Pontyclun Tutors and Pontyclun Tuition

Personal Description:
I was brought up in Cardiff and my claim to fame is attending the same school as Gareth Bale and Sam Warburton. I'm a Christian, married to Jifelane - the most wonderful woman in the world. She's from Mindanao in the Philippines and we met online! I'm a proud dad to two beautiful children, Isaac and Hannah. I'm much travelled, play guitar, write songs and enjoy carp fishing especially on a warm Spring or Summer day. I am also an author! I published my first book 'Moondust' in 2015 and have recently self published another two, available in the Blurb Bookstore.
As a person I am patient, reflective and believe strongly in integrity. I am compassionate and enjoy seeing the funny side of life - I attempt to bring these qualities to my work. I am a dedicated, adaptable and friendly practitioner who loves to bring out the best in children and others. I became a teacher because I wanted to make a difference. I saw that children were the hope for today and for the future and that schools were vital training grounds for life. Now as an experienced practitioner, I still have an infectious enthusiasm and passion to see children learn and reach their full potential.

Teaching Experience:
My professional experience is rooted in the breadth and depth of a teaching adventure which spans over twenty five years. Teaching mostly across Key Stage 2 (but also including KS1), it is entwined with close collaboration with colleagues from Reception through to Y6. I am keenly aware of the learning journey through the Primary School. Most of my teaching career has been in England and I have taught in a diverse range of schools. I am familiar with and use a range of teaching and learning strategies and believe that getting to know the child, coupled with quality assessment is the best way to help move them forward.
In recent years, I have been an integral part of two highly successful schools. My last school received an exceptional report from the most recent ISI inspection at the end of 2014. I quote:
'Staff are highly successful in shaping the educational programmes around the children's' interests and needs, providing a range of highly stimulating learning opportunities across all subjects through a creative curriculum that frequently takes learning outside.'

Tutoring Approach:
I endeavour to use a range of communication strategies which include listening, observing, questioning, explaining, modelling, storytelling and coaching. I have high expectations of myself as a tutor and high hopes and expectations of the learners in my care. I believe that effective teaching and learning comes from a being a reflective and critical practitioner, so whilst I will use tried and tested approaches initially, I will then adapt to suit the learning needs of the tutee. Assessment for learning methods such as strategic questioning, using success criteria and regular quality feedback are embedded into my teaching and learning ethos. As much as possible, I endeavour to make learning fun, stimulating and child centred, sensitive to individual needs. Developing close but respectful relationships with the students lays the foundation for being secure enough to take risks and improve their learning.

Subjects

Personal Description:
I am an experienced Teacher of Maths to A level, AAT, Tax, Financial Accounting, Management Accounting & Statistics.

My teaching experience ranges from 1-1 teaching, group teaching, teaching in state schools and private colleges, teaching for University Foundation Programs and delivering training at clients' premises.

I am enhanced DBS checked.

Teaching Experience:
Some of the schools/colleges I have taught are:

Loughborough College
Al Hikmah
East Kent College
Cambian Group
Royal Grammar School High Wycombe
Oaklands College St Albans
Nova Training College
Cherwell College Oxford
Cambridge Seminars
Emperia College Luton
Bell Cambridge
West London Vocational College (SAGE)
Milton Keynes College
EF Academy Oxford

Tutoring Approach:
Whichever way the student wishes the lessons to be conducted but personally I tend to focus on concepts.

Subjects

Personal Description:
I graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2010 with a first-class degree in Mathematics with honours, having previously achieved grade A in Maths, Further Maths and Physics at A level. Since graduating, I have worked full-time as a private maths tutor.

I've always enjoyed maths (even if I didn't always want to admit it!) and, even though I didn't expect it when I started, I have found that I very much enjoy working one-to-one with people to help them improve their maths skills. I aim to be patient and clear, and to create an atmosphere in which students feel completely comfortable stopping me, asking questions and even telling me when something I've said makes no sense whatsoever (which thankfully only happens occasionally!).

More than fifteen years of feedback from students and parents has reinforced how important those qualities are, although I'm aware that there is always room to improve.

Teaching Experience:
Since leaving university, I have worked with hundreds of students across a wide range of ages and ability levels. These have included primary school students, GCSE and A-level students, and adults studying for qualifications or simply looking to improve their maths.

