Spencer

I am a 26-year-old University of Oxford Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) graduate who tutors A-Level Maths, Economics and Politics, alongside supporting students applying to Oxford and Cambridge.

I achieved 4 A*s at A-Level in Maths, Economics, History and Politics. I also achieved full marks on half of my A-Level Politics papers, in my A-Level History coursework, and in my EPQ on a topic combining politics and economics.

Once at Oxford, I was awarded a Crankstart Scholarship, which included a volunteering commitment. I chose to spend that time supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds with applications to Oxford and Cambridge.

Since then, I have supported 15 students who successfully gained admission to Oxford and Cambridge — something I am hugely proud of. That experience is what really gave me the tutoring bug.

I hold an Enhanced DBS certificate and am a member of The Tutors’ Association.

My Tutorials

My tutorials are built around the needs of each student, starting from whatever level they are currently working at and moving at a pace that suits them.

At the end of each lesson, my students receive a lesson pack containing the work we completed together, giving them a useful resource to revisit afterwards.

Real learning is active, not passive, and involves making plenty of mistakes along the way. I try to encourage students to be comfortable attempting difficult questions, explaining their thinking and getting things wrong as part of the process of building genuine understanding.

Maths and Economics

In Maths and Economics, I place a strong emphasis on genuine understanding rather than memorising methods or diagrams.

I break difficult ideas down from first principles and use diagrams, graphs, visual explanations and an interactive online whiteboard wherever possible. I often find that students become stuck because an earlier idea was never fully understood, so where necessary we go back and rebuild those foundations before moving forwards.

I regularly ask students to explain ideas and methods back to me in their own words. Being able to reproduce a method is useful; being able to explain why it works gives students much greater confidence when they encounter unfamiliar questions.

For A Level Maths, I personally teach Pure Maths, Probability and Statistics. For Mechanics, I work closely with my friend and fellow Oxford Economics graduate Hamza, who teaches that part of the course. We keep a shared record of each student’s progress and regularly discuss where they are doing well and where they may need more support, allowing students to receive coordinated support across the full A Level.

Politics and Economics

In my tutorials for essay-based subjects, I focus on the following three things:

1. Building up my students’ knowledge and understanding of the subject. Rather than simply memorising pages of notes, my students break topics down with me and explore the arguments, institutions, theories and political or economic developments behind them. I want them to understand why things happen, so that they can discuss them confidently rather than simply repeat learned material.

2. Teaching my students how to turn that knowledge into marks. We use past papers, mark schemes, specifications and examiner guidance to work out exactly what each exam board is looking for. I help students interpret questions, select the right material, structure essays, build clear arguments, use evidence effectively and reach convincing judgements.

3. Showing my students how to revise effectively. Politics and economics contain a huge amount of content, so revision needs to be active and well organised. I help students structure their knowledge, build a bank of useful examples and use active-recall techniques so that they can retrieve and apply what they have learnt under exam conditions.

For politics on the various exam boards I have listed - I teach the British and American Politics papers.

A Supportive Approach

Although I eventually made it to Oxford, I also know what it is like to struggle with education. I did not really connect with school until Sixth Form and needed additional support with my dyslexia. I also had to reapply to Oxford after narrowly missing out on a place on my first attempt, and ultimately entered Oxford as a mature student (21+) myself.

Because of that, I understand that academic progress is rarely straightforward. Some of my students are aiming for an A* or preparing for Oxford or Cambridge; others are trying to move up a grade, rebuild their confidence or get to grips with a subject they currently find difficult. I aim to meet students wherever they are in their academic journey and help them move forwards with confidence.

As well as working with students alongside their schooling, I have also had the pleasure of working with gap-year and mature students. Having taken a non-standard route to Oxford myself, I particularly enjoy supporting students whose academic journey does not fit the conventional school-to-university path.

I have supported applicants who, like me, were unsuccessful in their first Oxbridge application and then gained admission on a later attempt after working with me during a gap year. I have also worked with three mature-student applicants who successfully gained admission to the mature colleges of Oxford and Cambridge: Harris Manchester College, Hughes Hall and St Edmund’s College. One of these students gained admission to Oxford whilst completing an Access to Higher Education course, while another gained admission to Cambridge after applying from a war-torn country.