Sherwood Tutors and Sherwood Tuition

Personal Description:
I am a fully qualified economics and business teacher with 20 years' experience in secondary schools, and now as a full-time tutor. I've provided over 9,000 hours of private tuition to 400+ UK and overseas students. I have an economics degree from Liverpool University. Prior to teaching I worked in advertising for 10 years. I also own two online businesses. I live in Bristol, am married with 3 teenage children, and I am passionate about helping young people achieve their potential.

Teaching Experience:
I taught economics in secondary schools for over 10 years, but I am now a full-time tutor. I typically tutor 40 to 50 students across an academic year, and they consistently perform above expectations; for example the majority of my 2024 students achieved at least a grade B, with several gaining an A*. However, my main focus is adding value, and all my previous students have improved at least one grade since I began working with them. Indeed many have improved by 3 or more grades. I teach all the major exam boards (International Baccalaureate, Cambridge International, Edexcel, Edexcel International, AQA, Eduqas, OCR and WJEC) and am an experienced economics examiner. I also have a current CRB.

Tutoring Approach:
I will always begin by discussing my tutee's individual requirements and areas of the syllabus they would like to focus on. Students may ask to recap concepts and theories that aren't fully understood, however in my experience most require help with exam technique, and how to translate their knowledge into a high grade answer. I therefore place a great emphasis on guiding students through the process of answering past paper questions, across all topic areas. In our sessions I will help with essay structure, illustrate how to use higher order analytical and evaluation skills, and crucially, how to apply an answer to information in a case study, or how to bring in real world examples.

Over the years I have taught an increasing proportion of students online, so that currently about 90% of my tutoring is done this way. I use Skype/Google Meet/Zoom and Google Docs, which students can also access. This makes the sessions as interactive as meeting face to face, and it also means I can tutor students from anywhere in the world (I have taught people in South Africa, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Spain, France, Serbia, Russia, Montenegro and Bermuda). I always encourage students to provide feedback so that they receive maximum benefit from their teaching.

Below are some testimonials from past students (many more can be seen in the reviews section):

"Ian tutored my daughter prior to her A Level exams in the summer of 2024. She had been predicted a B grade, but needed an A for her university offer. Ian covered content as well as exam technique with her, they also worked through past papers together and Ian on request would mark some of her written work. My daughter achieved an A☆ in economics… This was beyond her expectations, and we are extremely grateful for Ians tutoring and guidance." - Mrs De Simone - Cambridge

"My son initially struggled with the subject gaining an E grade in his mock exams but with Ian's help he managed a grade B in his AS level and attained an A grade in both A level papers. This was a huge improvement over the two years and I doubt it would have been possible without Ian's help, both with weekly tutoring and the all important pre-exam revision days. Ian's approach was personalised and intensive and my son's needs we're concentrated upon fully. Ian was always punctual and organised and struck up a good relationship with the whole family. I would happily recommend him." Mrs W - Redland, Bristol

"Matt only got an E grade in his February A2 mock exam and the school predicted he would get a C grade at A2. With the significant assistance from Ian, Matt achieved an A* at A2. In his other two A levels, Matt achieved Bs (he also had tutors for these). There are several reasons why Ian made the difference: 1.Being taught on Skype. Matt was initially very apprehensive about being taught on Skype rather than in person. But Skype proved really beneficial. Firstly it enabled Matt to fit in tuition at times that would just not have been possible if travel had been involved. Secondly it enabled Matt to have additional lessons when he had spare time. 2.Focussing on how to structure essay answers. The school just didn't put anywhere near enough emphasis on this crucial area. 3. Essay marking. A key aspect of A2 is exam practice. We paid Ian for essay marking which meant that Matt was effectively maximising his time with Ian. 4. Not accepting mediocrity. The school said that Matt should not retake his AS exams as he had a good B grade. Ian said he should retake as he could do better. 5. Providing positive encouragement. Matt has always lacked belief in himself and Ian gave Matt the confidence that he could achieve a good result.
We would strongly recommend Ian as an Economics tutor" Mr P - South Gloucestershire

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Personal Description:
I'm a native Portuguese speaker from Brazil with many years of experience in teaching, translating and interpreting offering professional Portuguese lessons.

