Rich G.

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I have over 20 years of experience as a qualified teacher of computer science. For 17 of those years, I was the head of the computer science department. I have 12 years of experience in the independent sector with IGCSE, GCSE, and A-level one-to-one teaching being the norm. I tutor many, many students privately online from all over the world and I am conversant with all the examination board specifications. I have 9 years of experience as a Head of Sixth Form responsible for pastoral care, academic achievement, and competitive university entrance, or industry placement, and naturally, bring this to the table when I am working with A-level students. I have a proven track record of students achieving outstanding results at both IGCSE, GCSE, and A-level, and all of my students meet or exceed their predictions. I have extensive experience teaching children of all abilities and I build rapport with students through developing mutual respect. I am particularly well suited to teaching children with special educational needs whether they are advanced beyond their current years and need to be taken further or whether for them they need a gentle soul to encourage them to reach their full potential. The needs of the individual being taught are always my first consideration and my teaching style is such that all students experience significantly accelerated learning in the subject. I provide detailed feedback on the progress made in lessons and I am always happy to discuss things in more detail. I go the extra mile and my passion and love of my subject area are both real and infectious.

I have also held positions on examination board consultative forums tasked with updating and formalising the modern computer science curriculum. This means that I am very aware of the requirements of the specifications as I helped to create them.

I can help with all IGCSE, GCSE and A-level exam board computer science theory papers. I work on both exam techniques to make the best of the time available and on theoretical knowledge. I help a student understand why a certain type of question is being asked and what weight in terms of marks that question will carry in the exam being sat. Understanding why something is being asked and the weight it carries in terms of grade boundaries is enormously helpful in motivating the student to push through the unknowns in learning and be confident in the topic areas being examined.

I can help with all IGCSE, GCSE and A-level exam board coursework. The product usually only carries a small portion of the marks and is typically only 20% of the available marks. I am an expert in software development documentation and I will enable a student to analyse, design, develop, implement and evaluate their project so that they are able to access the lion's share of the marks.

I can offer detailed tuition on programming. My style of tutoring covers the theoretical underpinning of computer science necessary to really understand what is happening when we are applying programming constructs to a development. A step by step of each of the main constructs used in programming is the normal route on this with small exercises being completed until confidence is gained. I can support learning already taking place in the classroom and supplement this with a deeper understanding. It is important to note that a true understanding of programming is language independent and once an understanding is in place different languages can be learned with relative ease. Most syllabuses allow the use of a range of languages to be used in projects and I can discuss with individuals what their preferences are dependent on what type of project they are undertaking.

I have extensive knowledge in Computer Science and Information Communication Technology. I spent many years on the UK OCR IT and Computing consultative forum board and took part in shaping and formalising all of the current OCR examination and coursework requirement offerings in this area. All UK exam boards follow similar learning topics in their subjects as the qualifications from all examining bodies are monitored and endorsed by Ofqual. I have taught across a wide range of examining bodies and whilst the topics remain similar there are occasional changes in the weighting of specific areas.

I am able to quickly adapt to other syllabuses so if you are outside of the UK and learning a different one be assured that I will be able to adapt my tutoring accordingly.

UCAS applications. Until recently I was a head of the sixth form in an independent co-ed day and boarding school. I have over 10 years of experience preparing students for competitive UK University entry. This may include getting to the root of the right course for the right person at the right institution through detailed consultation and analysis. I engage with the student on step-by-step personal statement development with detailed feedback through as many iterations as needed to make it a stand out piece of writing. The UCAS send button is not pressed until everything is in a concrete place. If required, this can then be followed by interview practice. Confidence, composure, and the ability to handle certain question types are all covered in detail and these can be recorded and analysed at further sessions.