A-Level & GCSE Chemistry & Maths Tuition
- Ten years teaching
- A-Level examiner
- MSc (Hons), Imperial
- Enhanced DBS
Ten years teaching A-Level Chemistry full-time. Over a decade tutoring Maths and Chemistry one-to-one.
I teach A-Level Chemistry full-time at one of London’s top-performing sixth-form colleges, and I tutor Maths and Chemistry one-to-one alongside it. Whether your child is aiming for a secure pass or an A*, we begin in the same way: by establishing what is holding them back.
Students come to me for a variety of reasons. Some have understood a topic in class but cannot reproduce it under examination conditions. Others are working hard without seeing the grade move. Many arrive from GCSE with a grade 7 or 8 and find that A-Level asks something different of them. Some have simply lost confidence in a subject they once enjoyed. Each of these is common, and each can be addressed.
What follows is planned around what that first look finds. Where the foundations are unsteady we rebuild them before moving on, since a gap left in place resurfaces in every topic that depends on it. Where the understanding is sound but the marks are not following, the work turns to how answers are structured and what each command word is asking for. Progress is reviewed as we go.
The best place to begin is a free 15-minute call. Tell me where your child is at present and what has been difficult, and I’ll talk you through how I would approach it. No obligation, and nothing to prepare beforehand.
01 · Background
Qualifications and teaching experience
I know the specification inside out
I teach the full A-Level Chemistry specification every year, day in and day out, at one of London’s top-performing sixth-form colleges. I know each part of it in detail: which questions recur, how they are worded, and the precise points where students lose marks. I mark hundreds of papers a year against the published mark schemes and read the examiners’ reports as they are released, so what I teach reflects how the specification is actually assessed rather than how it reads on the page.
Trained as a teacher
PGCE with QTS, UCL Institute of Education. Barriers to learning differ from one student to the next, so I use several different ways of explaining the same idea until one of them works. Equilibria and organic mechanisms can be made accessible to any student, whatever their starting point.
Beyond the syllabus
MSc (Hons) in Chemistry, Imperial College London. I studied the subject well beyond the point an A-Level course reaches. That means when a student asks why something behaves as it does, there is a proper explanation available rather than an instruction to move on.
Classroom and one-to-one
Chemistry and Maths, from GCSE through to A-Level. Teaching a class and working with a single student call for different skills, and I have done both for as long as I have taught. Chemistry is what I teach in the classroom; Maths is what I tutor one-to-one.
02 · The problem
The challenges students face
Most students who are underperforming lose marks on technique rather than knowledge, because nobody has shown them how marks are awarded.
A student can understand Le Chatelier’s principle perfectly and still score two marks out of four, because they described what happens instead of explaining why. The same student can reach the correct answer to a Maths question and lose method marks because the working is not set out as the mark scheme expects. I see both every week in the classroom, and in neither case is the problem the chemistry or the algebra.
That gap between knowing a subject and demonstrating it under examination conditions is narrower than it looks, and it is the part of the work that responds fastest to being taught directly. Closing it is where most of the improvement in a grade comes from.
03 · What I offer
What I teach
I work with every major exam board. AQA and Edexcel are my main specialisms, and the two I encounter most often, both in the classroom and in tutorials.
I also work regularly with OCR A and B, Cambridge CIE and Edexcel IGCSE. What I teach is the subject rather than any one specification, so whichever board your child’s school enters them for, sessions are targeted at that syllabus.
- A-Level
A-Level Chemistry
Physical, inorganic and organic chemistry (the three pillars the whole subject rests on), plus the exam technique that turns understanding into marks.
See what we cover - A-Level
A-Level Maths
Pure maths and applied maths: mechanics and statistics. Building the algebraic fluency everything else depends on, and the structured method that earns full marks.
See what we cover - GCSE
GCSE Chemistry
Separate Science and Combined Science (Trilogy). Foundation to Higher, including required practicals and the 6-mark extended responses.
See what we cover - GCSE
GCSE Maths
Foundation and Higher. Targeted work on the topics that make the difference between grades, rather than working through past papers without a clear focus.
See what we cover
04 · How I work
Where I start with a new student
Some have a gap that goes back a year or two. Others understand the material well and find the examination itself difficult. Some have lost confidence and stopped attempting the harder questions. Each of these calls for a different approach, so the first task is always to establish which one we are dealing with.
Understanding the problem first
We spend the early sessions identifying the specific difficulty rather than working through papers at random. It is often something quite particular: a shaky foundation in moles, or difficulty rearranging equations. Addressing the cause is usually quicker than treating the symptoms.
Exam technique focus
Sessions cover command words, how mark schemes are structured, how to set out working, and what “explain” requires that “describe” does not. Students who know the content well can still lose marks here, and it is a skill that can be taught directly.
Rebuilding confidence
Confidence and progress tend to move together. A student who believes a question is within reach will attempt it, and attempting the harder questions is how they become manageable.
Enjoying the subject again
Students work harder at things they like. Getting a student to find Chemistry genuinely interesting isn’t a nice-to-have; it’s the most efficient revision strategy there is.
No minimum grade
The approach that helps a strong student reach an A* is much the same as the one that moves a struggling student up two grades; only the starting point differs. If your child is finding the subject hard, that is a good reason to get in touch rather than a reason to hold off.
05 · Why an examiner makes a difference
I mark papers like the one your child will sit
Examining has changed how I teach. Working through hundreds of scripts against a mark scheme replaces guesswork about where marks are won and lost with direct evidence.
The same two marks go missing on the same style of question every year. Particular command words call for particular response structures, and there is a consistent difference between an answer that reads well and one that scores.
That knowledge comes from published mark schemes and examiners’ reports, material available to every teacher, though few work through it in the depth that marking requires.
06 · Results
What parents and students say
Gianni was a wonderful Maths tutor. He tutored my son for his GCSE. Gianni was professional and reliable. My son found him very friendly, motivational and really looked forward to his lessons. Gianni made my son enjoy Maths after it being his nemesis for years at school and his grade went up by 2 grades in less than 8 months. I would highly recommend.
Alison · GCSE MathsGianni taught all of our children and adapted to their widely different learning profiles. They would not have achieved such excellent grades without his patient and thorough approach. Have recommended him to many other parents
Charlotte · GCSE Maths and ScienceGianni was a game changer for our son in terms of reviewing core concepts and building GCSE exam technique. He aced his exams ( strong 9s) thanks to Gianni!
Brid · GCSE Maths and ScienceGianni helped me improve my A level Chemistry grade to a very high A. I found he gave invaluable specific personal feedback to me. And really helped to clarify areas of the A level Chemistry specification I was unsure on. Highly recommended!
Milo · A-Level ChemistryGianni has done a wonderful job and guiding and supporting my daughter through her combined science GCSE. She got a great result and is thrilled. Thanks!
Katy · GCSE Combined ScienceOne of the best tutors I’ve ever had, so nice and friendly but mainly so knowledgeable
Charlie · A-Level Maths
Let’s talk about your child’s next steps
No obligation and no sales pitch. We can talk about where your child is now, what they’re aiming for, and how I would approach it.
Prefer to write first? Send a message instead
Tell me where your child is and I’ll reply with times, usually within a few hours.
In-person tuition across Potters Bar, Cuffley, East Barnet, New Barnet, Cockfosters, Southgate, Whetstone, North Finchley and Finchley Central. Online tuition available UK-wide, at the same rate.
