Kimbal

I am a postgraduate student studying for my masters in Computer Science. I tutor maths up to GCSE and computer science up to A-Level. I also have experiance with the numeracy side of the QTS Professional Skills Test. I am currently working as a consultant, delivering technical training and support to small businesses.

Tutoring Experience

I have extensive 1-to-1 tutoring experience, having been a tutor for about ten years. Before that, I ran after-school help sessions for a further two years while in sixth form.

Relevant Qualifications

11 A* or As at GCSE
A in AS Maths
A in AS Computing
A in A2 Applied ICT
A in A2 Critical Thinking

91% in the Maths for Computing module I took as part of my Computer Science degree (70% required for a 1st).
2:1 BSc Computer Science

Enhanced DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) Check:
Specifically for working with children and young or vulnerable adults. Renewed each year. Copy of certificate available upon request.

Tutoring Approach

We will start with a discussion of what your aims are and where we should focus our attention. This might be followed by some very gentle testing so as to deliver material that challenges without being demoralising. Different students have different objectives, preferences, needs and ability levels. For example, in the case of a year 10 GCSE student we might decide to follow along with work done at school, looking at topics again to provide greater detail and reinforcement. A year 11 GCSE student, however, would probably do better using a different strategy such as targeting known weak areas and revision.

I try to make students' time with me as relaxed as possible; perhaps over tea in a friendly, informal atmosphere where they're able to ask anything they need to. In my experience, once students are suitably comfortable they find it easier to focus on the task at hand and retain more information.

I have an appreciation for both maths and computer science; I teach my students what they need to know for their exams but I also try to show them the relevance of what they are learning and why it's interesting and useful. Some students simply want to pass their exams and move on down a different path, the horrors of sums with letters in them left definitively in the past. Some, however, discover a passion that had previously been hidden behind dusty classrooms, tests and homework.