Dr Karen P.
Maths & Stats A level, GCSE, STEP, TMUA and University - highly experienced tutor
About
Following my BSc and PhD, I was a university lecturer and senior lecturer in the maths department at the University of Surrey for many years and since 2014 I have been private tutoring A level/GCSE, STEP, MAT, TMUA and University level Maths full time. I am a friendly, approachable tutor who allows tutees to feel comfortable and encourage them to ask anything that they do not understand. My aim is that they enjoy Maths and can apply and understand the subject with ease. I have tutored many A level and GCSE Tutees, from all examination boards and IB candidates and University students over the years in the UK and overseas. I love Maths, which I have since I was small, and I strongly believe that understanding how Maths works makes the subject more exciting and motivating. It also increases a Tutee’s ability to cope with the unexpected stretching questions on A level and University exam papers. I have had a great deal of success with my Tutees, including one who was told by their school that they were incapable of passing foundation Maths and who went on to A level Maths with me and then to get a First Class honours degree in Engineering. Many of my Tutees have successfully obtained Oxbridge offers and then secured their places.
I achieved a First Class honours degree (BSc) in Mathematics and Statistics followed by a PhD in Mathematical Statistics, both from the University of London. With my specialist Statistics knowledge I can help A level students do really well on their applied Statistics/Mechanics papers as well as the pure, which is an area they often struggle with. Due to my many years of university lecturing experience I have subsequently tutored many degree candidates from various universities in the UK. I have excellent references over the years from the parents and my tutees .
Subjects & pricing
Languages
- English Native
Qualifications
Higher education
- BSc Mathematics · University of London · First-class (1st) · 1986 University of London · First-class (1st) · 1986
- PhD Statistics · University of London · Pass · 1989 University of London · Pass · 1989
Reviews
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Reviews from First Tutors
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- imported from First Tutors
Joanne
Our daughter has not been seeing Karen for too long but already Karen knows what areas our daughter is struggling with and crucially how to fix them! Karen knows exactly what is required by the exam boards and lessons are tailored to fit the pupil. Our daughter finds Karen very easy to get on with and also feels confident when asking questions - something she does not feel with her teachers at school. We are really pleased to have found Karen and look forward to seeing our daughter's confidence grow. We would totally recommend Karen as a tutor.
Dr Karen P. replied
Thanks Joanne. It is a pleasure teaching your daughter and I look forward to watching her confidence grow further.
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Jonathan
Karen is lovely. Very supportive; very understanding to pupil’s specific needs and also (and crucially) an excellent teacher. Highly recommend.
Dr Karen P. replied
Thank you so much Jonathon. I look forward to many more lessons with you to help you achieve your goals!
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Olga
Karen was extremely helpful for my son, who is doing his A level maths. He struggles with some module and there for we contacted Karen. She was very efficient in identifying his week spots and approached things in a different manner, so that he understood the topic. Also she was excellent to dealing with our moody teenager, ignored all the nonsense and proved to be very motivating for him, which is always half a battle. Andrew now will have some lessons during summer holidays to make sure that his A level maths is up to the higher standard.
Dr Karen P. replied
Dear Olga, Thank you so much! I look forward to Andrew doing well next year in A levels! He has progressed really well! Karen
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Myriam
Fantastic, Flexible and super helpful. A real find!
Dr Karen P. replied
Thank you so much Miriam. Your daughter is a pleasure to teach.
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Andrew
superb knowledge of both subject and exam boards/papers and excellent teaching skills, its working very well for my son. Thanks Karen
Dr Karen P. replied
Thanks Andrew. It is a pleasure working with your son on both Maths and Further Maths A Level. He is progressing really well. Karen
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Sara
Karen has been very helpful in giving our daughter more confidence with her maths and hopefully this will help her with her A level
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edwina
My daughter has really improved after having 1 to 1 A level maths sessions with Karen, building confidence and being able to recognise which technique works best for her. The lessons are well balanced over the various topics and Karen picks up which areas need addressing and spends time working through examples. Karen is friendly and approachable - we hope to prove her school maths teachers wrong!!
Dr Karen P. replied
Thank you Edwina. She is certainly gaining confidence in her maths and she is doing really well. I’m sure she will do really well! She is great to teach!
