Tom B

My Passion & How I Inspire

My seven years teaching experience drives much of what I put into my tuition. Heres just a few fundamental principles of my practice:

High expectations. John Hattie carried out a 15-year study of what has the biggest effect on learning outcomes. High Expectations topped the list. I have high but realistic expectations of all I teach and tutor and this not only drives rapid progress, but increases student self-esteem and self-belief.

Everything is tailored and bespoke. The joy of working one-to-one is that all activities and resources can be at best hand-designed, at worst hand-picked, for the individual student.

Detailed, target-driven feedback plays a key role in my assessment and is key to drives the very best learning outcomes.

I pride myself in being approachable, flexible and caring: qualities vital to developing a strong rapport and a relationship where the tutee wants to work hard.

Regular and effective use of ICT. As well as my face-to-face tutoring, I can also set and mark tasks online, record video-casts, and provide links for further research. In my teaching career I played a central role in developing pupils computer and tablet literacy, and so embedded it within much of my practice.

Finally, the very best tutors also know that what you dont do is just as important as what you do. Students can only fill the space we give them. I strike the right balance between active input, and knowing when to do less to nurture the students independence.

My Experience

Since I began teaching in 2010, I have been a Head of Humanities and Head of RE in several different schools. I now work as a teacher of teachers by going into schools to deliver staff training and run workshops with pupils for their teachers to observe.

I began my teaching career at Yarlet Preparatory School as Head of Humanities and Teacher of Games and turned around a department in disarray after the sudden departure of a staff member. I created full schemes of work for all year groups and revolutionised the learning environment within the department. By the end of my two years, I had successfully put two classes through their Humanities Common Entrance exams (with scores surpassing all expectations), and successfully helped pupils achieve entrances to independent senior schools such as Rugby, Shrewsbury, and Repton. I also provided personal tutoring to a pupil who would accepted at Harrow, and another who would win an exhibition to Wycombe Abbey School for Girls.

I have also been Head of Religious Studies at the prestigious Channing School for Girls, Highgate. At Channing, I taught several subjects as well as RS History, Geography, English, Philosophy and Project Qualification. I was most proud of my GCSE RS class, where 91% of girls achieved A* or A. Impressive on its own, but the girls did it within one year, after school, and a year early. I was also chosen to be Co-ordinator for the More Able and Talented for two terms, to cover a colleague on maternity leave. In this role I developed much of what I know about stretching the very brightest pupils and ensuring all activities provide a strong academic challenge.

I now work as Lead Trainer at The Philosophy Man. I visit schools on a weekly basis to provide staff training on embedding Philosophy for Children within the curriculum. I am currently writing my first book on how to help pupils break their silence and find their voice within lessons.

Subjects That I Teach

  • English
  • English - GCSE
  • English - Common Entrance
  • Geography
  • Geography - GCSE
  • Geography - Common Entrance
  • History
  • History - GCSE
  • History - Common Entrance
  • Religious Studies
  • Religious Studies - GCSE
  • Religious Studies - Common Entrance

My Qualifications

Durham University

PGCE Religious Studies (Secondary)

BA Philosophy, Theology and History, 2:1,

Bishop Wordsworths School, Salisbury

A Level Religious Studies, A

A Level History, A

A Level English Literature, A

AS Level Geography, A

My Reviews

Thank you so much Tom. You have been a great help and I'm so grateful that you have carried on helping me with all my work despite being at the opposite side of the country. I hope you like your new school and wish you the best of luck there. Ps, you are the best teacher ever !!!

Tom was very kind and enthusiastic and she managed to gain an exhibition to Wycombe. I would have no hesitation in recommending him to other parents for tutoring.

Thanks for all you have done for Oliver. Without you he would not have had the chance to tackle 5 GCSEs.

Thanks again for all your help and support Tom. You have been fantastic with Amelia and we couldn't have picked a better tutor!

My Video Introduction

Fun fact

I recently delivered a Ted Talk at TedX Reading, composed entirely of questions!