Paul

I currently have availability for the 2025 summer holidays and 25/26 academic year. I strongly urge parents who are interested to get in touch at your earliest convenience to ensure I have space in my diary.

I am an experienced private tutor, teacher and academic historian. I possess a passion for both history and politics as well as a proven track-record in successfully preparing students for GCSE and A Level exams. For over ten years, I have helped students striving to achieve the highest grades as well as those looking for additional help, whatever their target is. Whether you are looking to revise, catch up on work missed in class or practice exam technique - I have a wealth of experience catering for all needs.

About me:

After completing my PhD in History and Politics in 2016, I became a published academic, authoring two books: English Uprising: Brexit and the Mainstreaming of the Far Right (nominated 'Book of the Day' by The Guardian) and Lost Imperium: Far Right Visions of the British Empire, c.1920-1980. I have also written a number of published peer-reviewed journal articles, book reviews and acted as a historical consultant. My work currently has 144 scholarly citations and many more journalistic references - it has even taken me into television studios where I have been interviewed by BBC News, Sky News and Piers Morgan! I now work in government as my day job, but a love for teaching has stayed with me and tutoring history and politics is something I genuinely enjoy.

As feedback from students and parents demonstrates, I have achieved considerable success helping students achieve their potential both through knowledge acquisition and exam strategy. I enjoy working with young people and always seek to motivate my students to be enthusiastic about the subject matter and achieve the best possible results. I am a parent myself and always look out for the wellbeing of my students, ensuring that they feel comfortable and safe.

Tutoring Experience

In addition to being a tutor, I have been a history teacher at Notting Hill and Ealing High School - a leading independent day school in London and part of the Girls Day School Trust. Before that, I was subject leader and history teacher at Chelsea Independent College. I have also been a university lecturer at Teesside University and Richmond University. These roles provided me with excellent training and experience, but my approach to tutoring has developed independently.

During all my teaching and tutoring roles, I have taught both high-achieving and mixed-ability students a range of subjects at Key Stage 3, GCSE, A Level and degree level, including:

-Britain, c.1000-1997 (including Tudors)
-Russia, 1855-1964
-European history, c.1000-1989 (including WW1, WW2 and the Cold War)
-Germany, 1918-1989
-France, 1789-1945 (including the French Revolution)
-United States, 1776-1980 (including slavery, the civil war & 20th century rights movements)
-GCSE Medicine, Crime, Migration, War and Society (AQA, OCR and Edexcel)
-GCSE International Relations (Cambridge and Edexcel iGCSE, OCR and Edexcel)

I have experience teaching both AQA and Edexcel Government and Politics A Level. This includes British politics and government, US politics, global politics and political ideas.

The above is a snapshot and I have always shown considerable flexibility in adapting to new topics if I need to. If the subject you require assistance with does not fall under the above category, please do enquire and I will let you know if I can help.

Tutoring Approach

The first session is crucial, as this is when I can first assess a student's level of understanding, confidence and any other information relevant to helping them achieve success. I will usually provide this feedback to the parent at this point so they are aware of my initial assessment.

There is no secret to my tutoring style. Following the relevant syllabus, I ensure students are able to understand and memorise key events, individuals and themes that they will be examined on. I focus particularly on the ability to analyse and evaluate evidence, a crucial skill for improving grades. I use my own personal archive of past papers, exam-style questions and revision notes to ensure students are confident in writing answers and are able to plan essays. Most importantly, I tailor each session to individual students' needs and ability to ensure that they get as much out of our sessions as they can. I cater for all abilities.

More specifically, I help students with:

-Knowledge retention
-Essay writing
-Exam technique
-Revision (particularly if students have missed a lot of classes or have found a particular teacher's style challenging)
-Helping students catch up who have arrived late/changed subjects
-Confidence building
-Independent exam preparation/home schooling

I am happy to provide feedback, advice and guidance to parents and students as and when they need it. I strongly believe that the role of a tutor goes beyond just the learning sessions and am available at all times to talk about the student's studies.

One final thing - I am proud to offer flexibility to parents and students. I understand that life often gets in the way of arranged tutoring sessions. I am flexible when things need to change due to illness as well as immovable commitments like holidays and emergencies. I do not charge for sessions which have to be postponed and am always willing to change things around if we need to.