If you want to learn Brazilian Portuguese for work, holiday, fun, university or other purposes I can help you to reach your goals learning in a quick and easy way. All levels and ages are welcome! I'm teaching in Liverpool L8 or online.

NOTE: At the moment I'm not teaching European Portuguese. The reason is that, after teaching this dialect for different levels of students, I now believe students should find a native teacher from the specific country they aim to visit/live. A Brazilian can teach the grammar and basics, but in terms of speaking practise there are too many limitations.

Teaching Experience:
• Teacher of Brazilian and European Portuguese in Liverpool (UK) - 2009-2022
• Portuguese Interpreter (UK) - 2012-2020

Tutoring Approach:
Private students:

- One-to-one Lessons
- Complete framework (conversation, listening, reading and writing)
- Free Book Material provided for the first 4 lessons, after that a book that adequate the student`s needs is recommended.
- Free exclusive material (verbs and grammar tables, exercises, videos, music)
- You will also learn more about Brazilian art and culture.
- I also offer a `Conversation Only Lesson` for advanced students, with many conversation games using every verb tense, grammar rules, expressions and slang.
- Special lessons for Spanish speakers who want to learn Portuguese quickly.

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Personal Description:
⭐ In a nutshell:

· Tutoring for more than 10 years, up to and including GCSE Maths & the Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics)
· MSc in Positive Psychology; tutored and mentored students from all backgrounds including shy/anxious/introverted/neurodiverse (feel free to ask me about this)
· Outside of tutoring I enjoy writing (I'm an author)

I believe in a well-rounded holistic education; I previously piloted an alternative to University called Thriva Programme.

Below you can find more information about my tutoring experience, approach, and what parents have said about my tutoring.

Teaching Experience:
Since 2010, I have been tutoring in the academic subjects Maths and the individual Sciences; Biology, Chemistry & Physics.

I have taught at both primary- and secondary-school levels, with my students ranging between the ages of 6 and 16.

I can also help with entrance examinations for secondary school (including verbal and non-verbal reasoning), and I have provided mentorship and coaching when it comes to UCAS application forms, personal statements and CV writing.

Whilst I enjoyed some of the subjects at school, certain subjects and topics (including Maths!) didn't come naturally to me. I achieved 7A*s and 5A*s at GCSE, and went on to study Biology, Chemistry & Maths at A-Level.

Tutoring Approach:
As I have already mentioned, I have a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology and my tutoring approach is a student-centred one. My experiences covers tutoring, mentoring and coaching and I use a combination of the three in my work.

I am yet to come across a student who doesn't possess the potential to improve. More often than not, it is the large class sizes at school, or a teacher whose approach isn't the right fit, which explains why a student doesn't understand a particular subject, or particular topics within that subject.

Through the 1-to-1 work I do with students, not only have I witnessed some remarkable grade improvements but also some amazing transformations in confidence. I strongly feel that the work I do is more than merely improving grades for exams.

⭐ My philosophy is that if you are struggling with a particular subject or topic, it's not your fault and there's nothing wrong with you. It simply means you've not been taught in a way that makes sense to you (or you've not been given the time and attention to be taught properly - in a big class and with the pressures of working through an extensive curriculum).

I'm based near Kingston and offer tutoring in-person and online (though I try to meet in-person first where possible, as this tends to work best for the tutoring relationship).

⭐ Please note: I currently tutor part-time and currently have limited spaces available, so you're encouraged to apply early before spaces fill up before the next academic year

~

Here are some of the references and messages I have received from parents thus far.

