Maths Tuition

Barbara Pellegrino Maths Tuition

The importance of being able to think mathematically goes far beyond getting a good GCSE or A-level grade. Mathematics appears in many aspects of everyday life such as dealing with daily expenses, budgeting, tax payments, reading timetables, interpreting statistics, cooking following a recipe, understanding sale prices, problem solving, interpreting plans of buildings, etc. Yet many students struggle with school mathematics and struggle to see any point in it. Why?

The vast majority of schools in the UK group students into sets based on their mathematical ability. Setting often starts at a very early age during primary school years. Because of this, a slow start in primary school may then result into a child being stuck in lower ability sets all the way through GCSE with detrimental effects to the child’s confidence in their ability to think mathematically and their general attitude towards mathematics. But is the problem the child’s innate ability or is it that nobody has ever taught that child in a way that is right for them?

The reading I have done on education psychology as well as my experience teaching children of all abilities both suggests that ANY child’s mathematical ability can be developed and, often, struggling with school mathematics is a symptom of lacking confidence rather than lacking ability.

Because of class sizes, school teaching is adapted to suit the most rather than the individual needs of each student and school teachers can only dedicate one to five minutes of their time to any one child in any one hour.

When investing into Barbara Pellegrino Maths Tuition, you can expect teaching that is bespoke to your child and is adapted to accommodate for his/her individual strengths and weaknesses.  Progression to new topics is based on the student’s understanding rather than a school imposed timetable and teaching is centred around those key areas of maths that allow students to access the rest of the curriculum more easily.

My lessons are focussed on understanding rather than memorising to ensure long term learning. Students will learn to explain “why” as well as “how” which is key to deep mathematical understanding.

I help students become more confident mathematicians and to develop a more positive attitude towards the subject, which will help them in life after school as well as with their formal examinations.

Services

Whenever possible I will travel to the student’s house. If that’s not feasible you can sign up for online tuition. I will provide the resources needed for the lesson but I will expect students to have their own exercise book. After every session, you will receive a progress update.

Lessons are Monday to Friday at 4:00-5:00pm, 5:30-6:30pm or 7:00-8:00pm. Different times can be arranged for exam revision sessions.

-       Primary 1-2-1 tuition:

The first few years of maths education set the tone for the rest of a student’s mathematical career. This is the best time to get into good mathematical habits and develop solid foundations to build knowledge on in later years. Teaching is centred around calculations and spatial reasoning problems. There’s an emphasis on interpreting worded problems as this is a skill students will need later on.

-       KS3 and GCSE 1-2-1 tuition:

Secondary school can be a time when students fall out of love with mathematics. This is often because school maths becomes more abstract and more difficult to relate to. It is my goal to keep it as relevant as possible to real life situations to spike the student’s interest for the subject. Teaching is centred around areas of mathematics that are essential in order to access the full secondary curriculum (fractions, algebra, Pythagoras and trig, linear and quadratic graphs). Students are also able to ask about specific topics if they wish.

-       Alevel 1-2-1 tuition:

Teaching is centred around the students need and students are expected to input what they want to work on.

-       Online 1-2-1 tuition:

Students are invited to join an online conference with myself. I will share a whiteboard where both myself and the student can write. This service is more suited for GCSE and A-level students.

-       Exam revision in person or online:

If exams are coming up and you are looking for a crash course on a specific topic or on exam technique this is the service for you. The is no commitment to long term tuition and you can buy single sessions.

Prices