Sean N

My Passion & How I Inspire

I will help your student take his or her skills to the next level, achieve exam success, and truly fulfil his or her potential. I can tutor in person or online, and I pride myself on my ability to discover what each student truly needs in order to reach their goals. I also understand firsthand what it means to want your child to have every chance to succeed, as my wife and I are fortunate to be the parents of a wonderful daughter.

My background as a classical musician has helped me become a good listener, collaborator, and communicator, skills which I apply in my tutoring. Furthermore, it has given me insights on how to focus my mind and hone a craft in a disciplined way over time - insights I am always working to convey to my students. My diversity of life experience also helps me to connect with all kinds of people; I have lived in a variety of interesting places, from Los Angeles to Paris to Boston and beyond!

I am very focused on assessing the needs and goals of each individual student, as well as on inspiring students to be lifelong learners; I want each student to feel the same joy of new knowledge and skills that I feel. I like to think of my approach as balancing friendliness with honesty and realism - being both encouraging and direct. I am constantly evaluating myself to assure that I am effectively communicating concepts and skills to the student.

My Experience

I have tutored over 70 students for over 1000 hours of tuition.

At the 11+ level, I have worked with students preparing for entrance exams for a variety of competitive schools, including Godolphin & Latymer, St. Paul’s, Eton, Harrow, Radley, and Stowe.

At GCSE level in English and Maths, I have worked with students preparing for Edexcel, AQA, and OCR exam boards.

Selected Case Studies:

Eva, SAT preparation, English and Maths (30 hrs): intensive subject matter review and test strategy improvement - Eva's score improved by 130 points in the test following our work.

Misha, SAT preparation, English and Maths (40 hrs): addressed test techniques, knowledge gaps, and motivation; Misha improved his score overall by 140 points.

Joseph, 11+ preparation: long-term work to build fundamental mathematical understanding, ability to decode questions, and test-taking techniques.

Borja, 11+ preparation: 2-week half-term course in 11+ English and Verbal Reasoning, focusing on exam strategies, grammar elements, verbal reasoning problem techniques, and reading comprehension approaches (results TBD).

Eze, 11+ preparation: recent arrival in the UK from Spain, intensive work in English and Maths to prepare for UK-style entrance exams - work ended when he returned to Spain.

Zain, ISEE preparation: helped him improve his score and gain admission to the Kent School.

Oscar, English GCSE preparation: helped Oscar improve in English Language from a 3 on his mock paper to a 6 on actual GCSE, and from 1 on mock to 5 on actual English Literature.

Damien, Maths GCSE preparation: Damien was advised by his school to sit the Foundation paper, but with my tutoring, instead pursued the Higher paper, achieved a result of 6.

Anya, Maths GCSE preparation: Anya had failed the Maths GCSE 3 times before beginning work with me; with my tutoring, she successfully passed her next resit.

Milla, KS3 Maths: helped Milla turn Maths from an area of concern into her strongest subject, achieving higher marks at school.

Subjects That I Teach

  • ACT
  • ACT - A-Level
  • ACT - GCSE
  • ACT - SAT
  • ACT - 11+
  • English
  • English - A-Level
  • English - GCSE
  • English - SAT
  • English - 11+

My Qualifications

2003-2005 - Cleveland Institute of Music (OH, USA): M.M., orchestral conducting

3.98 GPA (out of 4.0 possible)

1998-2003 - University of Rochester (NY, USA): B.A., music

3.97 GPA (out of 4.0 possible), summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa

Senior Scholar in composition

Take Five Scholar (special program allowing a tuition-free 5th year of study)

Semester abroad in Paris, 2002: modules at the Sorbonne, École Normale Alfred Cortot, Conservatoire Chopin, and IES Centre

1994-1998 - South Burlington High School (VT, USA)

Co-Valedictorian, Class of 1998; 4.0 GPA; National Merit Scholar

Score of 1600 (highest possible) on the SAT (university aptitude exam)

Studies in Literature Award & Middlebury College Book Award

Score of 5 (highest possible) on the Advanced Placement English Exam

Advanced Placement Scholar with Distinction

My Video Introduction

Fun fact

I once stepped in to conduct the Boston Symphony Orchestra in performance on only two hours’ notice!