Eric Cooper

My name is Eric, I grew up in south Birmingham am I’m currently in my second year of study at the University of Bristol for a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. I would describe my tuition as easy going and friendly as I believe that creating a relaxed and open environment where students feel comfortable in their weaknesses and asking questions to rectify those weaknesses is the first step in progressing. I have a year of private tutor experience tutoring a couple of students throughout their final year of GCSEs mainly focusing on maths and sciences. One of these students in particular was my friends sister who wasn’t expected to pass. She saw herself as unintelligent and hopeless which I found bizarre. She was one of those people that have natural confidence and her humour was always witty and quick; she was clearly a very capable, intelligent person. Over half a year we did nearly weekly sessions in which we worked on exam questions primarily and dipped into content where necessary. Eventually she passed with a grade 6 in maths and 5-4 in science and had gained massive confidence in herself which was amazing to see and motivated me to continue tutoring. Not only in her but also in myself, I have seen the positive effects of focusing on building confidence in yourself first in order to progress in your studies. For this reason, my tuition is focused on securing the proficiencies and confidence that will enable you to go forward in your studies. I am well equipped to work with students of all ages as I am an FA qualified football referee and have worked with children and teenagers from the ages of 6-18. I know how to talk and engage with children and teenagers in a professional but approachable manor. Trust me, difficult maths is a walk in the park compared to refereeing a volatile and competitive cup final game.

Sessions are conducted over Microsoft teams which is free and only requires an email address to set up. The hour long standard session will generally run as followed:

1-5 mins: Catchup and discussion of focus points for session
5-15 mins: Introduction and foundations of topic for session
15-35 mins: Worked example questions (I will interactively work through the questions with you)
35-45 mins: Knowledge check, do you understand what we are working on?
45-55 mins: Repair work for misunderstood elements of topic
55-60 mins: Recommendations and providing resources for in depth independent work

For specific topics such as some of those in GCSE and A-Level physics, more content focused lessons may be more beneficial and therefore the structure above can be altered to focus more on explanation and discussion of key concepts in order to fully understand the content.

Session times are flexible in order to ensure a session can be arranged as often as necessary but typically fall in the afternoon or early evening outside of school/college hours. Weekend sessions can also be arranged if necessary.
Whether you're wanting to improve after unsatisfactory mock exams or just wanting to continue building your skills and confidence, I'm sure I can help.