Much of my work is now focused on GCSE and A-level Maths, and over the years I have taught students with very different starting points and objectives: from those who lack confidence with the fundamentals through to high-attaining students aiming for the top grades.

Alongside my teaching, I have spent many years developing an extensive collection of my own resources. These include carefully sequenced lesson questions, topic worksheets, exam-style and past-paper practice, and detailed worked solutions.

Tutoring Approach:
My approach to teaching centres around patience, clarity and adapting the lesson to the individual student. One of the main advantages of one-to-one tuition is that there is no need to move on simply because the rest of a class is ready to do so. If a student needs more time on a particular idea, we can spend that time; equally, if they have understood something quickly, we can move on to more challenging material.

Where possible, I like to work through topics in a carefully structured progression, beginning with the underlying ideas and building towards the more difficult and exam-style questions. The resources I have developed over the years are particularly helpful here, as I can choose questions of an appropriate level and gradually increase the difficulty as the student progresses. I don't feel there is much point in rushing through a topic for the sake of it, so I am always happy to take things as slowly as the student might want - going back over past topics/questions if that's what they feel would be most helpful.

I am also eager to push students if I feel they are capable of working at a higher level. Many students underestimate their own ability because the pace or style of their school lessons does not suit the way they learn, only to find that, once they begin one-to-one tuition, they are capable of much more than they had realised.

Finally, I strongly believe that the greatest progress usually comes when regular tuition is combined with some independent work between lessons - I am therefore happy to provide homework from my own resources.

Subjects

Personal Description:
I have a PhD in chemistry from a university in the United States. Personally I'm friendly and supportive and easy to get along with.

Teaching Experience:
I have been working as a private tutor for more than 15 years and during that time I have helped hundreds of students. Many of my students have gone on to study Medicine, Dentistry or other subjects at top universities in this country and abroad. I'm familiar with all of the different exam boards (AQA, OCR, EdExcel, IB, CIE).
Before becoming a tutor I had almost 18 years experience of teaching chemistry and biochemistry at university level.

Tutoring Approach:
Every student is unique. It is vital for students to have confidence in their ability. I try to help students to study in the most efficient way in order to achieve the best results and to realize their true potential. I use problem sets and questions from previous exams as much as possible. I have a range of textbooks and teaching resources that I can use. I am happy to have an initial informal meeting to discuss the students requirements before lessons begin. I am always happy to discuss a students progress with his/her parents.

Subjects

Personal Description:
AVAILABLE ONLY FOR ONLINE LESSONS
I am an enthusiastic native speaker Italian teacher qualified at the Italian Cultural Institute of London with a TIAFL (Teaching Italian as a Foreign Language) certificate. Furthermore, I have attained a Master's degree (Distinction) in Italian Literature at University of Bologna gaining an excellent command of the Italian language and a deep insight into the culture.

Teaching Experience:
During the intensive teacher training course TIAFL 'Teaching Italian as a Foreign language' at the Italian Cultural Institute in London I have taught to students of different levels including complete beginners and intermediate, planning innovative lessons and creating activities with authentic material.
I have been teaching Italian for 5 years and I am currently working with one-to-one tuitions with a more tailored approach adapted to the student's needs and expectations.

Tutoring Approach:
I love involving students into the 'Italian world': natural and artistic heritage, social customs and peculiarities.
In my professional experience as a teacher I have developed a communicative approach able to show short-term improvements in the students' speaking ability and competence.
My lessons are student-centred enabling the tutee to effectively practise the language in an active way.
The interest is stimulated through innovative and engaging activities such as games adapted to language learning as well as audio, video and visual material.
The grammar is instructed through an inductive approach to make the student able to understand the concept within a specific context, and pronunciation is facilitated with a focus on individual phonemes, stress and intonation.
This active and engaging approach is the perfect way to stimulate the students' interest and motivation in learning a new language.

Subjects

Personal Description:
Hi,
I have a Ph.D. in computer Science, which involved combining machine learning with cyber security. I also have bachelor's and masters degree in cyber security in computer science. I have taught programming language like python during my bachelor and masters program. In addition to that i have taught cryptography, cyber security and machine learning

Teaching Experience:
I have 15 years teaching experience teaching python programming languages to Adults, undergrads and master students. I have also taught data mining using Microsoft excel , and tool such as Weka, and Python .

