AQA/Edexcel Examiner | UCL | Ernst & Young (EY) Consultant | 5 years tutoring - Geography A* GCSE /A* A-Level (7 HL IB)

Find out more about John

• 1. When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  I started tutoring at 15, teaching English at a school in China. It was an incredible experience, and honestly one that shaped everything that followed. Seeing students grow in confidence, watching something land for the first time, that was what hooked me.
  
  What I understood early on is that tutoring isn't just about the subject. The relationship matters more than most people admit. Being someone a student can rely on, a consistent presence that believes in them, is often what makes the difference between a student who progresses and one who doesn't.
  
  The moment that stays with me most is taking a student from Year 6 all the way through to Cambridge University. That kind of outcome doesn't happen through lessons alone. It happens because the student trusted the process, and trusted me. That's what I'm trying to build in every tutoring relationship I take on.

• 2. Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and those you like a little less).

  Geography sits at the intersection of the physical world and human behaviour, which makes it endlessly interesting. I love teaching development, globalisation, and resource management because they connect directly to things students can see happening around them. Economic Geography is where I'm most at home. If I'm honest, some of the more mechanical physical Geography topics, drainage basin hydrology for instance, require more effort to make engaging, though over the past 8 years I've found ways to do it.
  
  With Economics, I enjoy behavioural economics and anything that challenges the assumption of the rational agent. Students often come in expecting dry theory and leave genuinely surprised by how much it explains everyday decisions. The topics I find less compelling are the more formulaic calculation-heavy sections, but as a Pearson Edexcel examiner I know exactly what the mark schemes are looking for, which at least makes them very teachable.
  
  Psychology I teach because it connects everything. Once a student understands how people think and why they behave the way they do, it changes how they approach every other subject.

• 3. Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  There was a Geography teacher at school who refused to teach to the textbook. He'd bring in news articles, challenge us to argue both sides of a development issue, and treat us like we were capable of real analysis. That approach stuck with me. I try to do the same thing now, particularly with older students. The exam matters, but my bigger goal is making the subject feel less like a chore and more like something useful. Understanding the world through Geography or Economics doesn't stop being relevant after the exam. I want students to leave sessions with something they'll actually carry with them.

• 4. What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  Patience, obviously. But more than that, the ability to listen before you explain. A lot of tutors jump straight into teaching when the real issue is that the student hasn't told you where they're actually stuck.
  
  Beyond that: subject knowledge, the ability to adapt your style to the person in front of you, and honesty. I won't tell a student their work is better than it is. That doesn't help anyone.
  
  But the quality I value most is connection. If a student feels comfortable, they ask more questions. If they ask more questions, they grow faster. I want every student to feel they can ask me anything, no matter how basic it seems. That openness doesn't happen by accident. It comes from genuinely caring about the person, not just the results. I want every student I work with to feel that I'm truly invested in them, because I am.

• 5. Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  My first proper teaching job was as head tutor at a school in China. I was working with students whose English was limited, teaching subjects that are heavily language-dependent. It forced me to strip everything back, to find the core logic of a concept and present it without relying on words doing the heavy lifting. That experience changed how I teach. I now think in terms of structure first, language second. It's made me a clearer communicator in every setting since.

• 6. What difficulties or challenges have you faced in your subject?

  Geography suffers from a perception problem. Students often arrive thinking it's about colouring maps. Getting past that in the first session is always the first challenge. Once they realise it's actually about power, resources, migration, and climate, the attitude shifts.
  
  In Economics, the challenge is students who've memorised definitions but can't apply them. Exam boards, and I say this as an examiner, reward application above recall. Closing that gap is where most of my work with Economics students happens.

• 7. Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  It's the moment a student stops being passive. There's a specific point in a session where they stop waiting for you to give them the answer and start working it out themselves. That's what I'm always building towards. Subject-wise, I'm most passionate about the overlap between Economics and human Geography, how capital flows, how cities develop, why some places grow and others don't. Outside of tutoring, I work as a consultant at EY, which keeps me grounded in how these ideas play out in the real world.

• 8. What makes you a Superprof?

  I've been tutoring since I was 15, I've taken students to Cambridge, and I treat every student like they could be next.
  
  I started tutoring at 15, teaching English to students in China. That wasn't a gap year project or a side hobby. It was my first real look at what good teaching actually requires, and I've been refining that ever since.
  
  Since then: a BSc from UCL, an exchange year at Yale-NUS in Singapore, a role as Pearson Edexcel examiner across live mark schemes, and a career as a consultant at EY. I don't just know the syllabus. I know how it's marked, why certain answers score and others don't, and how the concepts students are studying connect to the real world outside the exam hall.
  
  But credentials aren't what make a great tutor. Plenty of people have good degrees.
  
  What I bring that's harder to find is genuine investment. I've taken students from Year 6 to Cambridge. That kind of outcome takes years, consistency, and a relationship built on trust. I want every student I work with to feel they can ask me anything, that no question is too basic, and that I'm fully in their corner, not just for the next exam but for wherever they're heading.
  
  I teach Geography, Economics, Psychology, and several other subjects. The thread running through all of it is the same: I want students to leave not just with better grades, but with a way of thinking they'll use long after the results come in.