REFERENCES:

"Hi Jas - Alfie got 3 B's for each of his sciences! He only just missed an A for Chemistry. He is absolutely delighted despite school's wish for A's. Thank you for all your help - there is no doubt it made a huge difference to him. You were a total star to him - and the summer has been good to him - his confidence is finally starting to improve & I think it's a lot down to your encouragement and believing in him. We went away just after getting the results - my biggest apologies for being so slow to get news to you. Very best wishes, Kris"
- Kris (Head of Art Therapies, East London Foundation NHS Trust)

"Jas has tutored our daughter for the last few months in Chemistry, Biology and Physics at GCSE level. Jas was very reliable, committed and enthusiastic in his role and we feel our daughter greatly benefitted from his tutoring. He was always encouraging and recognising her needs were beyond the academic, spent time developing her confidence in the academic subjects he was teaching her as well as also encouraging her self-belief. He appeared sensitive to her needs and adapted the work accordingly. Jas also demonstrated great insight in what motivated our daughter and went out of his way to make every session engaging and enjoyable. Jas also developed a positive, professional relationship with both my husband and I, keeping us well informed about our daughter's progress and what support we could give her. I feel that this wider, more holistic approach, really helped our daughter feel better about herself, as well as develop a positive approach towards her exams which she has now entered with considerably more knowledge and confidence than had she not worked with him. I also recommended Jas to a friend who's son was also doing his GCSE's and she told me how pleased they were with the help he had been able to give to him. I would have no hesitation in recommending Jas to others who are looking for GCSE tutoring."
- Emma & Paul (Emma - Drama Therapist (HCPC Registered), Paul - Head of Maths Department, secondary school)

"Jas has helped Daniel enormously with his maths and science over the past few months in preparation for the upcoming GCSE's. He is a charming and good humored person who Daniel relates to quite well which made the two hours tuition every Saturday morning not such a chore! Both Daniel and I, as a parent, would certainly recommend Jas to any future students."
- Denise

"Jas tutored my son Nathan for his Chemistry and German GCSEs in 2013. I found him to be a reliable and conscientious young man and I was very happy with his services."
- Dame Sally Coates (Director of Academies South for United Learning)

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Personal Description:
I am a 38 year old native German, moved to Northumberland in 2012 to live here with my family and our little dachshund. After my A-Level (including German and English) I have made an apprenticeship as a Travel Agent, as travelling is one of my passions. The last 4 years before moving here I have been working as a Sales and Marketing Manager in the music industry, as music is another passion of mine. So when I moved here, I started giving guitar lessons and German lessons and I really enjoy both. I love to teach my language to people and have experience in teaching both children and adults.

Teaching Experience:
I am currently teaching private students one-to-one, beginning from 6 years up to 60 years old. Some of them are beginners, others prepare for their GCSE or A-Level. I have been assisting in schools from nursery to A-Level and know the curriculum.

Tutoring Approach:
My lessons are tailored to your needs and full of fun. I am very patient and encouraging as I know how hard the German language can appear. Everybody learns in a different way and I am very flexible to adjust to yours to support your progress and make you a confident German speaker. It doesn't matter if you are a beginner or if you are already learning German, I want to help you improving your skills easily.
Please note that my lessons are 45 minutes long.

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Personal Description:
I studied Fine Art at Canterbury College of Art in the 1980's. As an artist I work figuratively. Through drawing in either pencil, charcoal, ink or pen I take my work forward into 3D materials and use photography as a major influence to inform my structures. I love to work with natural forms and use printing processes including lino cut, drypoint and stencil.
I have lived and worked in Lewes for the past 25 years. We have a family home on the outskirts of the town where I also teach Privately - both individually and group classes.

Teaching Experience:
I have lived and worked in Lewes as an Art and Design teacher at the local Sixth Form College, teaching both Level 2 (GCSE and BTEC) and A Level students. I also teach Creative Printmaking Evening classes to adults at college. I have co-ordinated a variety of courses including 2nd year Fine Art A Level students.
I have a BA Hons in Fine Art and a PGCE in Teacher Training plus over 25 years of teaching experience. I consider myself to be a reliable member of any teaching team and enjoy the challenge of new course specifications.

