After completing a BSc honours degree in Information Systems in 1999, I embarked on working for a global Consulting firm, working on projects as diverse as a video store system in Chicago, designing the first ever supermarket e-commerce system for Sainsbury's in London, transferring to the Australian office to create an e-commerce system for telecommunications company Optus in North Sydney, then returning to the UK and working on predictive maintenance systems for jet engines with Rolls Royce Aerospace.
My passion has always been to enjoy coastal life, so at age 26 I entered teaching to return to the coast (Cornwall, UK) and pass on my knowledge of Technology to future generations. It has been a great journey, from being nominated for Teacher of the Year, enjoying incredible results both as a teacher and Head of Department for Computer Science and winning the national Young Enterprise of the Year competition. I am a member of the British Computer Society and hold 3 qualifications with them (automated software testing is one of my more unusual hobbies)!
So why do you benefit from choosing me as your tutor? Well, I have achieved results in the top 1% for GCSE Computer Science and A Level since 2016. Each year has seen a GCSE class average grade of an 8, with 50% of grades usually a grade 9 with a special measure of progress called Subject Progress Index (SPI) being around +1.55 for my classes. To those not conversant with 'edu-terms', this means that a student of similar ability (based on end of KS2 SAT scores at age 11) in my class will achieve +1.55 grades higher than a similar student nationally in the UK. This means a student who achieves a grade 6 nationally is likely to achieve an 8 if they were in my class, the student who averages just over a grade 7 nationally is likely to achieve a grade 9 in my class, the grade 5 student would be likely to achieve a grade 7. An SPI value of +1.55 means that out of over 3450 secondary schools in England and Wales, my classes for Computer Science perform at around number 20, considerably inside the top 1%. That is why you benefit from choosing me as a tutor. Have a look at a snapshot of these measures below for my last set of GCSE results:
The image on the left shows the grade and residual for my class. A residual shows the performance of the student in that subject compared to their other subjects. For example, a residual of 1.22 means the student achieved 1.22 grades higher in Computer Science compared to their other GCSE results. Given that nationally students achieve -0.72 (boys) of a grade lower and -1.11 (girls) of a grade lower in Computer Science than their other subjects, you can see how my students really excel in Computer Science.
At A Level, my results are always either ALPS 1, (ALPS is how schools measure A Level performance) meaning the class perform inside the top 1% in the Country, or ALPS 2, with the class performing inside the top 10% nationally, usually around the top 3-8% of cohorts. Given my background, I have the ability to help students grasp the wide range of algorithms needed to secure the higher grades at A Level, in an engaging way, explaining advanced concepts in simple terms. This really helps accelerate understanding for my students. You can see a snapshot of last year's grades below:
Each year, many of these students elect to study STEM degree programmes at prestigious universities including Oxford and Cambridge.
All students benefit from exclusive access to my online learning platform. I typically set 3 hours of engaging, fun, interesting independent activities which give students a sense of achievement, for every hour of tutorial time. It is very important to invest in an outstanding tutor with an excellent track record, not just pay for a tutor! The difference is in the likely significant grade outcome after exams have been completed.
Outside of Computer Science, I enjoy a wide range of interests. These include 3D modelling on my bamboo printer, software testing, retro gaming, Formula 1 racing, rugby, football, fishing, surfing and music. Please do drop me an email to chat about how I can help improve your results and make the subject as enjoyable as possible for you. I tutor many students from the UK, Europe, the middle east and China, this is why I offer time slots to suit students in different time slots, not just those studying in the UK. Please do contact me.
