Everything parents and students ask most often, in one place. If yours is not here, the form at the bottom reaches me directly.
Lessons and how they work
How do online lessons work?
Lessons run over Zoom using a shared digital whiteboard, so working through diagrams and essay plans feels the same as sitting side by side. You’ll get written notes after every session, and a question to attempt if you want one. Homework is encouraged rather than compulsory, and you can message me between lessons whenever something comes up.
What happens between lessons?
One piece of written work, usually a timed question. It comes back marked against the real mark scheme with a band and a specific instruction for the next attempt. The marking is the part that moves the grade, so the work matters more than the hour itself.
Fees, booking and extras
How does pricing and billing work?
A flat £80 per hour, whatever the level or board. There are no contracts but outside of exam period I work with students who commit to a minimum of 10 sessions. This is to ensure we’re both fully committed to a realistic and stable learning plan.
Lessons are billed monthly, or you can buy a block of hours up front at a discounted rate if you would rather pay in one go. University admissions support and school entrance preparation are quoted separately, since the scope varies a good deal between students.
Do you offer a trial lesson?
There’s no obligation to continue after the first lesson. It is a paid session, which allows us both to commit fully to making the most of the time together. An initial consultation call, however, is provided free of charge.
What if we need to cancel or reschedule a lesson?
With twenty-four hours’ notice or more, a lesson can be moved or cancelled free of charge. Inside twenty-four hours the lesson is charged, with one late change allowed per term without charge.
In practice I would far rather teach the lesson than charge for one that did not happen, so tell me as early as you can and I will look for another slot in the same week first. The policy exists so that time held for one student is not simply lost, not to catch anyone out.
Do you help with entrance exams and university applications?
Yes, alongside subject tuition. For school entry that means preparation for 11+ and 13+ style assessments and independent school entrance and scholarship papers, focused on the reasoning and written sections rather than drilling practice papers.
For university, that means personal statements, interview preparation, and the admissions tests used by Economics and PPE courses, including the TSA and the TMUA. These are quoted separately from hourly tuition.
When to start
When should we start?
Autumn of Year 13 is the most useful point, because there is still time to change how a student writes rather than just what they know. Year 12 works well too, particularly for students who found the jump from GCSE steeper than expected. Starting after the spring mocks is still worthwhile, but the plan becomes narrower and more about technique than coverage.
How early is too early to start?
Year 10 is rarely necessary unless something has gone wrong. The natural point is the autumn of Year 11, or straight after the mocks, when there is a real piece of evidence to work from.
My child is predicted a B. Is that worth tutoring?
That is the most common starting point, and usually the most improvable one. A student sitting on a B generally knows the material and is losing marks on technique, which is the part that responds fastest to one-to-one teaching. The harder cases are students who have genuine gaps in the content, and those take longer.
What if my child is behind, or has had a bad mock?
Then we start with evidence rather than guesswork. A short assessment finds exactly where the marks are going, and the plan is built around closing that specific gap instead of generic revision.
It is worth saying plainly that a disappointing mock is rarely a knowledge problem. More often the student knows the material and is writing answers that stop before the marks are earned, which is the fastest thing in the subject to fix.
Exam boards and qualifications
Which exam boards do you cover?
All of them: AQA, Edexcel A, Edexcel B, OCR, WJEC/Eduqas and CAIE, plus IB and SQA Higher and Advanced Higher. Note that Edexcel runs two separate Economics A-Levels, A and B, and they are examined slightly differently.
My child’s school does not teach Economics. Can they still take it?
Yes, as a private candidate at a registered exam centre. It takes some organising, mainly around entry deadlines, which fall a long way before the exams. If you are thinking about this, get in touch early rather than late.
Can you help with the Extended Essay in Economics?
Yes, within the same limits as the IA. Research question, structure, whether the data you have can actually answer the question you have set. Your school supervisor remains your supervisor, and the writing stays yours.
I am taking IB but my teacher is following a different order to the syllabus.
That is normal and not a problem. Lessons follow your class, not a fixed schedule of mine, so we work on what you are doing now and fill gaps as they appear.
Can you help with the assignment?
With choosing the topic, with whether your sources can actually support the argument you want to make, and with structure and technique. The work itself has to be yours, and your school will hold you to that. Choosing a workable topic early is where most of the value is anyway.
My school does not offer Higher Economics.
This is fairly common, since it is a small subject in Scotland. Sitting it outside school is possible but needs organising well in advance, particularly around finding a presenting centre. Get in touch early in the year rather than late.
I am doing Higher Economics and Higher Business. Is there overlap?
Some vocabulary, not much method. Business rewards applied description of how firms operate. Economics rewards a model, a diagram and a judgement. Students who write Economics answers in a Business style are the ones who find the grade lower than they expected, and it is usually an easy fix once it is named.
Home educating and studying abroad
Can you teach homeschooled students?
Yes. A full, structured Economics curriculum can be built around the same hourly rate, covering the whole syllabus rather than one-off topics. It needs more hours and a proper schedule than supporting a student who is already in a class, and we would map that out at the consultation.
We are not in the UK. Does the time difference work?
Often, yes. Everything is online and there are early and late slots. Tell me your time zone when you get in touch and I will say straight away whether I can cover it properly, rather than agreeing to a slot that will not hold up across a whole year.
Got an infrequently asked question?
Ask me anything that is not covered above. I reply the same day.