Tutoring Approach:
I enjoy teaching in both groups and individually and aim to inspire my students. My intention in teaching is to share my skills and knowledge and to empower students to continue to develop their creative skills.

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Personal Description:
My passion for Art, Crafts and Design has been of paramount importance to me and sharing my knowledge and skills to all learners in these subjects.I have been drawing, painting and designing for over 40 years. I qualified as a Printed Textile Designer from Polytechnic of East London, on the BA Hons in Combined Studies Course.

From this I gained a valuable insight into the fashion and textiles industry, working with design studios. My love for creating designs continued on to the Masters Degree course at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, where I worked for Terence Conan Design Studios.

I developed an excellent rapport with artists and designers in the industry and decide, after several years of working for top high Street retailers as a fashion and textile designer, to build my own company up whilst teaching in Further Education. I became Head of the Fashion and Textiles Course in a top London college. Here all my students on the BTEC Diploma Level 3 and Level 4 courses gained work placements with Vivienne Westwood, Zandra Rhodes and many more. Many entered into their first choice Universities with my knowledge of putting their portfolios together and teaching life drawings to accompany their portfolios.

After having taught Fashion, Textiles and Art and Design for many years, I decided to challenge my other passion in Fitness. With my qualifications as Tutor and Assessor, I began delivering gym and personsal training courses to 16 to 18 year olds and 19 plus learners.

Currently, I am delivering mixed-media techniques to all age groups and organisations. I love what I do and love seeing my participants flourish.

Teaching Experience:
Art
Adults/Sixth Form/FE Colleges/Universities - one to one tutoring, group workshops.Portfolio preparation, drawing, painting, photography, sketchbook work

Design
Textiles, fashion design, illustration, visual communications, printmaking, art therapy with the use of colours

Crafts
3D construction with mixed media, tile design, ceramics, mosaics, jewellery design

Tutoring Approach:
Art,Design, Crafts...

All lessons will involve practical sessions, to include drawing techniques, perspective and visual skills, along with demonstrations handouts with overviews of the lesson and some homework for the next class (eg. Recording visual drawings, research and ideas in a sketchbook with specific tasks. Annotations will also be encouraged in sketchbook work.

Depending on age groups and examining boards, we will focus on how to achieve best results to prepare for exam situations, as well as for portfolio preparations and interviews.

Materials will be provided by the learner, however, I will be able to suggest what to purchase, and bring materials to experiement with if they are not readily available.

Most importantly, lessons will be tailored to your child's or your personal needs. Suggested visits to certain museums, events will be beneficial and discussed during the lessons, when appropriate. Contextual Studies will be looked at initially to have a better understanding of the subject or project devised.

Tutorial sessions will involve realistic scenarios, workbooks and guidance to achieve the level required to pass any exam or tests.

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Personal Description:
** Qualified teacher and examiner with years of experience. Proven exam results for SATs, GCSEs, A'levels and IB. 100% pass rate for the Eleven-Plus **

I graduated from Lancaster University with first class honours in English language and literature, I was also awarded the Pendle College prize for linguistics. I then went on to complete my PGCE at St Martin's College. I gained qualified teacher status at Clitheroe Royal Grammar School.

I have always had a passion for education and this has enabled me to inspire and motivate my students. I have achieved high results with pupils in previous years and most students progress an additional two grades after tuition. Some students achieve higher progression and have been known to gain three grades higher following tuition sessions.

I teach GCSE English language and literature, A'level English language and literature and the eleven-plus. I also have experience teaching a wide range of curriculum subjects with great success and results. In addition, I tutor students for the SATs exams and previous students have had excellent results, often the top of their year group.

I regularly help students prepare for entrance examinations and have 100% rate in this area. The schools I have previously helped pupils gain entry to are: Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School, Bury Grammar School, Manchester High School for girls and Bolton School. I am familiar with the CEM and GL Assessment specifications.

