History tutor & more · Godalming
Paul S.
History and politics tutor with over 10 years experience
Hourly rate
£70/hr
History tutor & more · Godalming
History and politics tutor with over 10 years experience
About
ABOUT ME
My name is Paul, and I am an experienced History and Politics tutor, academic and published writer with more than 10 years of tutoring success.
I completed my PhD in Modern History and Politics in 2017. I have since published two books, numerous peer-reviewed and currently have 169 academic citations. My first book, English Uprising, was selected as Book of the Day by The Guardian, while my second reflected seven years of archival research into British political history. My work has been featured across BBC, ITV and Sky News. I have even been interviewed by Piers Morgan!
I bring genuine academic expertise into my tutoring, helping students not only improve grades, but also develop intellectual confidence, analytical precision and a deeper understanding of the subjects they study.
TEACHING AND TUTORING EXPERIENCE
I have taught across the independent school, university and private tutoring sectors. I have been History Subject Lead at Chelsea Independent College and taught at Notting Hill and Ealing High School, as well as lecturing in History and Politics at Teesside University and University of Richmond.
Over the past decade, I have tutored more than 50 students across GCSE, iGCSE and A Level, covering OCR, AQA and Edexcel. For history, I have taught Britain from 1066 to Blair, Germany, Russia and the Soviet Union, the Cold War, America, Europe and the History of Medicine. I have taught UK Politics, UK Government, Political Ideologies, Politics of the USA and Global Politics.
Many students have made dramatic improvements in grades, essay writing, source analysis and exam confidence through highly focused and individualised support.
APPROACH TO TUTORING
My tutoring combines academic expertise with a highly structured and interactive teaching method. I work particularly well with ambitious students aiming for top grades and competitive university entry, but I am equally effective at supporting students who need help building confidence, structure and exam technique.
I specialise in online tutoring and use collaborative Google Docs, live essay construction and real-time feedback to make sessions engaging, demanding and highly productive. Rather than passive discussion, students actively develop arguments and writing skills throughout each lesson. This allows me to identify weaknesses immediately, model top-level analytical writing step-by-step and steadily build independence and confidence.
My sessions are energetic, discussion-driven and carefully tailored to each student’s strengths, goals and learning style.
Subjects & pricing
Group £100/hr ·£70/hr
Languages
- English Native
Qualifications
Higher education
- BA (Hons) Economics Certificate checked · Leeds Metropolitan University · 2:1 (Upper second) · 2011 Leeds Metropolitan University · 2:1 (Upper second) · 2011 Certificate checked
- MA Social Science Certificate checked · University of Tartu · 4.24/5 · 2013 University of Tartu · 4.24/5 · 2013 Certificate checked
- MA History Certificate checked · West Virginia University · 4.0/4.0 · 2013 West Virginia University · 4.0/4.0 · 2013 Certificate checked
- PhD History and Politics Certificate checked · Teesside University · Pass with minor corrections · 2017 Teesside University · Pass with minor corrections · 2017 Certificate checked
Reviews from Tutorperch
No Tutorperch reviews yet. Students can leave a verified review here after a lesson.
Reviews from First Tutors
Imported from Paul S.'s First Tutors profile before the site went dark. Shown separately from Tutorperch reviews — today they don't feed this tutor's Tutorperch rating or ranking.
How we verify these
Each imported review went through admin review. The tutor proved ownership of the First Tutors profile via one of two paths:
- Photo match. The First Tutors avatar matched the tutor's identity-verified Tutorperch photo, confirmed by admin.
- Cryptographic email check. The tutor uploaded an original First Tutors email (.eml). We verified the DKIM signature against First Tutors' signing keys and cross-checked the embedded tutor ID against the claimed profile.
The review text is the original reviewer's own words, quoted as-is. We verified the tutor's ownership of the profile, not the truth of what each individual reviewer wrote.
- Apr 2026 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Paul has been a fantastic tutor for my daughter’s A Level History. We came to Paul initially for support on the OCR Russia paper (Russia and it’s Rulers), and Paul quickly brought my daughter up to speed on the core content and ensured she understood how to answer the needs of this particular paper. He is now supporting Jessica on revision actoss all her papers. Paul has an engaging way of teaching, working collaboratively during the sessions and we highly recommend him.
