Fabien

Full time professional tutor with approaching a decade of experience split evenly between face to face and online classes. Experienced with AQA, Edexcel, IB and OCR for Maths, Chemistry, Physics and Biology. As a tutor, my focus is always my students' needs first and foremost. In my opinion, this makes 1 to 1 tuition invaluable for students, especially in my subjects where classroom teaching can leave students confused, dejected and left behind. Often I find students in these situations benefit most from having some of their confidence built back up as these subjects require a belief in one's abilities.

At any level, it is imperative that students feel comfortable in their learning environment. Because of this, I have found lots of students have taken particularly well to online classes especially following the pandemic due to their convenience and the opportunity to study comfortably at home.

Tutoring Experience

I am a graduate from the University of Cambridge, currently working as a full time tutor in all science and maths subjects with a focus on GCSE, A level and degree level study. My time at Cambridge enlightened me in many ways. It firstly introduced me to the advantages of one to one classes, which allow for fast-paced and efficient learning sessions that can be entirely tailored to the specific requirements of the student. I also came to realise the power of communication for proficient teaching.

I have had a passion for sciences and maths since my own school days and whilst students needn't match my enthusiasm for these subjects, I always endeavour to show them that they don't have to feel boring or scary. During my time at Cambridge, I realised the power of small classes in comparison to lectures and classroom teaching. The difference in progress is staggering and I feel incredibly privileged to be able to aid my students by teaching in this way. My favourite thing about being a tutor is being part of students conquering the topics that they used to dread seeing on an exam paper.

Outside of my tuition, I have also worked closely on a project offering free mentoring for state school students looking to apply to Oxbridge and the other top universities in England. This project has allowed me to use my expertise to guide students with writing of personal statements, amendments to UCAS forms, assistance with the Cambridge SAQ and interview preparation and I am extremely proud to see our students flourishing with the project in it's 3rd year. I also have experience preparing students for the NSAA, PAT, MAT and ENGAA over several admissions cycles, with fantastic results over the last 4 years.

Tutoring Approach

My successful approach as a tutor has always relied upon 3 things:

1. My excellent communication skills - these are crucial for putting students at ease as very little clouds the mind more than feeling uncomfortable.
2. My extensive knowledge of the subjects that I've grown up loving - science and maths subjects can cause the most trouble if students don't feel completely confident in what they're learning about, my grounding in these subjects allows me to give detailed and clear explanations of the most complex of concepts to simplify them and reduce the fear factor.
3. My bank of resources - over the years, I have amassed a small fortune in revision guides, past papers and other resources that my students can make use of. Past paper practice is essential.

I am very grateful for the excellent feedback that I've received from my clients in the past and I feel it is important to develop a good working relationship with both students and parents, so all parties involved know exactly what is expected of each other. I see tuition as a very important aid to work at school and I strive to offer the best and most individual service possible to each of my students. I ensure I can offer this by keeping in regular contact with parents to ensure they know their child is being given all the help and support they need. I also encourage parents and students to come to me with any problems they have with my style of teaching and I set regular mini-assessments to ensure topics have been understood fully.

In my opinion, the most important part of being a good tutor is to get to know and understand your students' and their learning styles. With better understanding, comes more personal and useful tuition, something which many schools unfortunately fail to recognise or are unable to provide.