I am fortunate to teach students both in the UK and in many parts of the world. I currently teach students at the British School in Voorschoten (Netherlands) and at the British School in Shunyi (Beiijing) in addition to students based in the UK. Furthermore, I am able to offer a range of subjects to my students including: English, French, Classical Civilisation, Spanish and History.

Previously students that I have taught have gone on to Oxford and Cambridge in addition to Russell Group universities. I have also helped students prepare for the Oxbridge tests and the writing task on the BMAT exam (BioMedical Admissions Test).

I am a versatile, professional and friendly tutor who will work hard to help students achieve their full potential. I believe strongly that education changes lives.

I am currently a postgraduate student at the University of York (Mphil by distance).

Teaching Experience:
10 years working at secondary schools in Lancashire.
Over five years experience as a private tutor.

Tutoring Approach:
I am friendly, dedicated and enthusiastic in my approach to tutoring students. I work very hard to help students progress and think of the tutor-student relationship as a partnership whereby we work to further the students' goals.

I always go beyond the usual expectations of students, I aim to offer tuition support between sessions to help students progress.

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Personal Description:
Native Mandarin speaker born and raised in China, systematically educated to a high standard (graduated from primary, middle and high schools). Highly educated, successfully graduated with a couple of academic degrees from top British universities including Imperial College London. Currently working in banking in the city of London.

Teaching Experience:
Many years of one to one experiences with private school students from Tonbridge and Sevenoaks as well as younger kids and mature students.

Tutoring Approach:
I have had experience teaching children from a young age as well as mature students, therefore I am more than happy to customize teaching pace and technique according to the requirement of my students.

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Personal Description:
One of my ambitions in life is to be a mentor for people I meet. I am passionate about empowering people and giving them the tools to achieve their objectives. I enjoying helping people realise their potential and seeing people rewarded for their hard work. As an up-and-coming tutor, I want to relay a positive and committed attitude towards my students.

I have been studying Arabic by myself for two years and by studying by myself, I believe I have an advantage over native speakers as I understand the struggles of a new language learners but more importantly, how to help overcome these challenges. I have a wealth of resources and knowledge that I will give to my students to give them confidence in learning Arabic. Also, learning by myself for two years alongside working full time, this shows how committed I am as a person and how much Arabic is a passion for me.

I also would be happy to provide tuition in business studies. I work as a business consultant where I support large organisations in improving their business functions. Finally, I am open to consultation regarding personal statements for university applications and have been credited with aiding people with this in the past.

Teaching Experience:
Less than a year

Tutoring Approach:
My approach to tutoring is to have honest and open communication which can help build a trustworthy relationship between me and my student. This inevitably allows both of us to be comfortable in expressing ourselves. I hope to ensure that my students needs are being addressed and that we can clearly evidence this.

We would start with an initial assessment of the student ability and see whether they have done no Arabic or a little Arabic already. I would be open to using the students own resources and complement with my own.

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Personal Description:
I am Marcin Bernard, an artist and art educator who mainly specialises in painting and sculpting on wood and stone. I have been painting and sculpting since twelve years of age. I completed MFA in Fine Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk in Poland. I have currently moved back to the United Kingdom with my family and am loving in York.
I am passionate about creating art, and I would like to inspire and teach students to be creative and effective in art and use art skills in life.

I believe it is essential to impart the story of Art, its developments and its power over centuries till the present times. Art is still very much alive and able to revolutionise our culture that impacts our societies at a global level going beyond its aesthetic ability to communicate to the masses. I believe Art is taught better as a praxis where the practice and theory are equally essential to engage our students and better equip them to become artists with altruistic nature, identifying and developing their potential by providing them with guidance. I have also sought opportunities to employ innovative approaches to enhance the delivery of my art lessons capitalising on traditional and digital art techniques, technology and online platforms with significance.

Teaching Experience:
I genuinely enjoy working together with the students. When I conducted a stone carving workshop at NIE( National Institute of Education) in Singapore, where I taught students how to transfer 2D ideas to 3D but carving directly onto limestone, it can be an upheaval task for students but to scaffold them to visualise their plan, see through the process from beginning to the end, problem-solving, tweaking, translating the 2D idea into 3D effectively, seeing them succeed and execute, gave me the feeling of satisfaction and joy. I realise then this is what I want to do, to teach. It was very different from an artist satisfaction.

