David

I am married with three boys (aged 10, 13 and 15). We have a rather naughty but very loveable labrador called Barney! Having boys, my usual leisure activities seem to revolve around football, cricket, rugby, bikes, the dog and my job! As we live in the Surrey Hills, we can often combine bike, dog and racing around all in one go! The rest of my time seems to go in providing a taxi service in commuting my boys round their sporting, musical and scouting commitments to say nothing of their friends! My other interests are good films (James Bond included!), music, reading, travelling and walking - alas, not too much time for all of this!

Tutoring Experience

I have 25 years experience as a teacher and I am an Academic Deputy Head in a co-educational School which goes up to Year 8 (13 year olds). I have taught English and Maths extensively - before becoming a Deputy Head, I was a Head of English for 7 years. I have been a Deputy Head now for 10 years. I am very experienced at preparing pupils in my school for the senior school exams that take place either in Year 6 or 7 - and can tutor pupils in verbal reasoning, non verbal reasoning, interview technique (and likely questions) as well as Maths and English. I am also very experienced at preparing pupils to extend writing techniques to meet the requirements of Common Entrance. I have wide experience working with scholarship candidates and as much experience working with pupils who find learning challenges within literacy and numeracy so I really can cater for a wide ability range. I have done individual tutoring for many years so have good experience at working individually with pupils on a very individual programme. My degree was in Music and I have wide experience working with pupils (as accompanist) in preparing for music exams) or for preparing for Grade 5 theory.

Tutoring Approach

I really do, genuinely, enjoy individual tutoring. I love working out the best individual approach, seeing what the immediate challenges are and then working with the pupil to meet those challenges. When you work in this way and see the pupil progress, often quickly, it is a real pleasure to be a part of. I have a huge range of resources and a good understanding of the demands of many of the schools in this area. I can therefore tailor a tutoring programme very much to the requirements of the pupil. In a lesson, (1 hour), I would tend to teach a specific point, and then work with the pupil putting it into practice. Over time, we would build together a set of reference material (teaching points and examples) and a bank of practice material. This works well for both specific entrance exam preparation or longer-term tutoring where the pupil needs regular consolidation of core concepts. My lessons will be fun, a mixture of styles, varied in content week by week and always focussed and hard-working. Parents of pupils I have tutored have said that my work has made a real difference and that I help pupils to feel much more confident.