- Dec 2025 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Paul has been excellent with assisting my daughter with her Politics A level work and we are seeing marked improvement in her essay scores
- Dec 2025 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Paul has been working with my daughter to teach her GCSE History from scratch. He is organised and well prepared and my daughter is engaged in the lessons and making excellent progress. Would absolutely recommend Paul for GCSE History tuition.
- Nov 2025 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
My daughter is really enjoying her A level history tutoring from Paul so far. He is very knowledgeable and makes the lessons accessible and interesting to her, pushing her on to get the best grades possible. Would highly recommend.
- Aug 2025 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Paul has been an excellent tutor for my daughter studying GCSE History. He has helped her to consolidate the course work and give her a greater understanding of the subject. He has made the 2 hour session interesting and she has not only enjoyed it but feels it has really helped her.
Paul S. replied
Thank you, Sara. Really pleased that my sessions have been helpful as well as enjoyable!
- Jul 2025 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Paul is an incredible tutor! Reliable, very knowledgeable and also excellent at understanding the child or student's needs. I would most definitely highly recommend him! I am grateful we have found him. Christelle
Paul S. replied
Thank you so much, Christelle! Very kind words and glad to have been able to help.
- Jun 2025 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Paul is organised, reliable and personable. In a relatively short space of time he has worked with our son covering the content that he needs to know for this years exams. Paul asks questions throughout his sessions and utilises shared docs which helps him monitor his students understanding. My son has gained much more confidence in the subject thanks to Paul.
Paul S. replied
Thank you for this kind feedback, Liz. I am delighted that I could be of help and made a positive impact.
- Jan 2025 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Paul has been fantastic with our daughter whom he is tutoring for year 12 History and Politics A levels. He is very engaging and has helped her to consolidate course content as well as dsicuss possible strategies for responding to questions. He has enabled her to broaden her perspective and brought politics to life. She is enjoying the subjects more now and has gained confidence in her own ability. Paul is always well prepared for the lessons and is very keen to ensure that what he delivers is helpful, asking for our thoughts and suggestions as we progress.
Paul S. replied
This is great to hear - thank you, Anna. I have enjoyed our sessions and look forward to continuing to help in preparation for A Levels!
- Jan 2025 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
My son has enjoyed the sessions he has had with Paul and has found them really beneficial in supporting his studies and has increased his overall confidence with the course content. Paul's knowledge of the necessary exam techniques and essay structuring skills has also been really helpful.
Paul S. replied
Thank you for this, Amanda. Best of luck in the future and really pleased I could help.
- Jan 2025 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Excellent tutor, my son has had sessions online and found extremely helpful for exam technique.
Paul S. replied
Thank you, Abby - very kind feedback. I am glad Jonah is finding our sessions helpful!
- Aug 2019 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Paul taught our daughter Maria (Year 9) for a few weeks before the summer break. With his support Maria made huge progress with History GCSE at school. Paul is very professional, kind, encouraging and truly dedicated to his students.
- Aug 2019 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
I would highly recommend Paul as a tutor . Without his help my son would have struggled through his revision for A level History . We found him professional , enthusiastic and flexible to my sons academic needs .
- Mar 2019 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Paul, was immensely helpful in tutoring my daughter, over the half term in History 'A' Level. He clearly knows a lot about his subject area and was dedicated to helping her with the areas she was struggling most with. Very quick response and we were able to rapidly organise tutoring sessions. Thank you!
- imported from First Tutors
Milica
- imported from First Tutors
Robert
Paul has been an excellent private tutor for our son, 21 years old, for Edexcel AS in History covering modern history on Germany and Fascism in Italy. Paul right away understood our needs - a number of potential tutors clearly had not read the briefing I gave perhaps just expecting to rely on their status and reputation (our son had excellent science based A levels but strangely required an AS pass in History or Social Studies to qualify for entry into the Danish university system). Despite a late start in early December 2017, Paul was able both to motivate our son and to plan an effective learning strategy which did not take too many hours out of the diary (our son was also doing a film making diploma at the same time) leading up to the exams in May 2018. Yesterday (16 August 2018) we found out that our son achieved a 'B' grade which is an excellent result bearing in mind the short period of time available. Very many thanks Paul.
Paul S. replied
Will was a pleasure to work with and I wish him the best of luck at university!
- imported from First Tutors
Diana
Paul helped my son catch up on History after he decided to change his A level mid term. Paul was extremely helpful and enthusiastic and after only a few sessions, my son was up and running!