Tim is a great tutor. He gives not only guidance, but a lot of assurance and encouragement to Howard.
Mother of online English student
Tim's biography
Throughout academic study, Tim has continually set himself high expectations: he achieved nine A* grades at GCSE and completed the International Baccalaureate, enabling him to meet his offer to study English Literature at the University of Exeter. He fully applied himself at degree level, enjoying the diverse and challenging modules (including a year in Canada where he focused on North American literature), and he was very pleased to graduate with First-Class Honours. Shortly after graduation, Tim was accepted onto the widely respected Teach First Leadership Development Programme, and this teacher-training opportunity allowed him to share his enthusiasm for English in a challenging school. With invaluable experience and a PGCE in hand, Tim moved down to Sevenoaks School where he taught from Year 7 entry level up to Year 13 IB Higher Level. He then spent two terms teaching English at St John's School in Surrey before moving on to teach at Dulwich College in London for two years. Tim currently teaches at Colfe's School, where he oversees the KS3 English curriculum and runs the academic enrichment programme for more able students.
Tim’s teaching and tutoring style very much revolves around unlocking each student's potential; whilst Tim does indeed have high expectations of his tutees, he is very experienced at tailoring the pace and level of work to the needs and demands of the individual, and he has a proven track record of doing so. At Key Stage 3 level, his teaching centres on textual comprehension and appreciation, and as this moves into Key Stage 4 and IB/A level, he begins to encourage closer analysis through informed discussion. This pedagogical approach not only meets the requirements for examinations and summative assessments, but also encourages curiosity and self-confidence. Tim is also a fastidious marker, and ensures that every practice essay is comprehensively marked in time for the feedback session.
Through tutoring, Tim hopes to continue sharing his passion and his enjoyment for the subject, and looks forward to helping more young people achieve their objectives (assessed or otherwise). He is a keen reader (of course!), an amateur musician and enjoys city breaks.
IB Experience
Having done the International Baccalaureate himself, Tim is more than aware of the subject-specific challenges that this course presents, and this experience has enabled him to successfully lead a number of Higher and Standard Level classes through the syllabus. He has a broad knowledge of common texts that are chosen (along with some more niche ones that he has studied and taught), and partook in an intense training course led by a Chief Examiner in order to better understand the assessment rhetoric and course component break-down. He is an experienced marker of Paper 1 unseen commentaries, and is able to highlight and target the criteria that are not being met. He also believes that the course offers a hugely diverse and satisfying programme of study, and hopes to share such enthusiasm with students who are feeling under the conch.
Tim's availability
Contact Owl Tutors for availability.
School entrance experience
Tim has worked with children aiming to attend the following schools:
Tim has helped pupils to successfully prepare for entrance exams to high-achieving schools including Sevenoaks School and Dulwich College. He is also able to teach similar core skills to applicants for other schools.
Tim's qualifications
Tim qualified to teach English in 2015, and holds a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) from Sheffield Hallam University.