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Vivien
Hi Karen Thank you for very good maths tuition and support during a BTEC Engineering course. You are very knowledgeable and explain the subject very well. My confidence has greatly improved.
Dr Karen P. replied
Thank you! You have really worked hard and have progressed very well. It has been great fun and a pleasure working with you. Karen
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Andy
I needed to find a maths tutor that could cover both Maths and Further Maths A levels and could fit my son in during the day. Karen was excellent - my son found her both to be knowledgeable and passionate about the subject and benefitted greatly from the sessions that he had with her.
Dr Karen P. replied
Thank you so much Andy. It was a pleasure teaching your son. May I wish him good luck in the future.
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Mohamed Hatem
My 2 daughters had the chance to meet Karen only 2 times, they both gave positive feedback about her teaching method, but unfortunately we were unable to continue lessons with her due to her limited availability and despite our agreement that she will be coming to us for the lessons however due to her illness she apologized after the first lesson.
Dr Karen P. replied
Thank you for your feedback. I very much enjoyed teaching your daughters, but as I made clear at the outset I normally teach at home as I have daughter at home and my husband works in London. I cannot teach away from home in the evenings, especially that far. On the First Tutors website it says that I do not travel more than 2 miles and you live much further than that as I found on the evening I came to your house. As I had been ill over Christmas and was still recovering i could not teach late in the evening at yours as the travel did not work. I offered weekends, but did not hear back from you. I hope that we can sort this. It was lovely teaching your daughters. If not I hope that you find another tutor that can work for you.
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Rigas
great teacher and has improved my daughter's confidence and good tuition.
Dr Karen P. replied
Thank you so much. It is a pleasure to teach her.
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Alison
Karen is gold dust! We left it rather late to engage a tutor as our daughter was about to take AS exams and felt hopelessly unprepared. Karen quickly found the gaps in Katie's knowledge. She recommended a new calculator to replace her ancient one. Two sessions have made an enormous difference. We'll definitely be continuing with Karen. Thank you!
Dr Karen P. replied
Thank you so much! It was a pleasure. Looking forward to future maths sessions! Karen
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David
Hi Karen, Thanks so much for restoring Ciaran's confidence in his A level Maths. Wish we had considered this additional support earlier but fingers crossed he will cross the line thanks to your professional support. regards david
Dr Karen P. replied
Thank you so much. Hope he does well. Best wishes Karen
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Flora
Very diligent. Good at explaining. Very approachable. Am enjoying the sessions and hope to continue.
Dr Karen P. replied
Thank you so much. Look forward to our future sessions. Karen
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Kirstie
Karen has been an enormous help to my daughter who is sitting her A level exams. Not only does she now understand subject areas that had previously been complex and difficult. Karen has given her a tremendous amount of confidence to take into the exams. She has squeezed my daughter in for extra sessions the night before each exam too. Thank you Karen.
Dr Karen P. replied
Thank you Kirstie. I'm so pleased she is doing well. Good luck to her! Karen
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Maria
I'm really impressed with Karen and wish I found her sooner !! I think her approach is just right and she seems to be helping my daughter regain her confidence . I would recommend this tutor to anyone seeking help
Dr Karen P. replied
Many thanks! Karen
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Philip
Thank you so much Karen! Really appreciate your help!
Dr Karen P. replied
Thank you.
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Chloe
Karen is a great tutor for my A Level Maths (Stats), she is really friendly, supportive and explains everything in a clear and simple way! I gain lots from every session and her knowledge means she can explain concepts easily and in the most beneficial way for me. Thank you
Dr Karen P. replied
Hi Chloe, Many thanks! It is a pleasure to teach you. Well done in your great C3 and C4 test results! Karen
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Marco
My 19 year old daughter both enjoyed and benefited from the few Maths lessons she had with Karen at her home. Our only criticism is that we did not consider the study environment to be as good as it could have been. I wish to caveat this by saying that this feedback comes about a year after the fact and the situation may now have improved. Thank you Karen for your work with Shannon and sorry we couldn't be 100% positive.
Dr Karen P. replied
I have refurbished the study completely since then, which is now greatly improved.
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Maka
my son found her to be friendly and very concise. she makes work very understandable, we are very pleased to found her.
Dr Karen P. replied
Many thanks. Karen