Tutoring Approach:
One to One - focussing on parts of the curriculum where the student is having difficulty in understanding
Create a deep understanding and confidence in answering exam questions and being able to tackle new and unfamiliar problems. The student is encouraged to think and make new connections for themselves. One-to-one personal tuition has a unique value to students because of the ability to resolve the students' personal barriers to learning in a way that lays the foundations for a deep and lasting understanding of the subject.

Depending on the student's needs and learning style I encourage students to think for themselves, using real-world examples wherever possible. I start from topics the students are comfortable with and move gradually towards more complex areas as their confidence builds. I use questions and examples to check understanding continually. I don't lecture to students or ask them to memorise things. Nor do I do the students' homework for them!

With programming language my approach is first to build confidence of the student by implementing the solution using various simple approaches like an algorithm or with a flow chart and then convert them into programming syntax. This approach not only will help you master any programming language quickly but improve ones analytical skills as well.

Subjects

Personal Description:
My name is Amandine and I am studying a Master's degree in Education and English teaching in France while being abroad for a year. I graduated from Université de Bretagne Occidentale (Brittany) and Bangor University (Wales) with a BA in English Literature, Civilisation and Linguistics.

I work as a fully DBS checked French Language Assistant in a private boarding school. I am currently working with GCSE and A level students, of all abilities, on their speaking exams.

I offer regular online lessons to help you be more confident when speaking a second language. This includes working on French grammar, general conversation and pronunciation.

Please do not hesitate to contact me for any information.

Teaching Experience:
I recently passed the French competitive exam equivalent to the PGCE to be an English teacher in France.
I am currently teaching student as a language assistant and I help them with the IGCSE and A-Level.

Tutoring Approach:
I do believe in Tutoring as a way to provide some external help in the process of leaning languages.

Subjects

Personal Description:
A graduate of Cambridge University and a father of two children, I have been teaching Economics, Business and Mathematics in a secondary school.I have also been tutoring Economics and Mathematics and have a keen interest in how children have different methods of mastering subjects, using their own skills to progress, improve and attain examination goals.

Teaching Experience:
I have been teaching Economics, Business Studies and Mathematics for the past 6 years at an independent school where I was based in the Sixth Form department.

Tutoring Approach:
The key to success is to understand where the student is starting from. By cementing what they already know, I then encourage them to gradually extend their knowledge so that they feel themselves to be making progress and they are then inspired by their own confidence.

Subjects

Personal Description:
A teacher with a degree in Photographic arts. Passionate and knowledgeable about digital and analogue photography, with the ability to teach post-production editing in Photoshop. I also do photography for my own enjoyment, specifically looking at landscape and architectural photography. I have freelanced previously as a wedding photographer but that life was just not for me as I much prefer teaching the subject as a career! I am very friendly and supportive of all my tutees and their parents.

Teaching Experience:
I am currently teaching at a private school, teaching A-Level and GCSE Photography and KS3 Art. I have worked with AQA and Edexcel and I am up to date on my standardisation procedures for Edexcel examing board, most recently having been on a training course in November 2023. These training courses allow me to have the best idea on what work is going to get what grade! I have been consistently getting 100% A*-B grades from my A-level students over the past 5 years.

Tutoring Approach:
I would like to know the projects being carried out, what examining board is being used (not for university) and what the student would like to achieve by the end of their course and what methods of approach they are being taught at school, so that I can help support with that. There will be a lot of chances for open discussion on how to push projects further.

All my Tutees have achieved A*-B at Alevel with my support and Grade 8-9 at GCSE. To achieve these grades is to have support and passion from myself, as well as dedication from the student to do what it takes to achieve this.

KS3 Art tuition will be based off the current project the child is currently completing in order to given them further support in their project.

Subjects

Personal Description:
*Update March 2023, teaching online and in person drum lessons during all school holidays* £30/h


Hi, i'm Olie, I have studied drum kit grades and to university level at LCCM in London. I now teach mon - fri term time in schools in London and perform in bands and orchestras.

During holidays (half terms, Christmas, Easter and Summer), I am available for online and in person lessons.

I have loads of experience teaching kids and young adults, as well as older students.

