Private Maths tutoring in London and online
Whether it's 11+, Common Entrance, GCSE, A Level or something else — we can help you ace Maths!
Olaf — our featured Maths tutor in London
Olaf studied Mathematics at Cambridge University, and went on to do a Masters degree at Cambridge.
Since then he has been tutoring in a variety of contexts while pursuing a part-time PhD at Oxford University, where he has also been involved in teaching undergraduates and setting and marking exams. His research project uses supercomputers to create simulations of dark matter. Olaf has four degus (a type of rodent from South America) and is currently teaching them to play football.
Check out Olaf's article about exponential growth in our brochure!
Is Maths a useful subject to study?
There are so many reasons why studying Maths can be helpful!
1) Problem-Solving Skills: Maths teaches you how to analyze complex problems, break them down into smaller components, and develop systematic approaches to solving them. These problem-solving skills are valuable in many areas of life, including in fields beyond mathematics.
2) Career Opportunities: Many careers require a strong foundation in mathematics. Fields such as engineering, computer science, finance, economics, data science, and the physical sciences all heavily rely on mathematical concepts and skills - as do advancements in fields like artificial intelligence, cryptography, and telecommunications. Maths plays a fundamental role in scientific research and innovation, since new discoveries often rely heavily on mathematical theories and models.
3) Personal Finance: Basic Maths skills are essential for managing personal finances, budgeting, and making informed financial decisions.
4) Quantitative Literacy: In an increasingly data-driven world, being able to understand and interpret numerical information is crucial. This skill is important for making sense of news, studies, and reports.
5) Intellectual Development: Studying Maths enhances cognitive abilities, such as memory, attention to detail, and pattern recognition. It can also lead to an improved ability to think abstractly and creatively. Developing a strong foundation in mathematics can make it easier to learn and understand other subjects, as many disciplines incorporate mathematical concepts.
While some people may not pursue advanced mathematical studies in their careers, the skills and ways of thinking that mathematics fosters can be applicable and valuable in many aspects of life. Whether you're solving everyday problems or contributing to scientific breakthroughs, a solid understanding of Maths is essential.
How can a Maths tutor help?
Every situation is different and tailored to the individual student, but most Maths tutors will provide:
1. Assessment and Goal Setting: a Maths tutor will typically begin by assessing the student's current understanding of the subject and identifying their strengths and areas that need improvement. Based on this assessment, the tutor and student set specific learning goals for the session and the overall tutoring process.
2. Review and Clarification: the tutor can review previously covered Maths material to check whether the student has a solid foundation. They can clarify any doubts or misconceptions the student might have and address any questions that may have arisen since the last session.
3. New Concepts and Skills: the tutor can introduce new Maths concepts or skills according to the curriculum or the student's needs. They will explain these concepts step by step, breaking down complex ideas into simpler parts to aid comprehension.
4. Practice and Application: The student will be guided through practice problems related to the new concepts. The Maths tutor can provide guidance, offer tips, and demonstrate problem-solving techniques. The focus is on helping the student understand the underlying principles and apply them to different scenarios.
5. Feedback and Correction: As the student attempts problems, the Maths tutor will provide immediate feedback on their approach and solutions. They will correct mistakes and offer suggestions for improvement, fostering an iterative learning process.
6. Homework: if the student is able to find some time for independent study between sessions, a Maths tutor can assign relevant 'mini homeworks' or practice problems for the student to work on. This helps reinforce learning and ensures continuous progress. For those taking exams, the Maths tutor can set the student past papers to complete in their own time, and then use the following session to go through any areas where the student lost marks.
7. Progress Tracking: a Maths tutor can keep track of the student's progress over time, adjusting the lesson plans and strategies as needed to address any individual challenges or to accelerate learning. Inevitably this will be more effective than in a classroom environment, where a teacher's time and attention is split in so many different directions.
8. Motivation and Support: a private Maths tutor will provide motivation, encouragement, and emotional support to boost the student's confidence and enthusiasm for the subject. They help the student overcome any Maths-related anxieties.
A private one-to-one Maths lesson is tailored to the student's specific needs, ensuring focused learning, individualised attention, and continuous progress in mastering mathematical concepts and skills.
How do I find a Maths tutor?
There are two options: the first involves directly engaging a personal Maths tutor (without an agency). Typically, this approach tends to be the most cost-effective, and potential tutors can be located through a Google search or via recommendations from acquaintances.
Nevertheless, opting for a tutoring agency to connect you with a Maths tutor has numerous advantages:
1) Tutoring agencies have an intimate knowledge of their tutors, enabling them to pair you (or your child) with a Maths tutor whose personality and teaching style align best. Given that each student has their own unique learning style, this alignment is crucial.
