoring Approach

I think the key approach to tutoring is to use enthusiasm and to understand the needs of the student. I undertook a specialist training module in providing one to one tutoring and have worked hard to improve my skills. I will focus on exactly what is needing to be achieved and tailor my tutoring accordingly,

For 11+ and GCSE students especially, another key area to focus on is to ensure the student feels confident in knowing the format of the test and what type of questions will be involved. I also work out which types of questions that the student is struggling with and then create strategies for dealing with these harder questions. I have developed a way to break down questions and a checklist to ensure that students are asking each part of the question and fulfilling the assessment criteria. I have also developed my own revision toolkit for students for GCSE preparation.

I also work on equipping the students with the tools to ensure that they feel mentally ready to face the test. This involves looking at ways to analyse the question, teaching techniques to feel calmer during the exam and ways to approach the entire assessment day.