My lessons are fun and tailored to the individual. If you have a specific song/technique you would like to study, or are just looking for a great way to let of some steam, get in touch!

I use Rockschool, Trinity Classical & Jazz and Trinity Rock & Pop and have passed students in all syllabuses.

I also have my own library of song charts for beginner to advanced players and am welcome to suggestions from you of what songs you would like to learn!

I look forward to hearing from you!

Teaching Experience:
My teaching has reading and listening at it's heart. The best thing I have done since coming to London is open my ears to all the styles I didn't like, listen over and over, until they started to grow on me! Music is a cultural and historical lesson as well, it's interesting to see where the popular styles of today came from! Reading will just make you more employable as all the session, musical theatre and holiday camp drummers will tell you! I use software such as Noteflight which allows me to playback scores, making sight reading an easier and more enjoyable process, and meaning I can share scores with students via email. Each student is also given a video recording of what we studied in the lesson, which is a very valuable resource, something they can take away from each lesson, and makes remembering what we learned much easier!

Tutoring Approach:
I come from a family where music is extremely important. At school, my first band was a rock covers band where my brother played bass. We played regularly in pubs in Dorset, (you may have heard of the Teddy Rocks festival, we played in the very first festival and have played with my band Last Resort ever since). My first teacher was keen for me to learn how to read music, meaning I could play in school orchestras for musicals. I have 2 Grade 8 distinctions, one from Rockshool and one from Trinity Guildhall, I did the rockschool one first and then thought it best to add the Trinity one! The rock band i was in still plays, we have an EP online and continue to write original music.
Having just finished uni, I am keen to start my musical career ASAP, I want to stay in London, because it has the best music scene in Europe!!

Subjects

Personal Description:
I have been passionate about maths since early childhood. I spent a decade as a fully qualified maths teacher, teaching GCSE maths and A-level (including further maths) to pupils from a wide variety of abilities, backgrounds and cultures. I semi-retired seven years ago and have since tutored a number of pupils for A-level and GCSE. I have a first class honours maths degree from Oxford University and teaching certificate in maths for secondary education.

I have availability 7:30pm Monday evenings, and will be fully retiring July 2027.

Teaching Experience:
After 20 years spent working in industry, I trained as a secondary school teacher (teaching years 7 to 11), and then spent nearly ten years teaching maths in a post-16 school in the Greenwich Borough. There I taught A-level (both maths and further maths) and also GCSE maths for pupils resitting. The pupils I taught were of a wide range of abilities, backgrounds and cultures. A large number of my GCSE resit pupils were successful in raising their grades to a C (or now a 4). Pupils were keen to be in my class.

I semi-retired around seven years ago and have done a fair amount of tutoring of A-level and GCSE maths pupils, from a fairly basic level up to A level further maths.

Tutoring Approach:
The only slot I have free at present is Monday at 7:30pm. I try to keep this list up-to-date. I will be retiring in July 2027, so it will not be possible to continue past that date.

I believe in a very individualised approach, concentrating on identifying and improving the areas a pupil struggles with. My experience in school has helped me learn a variety of methods for teaching particular topics, and which ones are most likely to be successful. Practice outside of lessons is key to success in maths, and tutoring needs to be in addition to full attendance and participation in school lessons, homework and additional sessions schools offer, and is absolutely not a replacement for these activities.

Since the pandemic started in 2020, all of my teaching has been online (via Teams). This has worked surprisingly well.

As it is slightly more difficult to explain things when you are not face-to-face, and also do not have travel time and costs, I usually go a little over the hour (75-90 minutes) but charge the normal rate for a one hour lesson.

For the protection of my elderly mother-in-law, I will need to continue with all lessons online (Teams) for the foreseeable future.

I am happy to tutor pupils as often or infrequently as desired, and do not charge for cancelled lessons (provided I am informed in sufficient time to avoid a wasted journey). Pupils are free to leave at any time if they feel they have achieved everything they set out to achieve, or that things are not working out.

The only slot I have free at present is Monday at 7:30pm. I try to keep this list up-to-date. I will be retiring in July 2027, so it will not be possible to continue past that date.

With the advent of the coronavirus, for the protection of my elderly mother-in-law, I am only teaching pupils via Teams. For the safeguarding of pupils under 18 a parent should be in attendance whether the lesson is online or face-to-face.

