Brijesh

***If you are interested in lessons online in small groups of 2-3 students to share the costs of tutoring and know others who may be interested then please do get in touch as you will be disappointed. Having taught 2 students from the same school for 2 hours a week, both have exceeded their own expectations with tops grades across the GCSE Maths and Further Maths exams last summer. First (trial) lesson is only £35 and there is no obligation to continue afterwards.

Hello. My name is Brij and I have been teaching Maths at a leading independent school for the past 15 years. I absolutely love it, more so in recent years given the intellectual challenge that have been brought into the reformed GCSE and A-Level Maths courses.

My family is everything to me. Quite often, teaching an entire class at school is much easier than dealing with the dramas of an 8 and 11 year old! However, I wouldn’t swap it for anything. We have lived in South London all our lives and enjoy going out on woodland walks, camping, theatre and trips to the farm. Both my wife and I are teachers and we enjoy developing our kids' knowledge of the world through play and extending their interests through wider reading and discussions.

Tutoring Experience

I have been teaching Mathematics for almost 17 years now. I spent my first 3 years at a very successful local comprehensive school teaching the entire age range (Year 7 through to Year 13 A-Level Maths). I then made the transition into a top Independent school and have taught Maths here ever since. I love teaching the GCSE/IGCSE and A-Level Maths courses and GCSE Further Maths, especially since the more challenging (new) specifications were brought in. It really tests the student’s ability to reason and understand mathematical concepts at a deep level rather than learning through procedures which can only take you so far in your studies. I also enjoy teaching the AQA Level 2 Further Maths qualification as well as the FSMQ Additional Maths course as they help bridge the gap between the GCSE and A-Level Maths courses whilst promoting mathematical thinking. As well as teaching, my main responsibilities include being the UKMT Coordinator for our school and coaching cricket and football.

Tutoring Approach

Since the new specifications for both the GCSE and A-Level maths courses were introduced in 2018, there has been an increased need for students to really develop mathematical thinking and intuition. Many students will learn mathematical rules/procedures but fail to understand them well enough or make connections to other aspects of mathematics. Although this will help students obtain passes (grades 4-6 at GCSE and grades E-B at A-Level), the reliance on an excessive number of formulae/rules significantly limits a student's ability to achieve the top grades because the deeper level of understanding has not been developed. My teaching style is very interactive (throughout the 1 hour session) and discussion-based to allow students to think about mathematical concepts and relevant but challenging problems. Whether it is a maths problem they want me to go through or one carefully selected/created by myself, I will certainly help the student develop their confidence and mathematical fluency. Where possible, we'll look at alternative approaches so that there is an appreciation in the flexibility of methods. I strongly believe that if students are taught mathematical concepts through pure reasoning (higher order thinking) and placing less emphasis on rules and set methods, they can achieve better results and greater satisfaction whilst developing their problem-solving skills. I have helped students achieve top grades through confidence building even in those who worried about their ability.

My support for my students stretches beyond the lessons. Students freely send me questions (outside of lessons) that they struggle to solve. I tend to reply, with explanations or a worked solution before the end of day.

You will not be disappointed in choosing me to be your maths tutor. Please do get in touch, especially if you are interested in multiple lessons within the week, partner up with another (known) student or two and would, therefore, like to share the costs of the lesson. The price of lessons are fixed regardless of the number of students in the lesson.