Veronika S.

Hi, I'm Veronika 👋

I'm a mathematician and educator, and I've been helping learners with maths since 2006 through mastery of learning, revision, and confidence (yep, even confidence is something to master; it doesn't "just happen").

I have a maths degree, in-school work experience (including SEN), and an imaginary badge of honour for tutoring maths privately for more than 20 years and still having a blast while at it (guess I really found my calling). I've worked with learners at all sorts of abilities, ages, confidence levels, and learning needs — from secondary students and exam candidates to adults and university students. (Primary, too, but I do not focus on that level anymore.)

So, the above is the standard Beige Statement of Boring Facts that I feel I should include here as it's expected. But should your teen and I click well for ongoing maths support, you'd better not be interested in reading too many Beige Statements, because they don't reflect how I tutor.

So the bit I really want you to know is this:

I don't believe anyone is simply "bad at maths". And I also take a wild guess when I say that you don't believe that either. You are likely looking for tutor support because your teen needs help with confidence.

If I got that somewhat right, you're gonna wanna read further.

Sometimes the way maths has been taught just hasn't worked for that particular learner yet.

That's why I don't have one magic explanation that I throw at everyone. I want to understand where your learner is, what they already understand, where things went off the rails, and then find a way of explaining it that actually makes sense to them.

And yes, I genuinely think maths can be simple, fun and easy to learn. Even the dramatic bits. Equations. Functions. Trigonometry. All the triangle drama 😄

What can I help with? (Whether it’s small groups or 1-1.)

I specialise in secondary maths and beyond, including GCSE, iGCSE & A level maths as well as National 5, Higher & Advanced Higher Maths. I also have a great track record helping resit students to finally get to their desired pass or resit grade. So if that's what you need, you're in the right place.

For A level: Pure only, actually, as I simply don't enjoy Statistics and Mechanics, while some other tutors do, so I leave those modules to others.

For Scottish students: Maths, not Applications of Maths — not that I don't want to tutor Apps, but I simply haven’t had the pleasure of being asked to tutor it yet, so I prefer focusing on what I'm really great at, which is "just" Maths.

What we actually do in the lessons: Helping learners prepare for exams (of course) while actually understanding what they're doing rather than simply memorising procedures.

Spoiler alert: Sometimes memorising is needed, or might simply be a bit easier than deriving the whole formula... But understanding the principles and maths in general really helps a lot, so that's what we mostly do when we work together.

I also have experience supporting learners with SEN and different learning needs — I've worked in a secondary SEN school in London, where I received regular SEN training. But honestly, I don't remember that much of the training (is she for real...? 👀). Seriously, what I remember more is the actual work I’ve done and the support I've provided to learners over the years, mostly as a private tutor; that's where my SEN experience really comes from, because just like with maths, practice beats theory.

What else you may want to know about me:

It's not all about school. Home Education is my spirit animal. I guess... if types of education were animals.

And because of that, I work a lot with home educated learners as well — mostly those who want to prepare for any of the above-mentioned exams. The small groups I run during the day, along with the full video library of purpose-made study and revision resources, work really well for home ed students. Ask me for more details if you'd like to know more.

What is it like to learn with me?

Hopefully… a bit less like sitting through “maths time” and a bit more like having someone in your corner who happens to be very enthusiastic about maths. VERY enthusiastic 😁

I'm friendly, patient and probably far too excited when a learner has an "AHA!" moment 😄

My aim isn't simply to get you through the next worksheet or exam question. I want to help your learner understand the maths, build confidence, and gradually become more capable of tackling things independently.

If your young learner currently thinks maths is impossible, that's OK — we can start there.

If they're already confident but want to push further, that's OK too; I'm happy to push if they're happy to keep pulling.

And if you're a parent wondering whether your child is actually understanding the maths rather than just getting the answers right… that's something we can look at together. We're a united front: me as an educator, the young learner and their trusted adult, all working together.

If you'd like to see whether we're a good fit, get in touch and tell me a little about your learner and what you're hoping to achieve.

I’m always happy to have a chat about your teen's maths, the situation and needs, and find out whether we're the right maths match.