Subjects

Personal Description:
Hi, I'm Momoka from Hokkaido, Japan. I love traveling and have been to 31 countries. I'm also interested in learning languages. I can speak English fluently, make small conversation in Khmer (Cambodian language), read French (beginner level).

Teaching Experience:
I used to teach Japanese in Cambodia for one year. I used "みんなの日本語" and taught mainly N4/N5 level.
I passed the Japanese Language Teaching Competency Test and am a qualified teacher.

Tutoring Approach:
My lesson is flexible. (Reading, speaking, writing, Anime language, JLPT, etc…) Just let me know your goal and how you want to learn.

Subjects

Personal Description:
Bonjour ! 😀 I'm Jérôme from France 🇫🇷 , a very enthusiastic and passionate language tutor ✨. If you have always felt that French was a locked door 🚪, I can be the key to help you open it 🔑. Read more below ⬇️ to know about my experience, methodology and most importantly, how my lessons can help you! 😊

Teaching Experience:
👨‍🏫 Experience

I have been teaching French for 5 years in British schools (from level A0 to level C2) and also giving private lessons online for more than 2 years (general French, conversation, exams, etc.)

📜 Certifications

I have studied hard to obtain the Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE). For 4 years, I have learned how to teach French effectively and how to help each student to reach their potential.

Tutoring Approach:
🧭 Methodology

My approach is the following: teach pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar through engaging activities such as role-playing and discussions oriented to your areas of interest.

Our first lesson will start with a simple assessment of your skills and, depending on your level, I will design a specific learning plan in order to make you achieve your goals.

So, why should you choose me? 🤔

I have always been passionate with teaching and being able to teach my own language to enthusiastic and curious learners in and out of schools is one of the most rewarding activity to me ✨.

Whether you are:
- a complete beginner,
- a student with an intermediate or advanced level,
- a parent who wants their child to learn or improve their French,
- a person who has to take a French level test,
- a person who simply wants to learn French for any other personal or professional purposes,

✅ I am the tutor you are looking for.

Book the trial lesson and see by yourself.

I am looking forward to meeting you! ✨

Jérôme

Subjects

Personal Description:
Hi, my name is Tom. I'm a very experienced GCSE and A level maths tutor. Students and parents find me very effective. (Please see the testimonials on my profile page.) I teach through dialogue, the priority always being to allow the student to think aloud, and to choose which way to explore a problem.

I'm expert with online teaching software, including my own for teaching vectors.

I'm passionate about one-to-one teaching, which I've been doing full-time for 15 years. I very much look forward to working with you.

I'm available for a free meeting any time today, if you'd like to chat to find out more.

Best wishes

Tom

Teaching Experience:
I've taught privately over many years, and had extensive contracts for one-to-one work at many schools in Letchworth and, most recently, a 6th form college in Brighton (Kings).

I'm expert at using graphical software to teach online.

I'm experienced in teaching maths at all levels of primary and secondary schooling (UK Key Stages 1 to 5).

GCSE Maths and GCSE Additional Maths, A-level Maths and A-level Further Maths, including mechanics, decision maths, and statistics.

Recent experience with all exam boards: Edexcel, OCR and AQA. For A level, GCSE and IGCSE.

Tutoring Approach:
Students often struggle with maths at school because of misconceptions that are particular to them, and difficult to rectify in a whole class setting, and which lead to the student losing confidence. One-to-one tuition can be an excellent way to address these misconceptions. and enable the student to re-connect with their enjoyment of the subject.

As a psychology graduate (before studying maths at university level), I have a fascination with how students themselves will approach a maths problem, and I'm good at allowing them to explore and develop their own ideas. I find they almost always have energy and enthusiasm for, say, a ratio or algebra problem, if they are allowed to explore it with appropriate visual imagery.

Subjects

Personal Description:
I currently work as a Senior Global Project Manager for a clinical research company. Since graduating in 2015, I have worked in clinical research, progressing my career in Project Management.

Teaching Experience:
I have been tutoring since 2021 years from ages 6-16

Tutoring Approach:
My approach is flexible depending on the students needs. I would initially want to understand what areas the focus would be, where I would then plan lessons and ensure there is mutual understanding. I believe it is important to encourage the student with the belief that they can overcome what they feel like they dont understand and be successful

Subjects

Personal Description:
University of Cambridge Undergraduate. I achieved 9 A*`s at GCSE and A*A*A*A in my A-Levels.

