John

♦ Specialist in online tuition and exam technique ♦ More than 98% of my tutees have achieved the A* ♦ 28 years in top HMC schools ♦ Doctorate in Biochemistry ♦ Average UCAT score of over 3100 ♦ I’ve helped 500+ students get into Oxford, Cambridge or Medicine ♦

Tutoring Experience

After gaining a First at Durham University I completed my Doctorate in under 2 years and then worked as a Biochemist at Oxford University. Deciding to become a teacher I completed a PGCE and I started my teaching career in the state sector before taking a Head of Science role at a leading HMC school. After a hugely enjoyable and fulfilling 28 years I retired in my early 50s to concentrate full time on tutoring. My teaching career included an absolute wealth of experience as an examiner, more than 10 years as an Assistant Head (Director of Teaching and Learning), and Inspection work for ISI. All the way through my career my classes consistently achieved outstanding exam results and value added.

I specialise in online tuition for A level Chemistry and Biology and in helping students to excel in their UCAT and in medical school interviews. More than 98% of my tutees have gained the A*, more than 30 have gained 100% in A level papers, and I have helped well over 500 students get into Oxford, Cambridge or Medicine/Vet Med/Dentistry. Nearly all of my tutees score over 3000 and band 1 in the UCAT but I also enjoy helping students who really struggle with the time pressure of the UCAT to climb up to a decent score. I am also very happy teaching GCSE sciences, GCSE maths or A level economics.

Tutoring Approach

My lessons are very interactive and engaging and I make sure that students fully understand material and that they know how to tackle unseen exam questions. Every year I have lots of students who move up from a C or D grade to an A*. Most years I will also have someone move all the way from an E or U to the A*. Usually at least one of my tutees will gain 100% in an A level paper whilst several others drop just a mark or two.

It can be hard to persuade some students to start working in the right way but given a bit of time I invariably get there and even the most recalcitrant end up really enjoying the lessons and gain a huge amount of confidence. I really enjoy tutoring and get a huge amount of pleasure from helping students to do so much better than they think they can.