David Amarandi

My lessons are one hour long and carefully structured to give students both understanding and exam technique. At the end of each lesson, I ask the student to choose the topic they’d like to cover next time. This gives me time to revisit the material and prepare so that I can explain it in a way that feels clear and easy to follow.

We spend around 40–45 minutes going through that chosen topic, breaking it down step by step. I make sure the student can stop me at any point to ask questions, and I’ll happily re-explain things in different ways until it clicks. For the final 15–20 minutes, we focus on exam-style questions together. Sometimes I provide the questions, and other times the student brings ones they’ve found difficult in class. Working through these together helps them not only apply the knowledge but also see exactly how examiners award marks.

I emphasise how to read the mark scheme effectively — showing students what keywords and points they need to memorise to secure marks, even if they don’t fully understand the entire question. This way, they build confidence in their exam technique and know how to give the examiner what they’re looking for even when the questions seem ambiguous.