As someone who has recently experienced what it is like doing the new style of GCSE`s and A-Levels, I understand and recognise what works best in order for students to excel beyond what they think might be their limits. Having achieved 9 A*`s at GCSE(6 "9`s" for GCSE and 3 "A*`s for IGCSE) and A*A*A*A at A-Level recently, I understand what approach works best in order for a student to excel and what the exam boards are looking for so that the pupil can achieve the best grades. I am able to teach a wide variety of exam boards.

My students feel that it is very easy to connect with how I teach and are not afraid to ask questions or approach my teaching in a fun and informal manner. I provide my students with resources that I myself used to achieve my grades, which allows them to truly know whether they have grasped a topic.

I am passionate about developing personalised learning experiences and effective tutoring techniques to increase academic achievement and encourage a love of learning.

Teaching Experience:
With over 3 years of extensive tutoring experience - having clocked in hundreds upon hundreds of hours - I have relished helping pupils sky-rocket their grades. During my time tutoring I have helped students of all ages - helping them with their 11+, GCSE's, A-Level's and University Admissions. Every single one of my students have achieved their desired grades that, in turn, have helped them get admission into their dream secondary school, dream sixth form, or dream university (with many students getting into Oxbridge and other Russell Group Universities). A significant percentage of those I tutor come to me for help in Economics, Maths, Politics and help in their University Applications (from help with their personal statements to Oxbridge support for their desired course).

Tutoring Approach:
In my tutoring sessions, I prioritise engaging and straightforward lessons that are academically stimulating without being overly complex. I foster an environment where students feel comfortable asking questions at any point, thereby maintaining a focused and confident learning space. Through active recall and spaced repetition techniques, I help students retain knowledge efficiently, while constantly assessing their understanding using a variety of resources including past papers and a personalised question bank.

I craft personalised learning plans, tailored to each student's abilities and the requirements of any exam board, filling knowledge gaps and building on existing understanding. Moreover, I keep parents informed about their child's progress and areas for development, fostering a collaborative approach to achieving academic success. My goal is to not only help students achieve their academic potential but to enjoy the learning process along the way.

Subjects

Personal Description:
I am an experienced software engineer in financial industry focusing on building low latency trading and risk applications. I have experience in programming in Java and Python and can well-versed in multiple programming languages like c++ and R. I also have experience in using RDBMS/SQL and nosql.

I am also capable in system design and architecture. I can share my best practice in building complicated applications and this can help on tackling coding assignments and final year projects. Also for data science programming in python and handling large volume of data becomes crucial and I am able to provide fruitful advices

Teaching Experience:
I have experience in teaching/mentoring university graduates and adults with interests in programming and data science topics.

Tutoring Approach:
Instead of having boring lectures, I will provide hands on sharing in programming thru:

1. pair programming
2. troubleshooting and debugging skills
3. understanding of data structures and algorithms for example time complexity and space complexity
4. performance tuning tips
5. career advice for high bar software engineer positions (e.g. investment banks or FAANG like tech firms)

Subjects

Personal Description:
I have a PhD in Probability Theory from the University of Warwick and am currently a research Data Scientist in the crop science sector and a supervisor and an affiliate lecturer at the University of Cambridge. My training is in theoretical mathematics but I love the applied side of maths and coding (modelling, data analysis, etc.).

Teaching Experience:
I have 20 years of experience teaching mathematics, from A-level students to postgraduates at UK's top universities (Cambridge, Oxford, Warwick,...). I have taught both in a private capacity as well as in a university setting (tutorials, Oxbridge style supervisions, drop-in sessions, workshops).

Tutoring Approach:
Lessons are tailored to the student's needs but the fundamental underlying principle is usually gaining some intuition for and understanding of the underlying theory before tackling practical problems. Demystifying a formula goes a long way to making one feel comfortable using it!

At a university/professional level my specialties are:
- Statistics
- Probability Theory
- Machine Learning/Data Science
- Scientific Computing (R/Python)

But do get in touch if you are interested in another area of maths!

Subjects