Ian

Welcome!

My name is Ian and I’ve been tutoring for over a decade now, teaching one-to-one in the Plymouth/Devon area, online across the UK and internationally to students abroad.

If you’re looking for a knowledgeable, creative & acutely empathetic tutor who helps transform lives and realise every ounce of a student’s potential—you've come to the right place!

With my deep understanding, unwavering passion and a clear sense of conscientiousness, I’ve helped students from all walks of life. Whether it be 11+, KS3, GCSE, A-Level or University. I’ve taught most of the British syllabi at some point in my career.

In addition, I’ve helped students with their university entrance exams (GAMSAT, MAT, PAT, ENGAA, ...). And at the undergraduate level, I’ve seen students studying for degrees in physics, mathematics, economics, finance, chemistry, mechanical & civil engineering, optometry and marine biology.

In any case! I enjoy tutoring—I love meeting new people, sharing what has been a lifelong passion of mine, and making a genuinely positive impact on their future.

Whether you’re a parent with a curious 12-year-old, an A-level student aspiring toward further education, or an adult learner looking for a career transition. I treat every individual on a case-by-case basis, welcoming the diversity of ages, backgrounds and abilities that come with being a tutor.

Approach

I actively promote a culture of openness, curiosity and freedom of expression. There are no stupid questions—I quite enjoy mulling over seemingly obvious points. They’re often the most revealing, where students genuinely need attention and some of the deepest insights can be gleaned.

I’m naturally creative in temperament, building from the ground up and recognising connections across disparate material. Finding the best way to communicate those insights can be interesting—and there’s plenty of inspiration to be found in an educational environment.

I strongly emphasise the use of language. It plays a crucial role in our cognitive faculty and serves as an invaluable tool for expression, comprehension and retention. If you can't articulate your understanding, then you probably have more thinking to do.

I'm very much of the opinion that, if you're not having fun—you're doing something wrong. Intellectualism, without emotion, is an unnecessarily dry, monotonous chore. Education should be exciting, empowering and rewarding. Fun is an intrinsic part of the process.

Authenticity, imagination and a sense of exploration are essential—you've got to make the ideas your own, think critically, and envisage possibilities in the broader context. What does this say about the world? How do I relate to this material? Can I view this from another angle? How exactly can this be used?

It's central to my approach then—to provide an environment where students can discover what they learn. It's important they have the opportunity to assimilate concepts on their own terms.

Background

I grew up here in Plymouth, having attended Hyde Park Junior School, Coombe Dean Secondary School and Bristol University. I graduated with an MSci in Maths & Physics, specialising in theoretical physics for my final year. I was supervised by a Dirac Medal-winning physicist at the time, which proved a formative experience.

I’ve been tutoring since I graduated—and it’s certainly taught me a lot over the years: affording me a great deal of introspection, some much-needed autonomy, and the opportunity to pursue other subjects & interests.

I've since become fascinated by pedagogy, developmental psychology, and epistemology in general. What is knowledge? How do we discover, impart and represent meaning? In what way do the senses help facilitate learning? Is motivation intrinsic? Can this be augmented?

My interests (past & present) include photography, design, animation, mountain biking, basketball, fitness/weight training, paddleboarding, meditation/mindfulness, writing, computer science, web development, economics, psychology, philosophy & neuroscience.

Online

If there is one positive I can take from the pandemic: it's that it forced me to reinvent the way I teach. No doubt, there are many challenges to going online, but there are also many opportunities—when carefully managed.

Of course, nothing can replace an experienced, dedicated teacher with a solid knowledge base and talent for communication. However, technology can elevate their better qualities and often allows for an entirely new educational experience.

Currently, I use a core combination of Teams, OBS and Photoshop for the majority of my online work. This careful selection of technologies allows a beautiful set of slides to be produced, in real-time, for every lesson. These are then uploaded to the cloud for further commentary, questions and review.

Tutoring Experience

Tutoring Approach