2) Agencies meticulously assess their tutors. This involves confirming their identity, verifying their qualifications to substantiate claimed achievements, and scrutinizing their DBS certificates to ensure a clean record for working with students. Additionally, agencies collect references from parents or students. Some agencies, like Titanium Tutors, even conduct interviews with their tutors, which may entail observing them in a Maths lesson.
3) Agencies provide ongoing assistance. They will arrange periodic lesson/progress reports from your Maths tutor. A responsive contact is available to address any concerns you might have, and if your Maths tutor becomes unavailable (even temporarily), the agency can organise a replacement.
What Maths tutors are available at Titanium Tutors?
We provide comprehensive Maths tutoring services catering to a wide range of proficiency levels. Our offerings span from young learners, including those preparing for exams like 7+, 11+, 13+, Scholarship, and more, to older learners tackling GCSE, IGCSE, A Level, IB, Pre-U, Oxbridge entry, and even to adult learners pursuing undergraduate or Masters courses, or simply learning for personal enrichment.
Our team of qualified Maths tutors undergoes a meticulous selection process overseen by educational experts. This process involves the careful selection of tutors who demonstrate exceptional teaching capabilities and experience. Many of our tutor assessors hold PGCE qualifications and have a proven track record of success, making them well-equipped to assess the quality of newly joining tutors.
For those who prefer to keep costs down, we offer undergraduate tutors who are currently pursuing Maths studies at esteemed universities. These tutors possess outstanding academic records and a contagious passion for the subject, making them excellent learning companions.
If you have a more flexible budget, our roster includes highly experienced graduates with extensive tutoring backgrounds, often totaling hundreds or even thousands of hours. Our top-tier Maths tutors bring a blend of qualifications, such as PGCE certifications, PhDs, experience in Maths school teaching, leadership experience as Head of Department, or experience as Maths examiners.
What does a Maths tutor cost?
The cost of hiring a Maths tutor will be affected by the tutor's credentials and their accumulated hours of private tutoring or classroom teaching experience. Undergraduates who are currently pursuing a degree in Mathematics will typically fall within the more affordable range, whereas those possessing a PGCE, prior teaching experience in schools, or experience working for Maths exam boards, will command higher fees.
At Titanium Tutors we provide a wide range of Maths tutoring rates tailored to accommodate different budgets - check out our prices here.
Shapes and Patterns
by Olaf
Maths is the study of patterns. For example, which shaped tiles can completely cover a flat surface? Squares work and so do regular hexagons (think of a honeycomb). But try with regular pentagons and there will always be gaps. What is it that lets some of these shapes fit neatly and some not? This is the kind of question Maths sets out to answer.
Breaking patterns
Once you’ve spotted a pattern, you can start to ask what changes you can make without disrupting it.
My grid of squares will still work if I make all the squares twice as big.
Or I can take the whole thing and ‘squash’ it, turning the squares into rectangles.
But change the number of sides — from square to pentagon — and the pattern is broken.
Working out which things can be changed and which can’t for a pattern which we’re studying is very useful, because it lets us know what things we can simplify to make our problem easier.
Keeping it simple
This is one of the most important skills I teach my students, and it starts with a question: "How could I make this problem simpler?". As an example let's think about another pattern — the relationship between speed, distance and time.
Imagine a rocket travelling at 5,218 miles per hour. How long will it take to travel 897 miles? Unfortunately I've forgotten what sum I need to do! Do I need to multiply the two numbers? Divide? How can I remind myself?
Well, how could we make this question simpler? We could replace the numbers with smaller ones: say it's travelling at 2mph and has to go 6 miles. How long does it take? Now the answer's so easy we hardly have to think — it takes 3 hours. And how did we get that? 6 / 2 of course. So, returning to our first problem, we do the exact same sum with the original numbers: 897 / 5,218, which gives us our answer: 0.17 hours (or about 10 minutes).
The point is that the big numbers made the question harder. But the pattern — the relationship between speed, distance and time — doesn't care about the numbers, just like our pattern of squares doesn't care about their size. So, if we can solve it for easy numbers, we can apply the same method to any numbers we like. This can apply to algebra questions too: if the speed is x+y and the distance is 4x, what sum do we do? Exactly the same as we used for the simple numbers! This skill — spotting which parts of the pattern are crucial and which can safely be simplified to help us work out our solution — can really be key to tackling tricky Maths problems at every level from primary school right up through to university.
Afraid of Algebra? Confused by Calculus? Troubled by Trigonometry? Let us find you a Maths tutor to inspire you and get you back on track! Contact us today.