Tutoring Approach:
My approach is to find out the strength as interest of my students and to guide them to develop them and also to work ideas and think through their narratives and purpose of their work of art or art project. It can also be skill based if the child wants to develop skills, or to facilitate help towards their academic but as well discover the artistic talent in them while working towards their academic projects.

Every student is different and I would contribute by imparting skills such as observation, analytical cognitive processes, technical ability such as drawing, painting, sculpting. Also, to help students consider the story and the art-making that would best express and communicate the intended narrative. To gain knowledge about the medium through experimentation, execution considering composition, and art elements as simple as lines that are essential and part of the creative process in learning aesthetics by exposing the students to look at various art forms and observe our daily grind from everyday life. Enabling students to communicate, to articulate the value art can give and impact our society. I want to facilitate learning and journey with my students to become independent, comfortable and satisfied with the creative process of creating their artworks innovatively. Recently, I have been researching and exploring digital means and understanding what this means in today's world and culture.

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Personal Description:
Hi, I'm Max and I'm a current master's student at the University of Bristol, having just completed my undergraduate degree at Bangor University, achieving a 1st, with the additional awards, Best Dissertation and Best Overall Grades of my university cohort. I am a fun, enthusiastic, passionate young person, who is wanting to share their love of film, media and other screen studies. I am reliable, dependable and have good time management skills, and I will go above and beyond what is required for any position.

Teaching Experience:
Whilst I have no formal tutoring experience, I have a background in coaching and have also successfully aided colleagues in understanding complex theoretical concepts. I have an exemplary academic track record, ranging from where to source information to how to structure an essay to provide a successful outcome properly.

Tutoring Approach:
My teaching style is adaptable to the needs of the student. However, I aim to create a constructive forum, with informal discussion, to reignite a passion for film, media or other screen studies. Lessons may involve close analysis of a particular scene to understand the basic visual styles, helping the student understand specific terminology. Alternatively, it may look at the work of a director and discuss a collective aesthetic throughout their career. However, lesson structure would be dependent on the struggles of the student and where they are in their studies.

My sessions would focus on understanding form and other theoretical ideas as a platform to enhance analysis, further allowing the student-specific readings to provide evidence and new ideas to understand the subject. However, this will consistently implement a fun and exciting contemporary and popular screen culture analysis.

My expertise lies in film, focusing on forms such as mise-en-scene or editing and theoretical concepts such as auteur, feminist or star theory. However, I also strongly understand wider media and cultural studies. With my dissertation on Television authorship this is also something I am passionate about.

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Personal Description:
I'm Oliver - I have a passion for all things English and am looking for tutees happy to work over Zoom / Teams etc, either on weekday evenings or weekend mornings.

I hold a BA in English from The University of Liverpool and an MA also in English Literature.

Teaching Experience:
I have taught English for 9 years now across a number of schools in Merseyside and London. I currently work as a Lead Practitioner of English and Lead for Key Stage 4, though I have also previously led in my school on Key Stage 5 English Literature also.

I have also marked extensively at GCSE and A Level for the AQA exam board - so I know what students need to do to achieve marks - and have had a lot of success previously with predicting exam questions for GCSE Literature.

My particular specialisms are GCSE English Language, GCSE English Literature and A Level English Literature, particularly within the AQA specifications. I can be particularly of help also with the following set texts: Macbeth, Romeo
And Juliet, A Christmas Carol, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, An Inspector Calls, Power and Conflict Poetry.

Tutoring Approach:
I conduct tutoring sessions over zoom / teams etc. ideally in one or two hour slots so that progress can be made. To make the most of your time I like to get the tutee to do small bits of work in this time so that I can offer immediate feedback. I'm also happy to share all of my teaching resources to take away and work with

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