My approach is always adjustable, bespoke, and tailored to the specific issues students face to help them overcome their challenges and reach the highest grade in A-level economics. As a professional economics tutor, I always start with a thorough assessment (from talking to students, reading their marked work from school, their homework and through exam practice out loud in lessons) of the precise issues students need help with in their economics studies. From tutoring over 120 1to1 students, I have developed a detailed typology of specific issues students frequently face, which I can quickly identify and remediate to generate the biggest possible value added for students in the shortest possible time. Given the vast amount of preparation I have done for A-level economics and the huge experience I have with helping students optimize their score, I can quickly zero in on exactly what students need to elevate their grade the most, whether that be diagrams, evaluation, understanding the requirements of the exam, applying knowledge to the right exam topic (question type) or exam technique (knowing what is on the markscheme and ensuring every point is ticked off from it).
I start with an initial phone call where I talk to the parent or student for free, just to plan the first lesson, where I ask students exactly what problems they face and ask students what they feel they need the most help with. That phone call often gives a good measure of the topics, exam technique issues and issues relating to students applying their knowledge to the exam that I will focus on to meet their specific needs.
In lessons, I ask questions from the most common potential essay past paper questions, to give a quick indicator and sense for me of whether students know the underlying topic from the exam essay question, whether they know the diagram underlying that topic, whether they know how to apply the relevant material in the exam to this specific question, like the right diagram to the right past paper question and whether students can identify what is relevant to this specific exam questions. I will ask students exam questions involving taxation, externalities and subsidies for example to see if the student can plan their answer competently. I will ask students past paper questions on the topic of supply side, fiscal policy and monetary policy to gauge quickly if students know what the exam requirements are and whether they can deliver the correct theory specific to that exam question type; often these types of questions reveal exactly what students need to unblock them and get the best result from their school studies. I then teach students from the exemplar material I have prepared exactly what they need to do to elevate their answer the most compared to what they said. I then always ask students to explain back to me what they learned from my explanation to have another go at the exam question we are doing to help solidify their knowledge.
Once I've understood the exact problems that students face from reviewing their written work from school, from talking to them on the phone, and from gathering data from the answers students give to the questions I give them, I generate a clear learning path for the student that will help them to fix their problems and overcome any issues that exist in their A-level Economics studies.
As a professional economics tutor, I have detailed three common specific issues students face, where I have developed bespoke solutions to unblock students in A-Level economics so they can get the best possible result in their studies. This reading is optional, but it's there for parents or students who are interested in my approach in much greater detail. I took the time to write down how I categorize the problems that students face, and then the specific bespoke solutions that I come up with for students. In each case, my experience says that lots of students' problems fit into one of the below three categories, which is either a knowledge problem, a problem with applying knowledge to exams or a problem with exam technique. Most of the time, students have problems with both knowledge and with applying their knowledge in the exam, although I would always be very sensitive to the exact issue students face and then generate bespoke, topic-based solutions to every problem that students face. Students can have knowledge issues and issues with applying their knowledge to the exam. I have developed a past paper database for all exam boards to help students apply their knowledge to hit the markscheme and to help them practice what question they are answering in the exam such that students never go off topic. I developed these revision techniques from my time winning three prizes at Oxford in economics and believe they transfer to A-Level very well. I also, for every lesson, write a very thorough, detailed lesson plan which takes into account all the issues that I notice students struggling with, such that minute by minute, we can work as efficiently as possible on solving any problems that students face in lessons (with every part of the lessons thoroughly scheduled to maximise efficiency). I am tremendously dedicated to student success.
SOLUTION TO PROBLEM 1: Solving student knowledge gaps in a way that is suited to the required exam technique:
To solve gaps in student knowledge, my economics lessons cover all the analysis and evaluation needed to get an A* for each economics model in A-Level economics. I have detailed notes on online whiteboards that are shareable with the students for every economics model to help them consolidate the material and prepare for the exam. I find evaluation, which is 40% of all essay questions, is not covered well in either the edexcel textbook or the specification, so I have bought extra textbooks to offer clear and thorough coverage of evaluation to make sure students get the 40% of marks available in essay questions in the exam for evaluation. I cover and clarify key concepts, models and evaluation too in the lessons that students need to do well in A-Level economics exams. These lessons focused on economics evaluation have helped students climb several grade boundaries from private tutoring lessons quickly. My maths lessons typically focus on past papers for A-Level and GCSE that my students have done or need help with. I help with practicing and solving the past papers in an interactive and engaging manner on online whiteboards that helps with gaining confidence, experience and problem solving methods relevant for maths exams. I set homework too to structure students' independent learning and help consolidate what we cover in lessons. I enjoy inspiring students to do well in their studies and future through tutoring. I like the theory of the zone of proximal development from Vygotsky as it relates to teaching and capturing students' interests. I find younger students in particular respond well to lessons that stretch and engage them at the edge of what they currently know and have mastered. Economics research indicates students can learn up to 3 times more a year by having questions tailored to their current knowledge level. I think tutoring is very beneficial for students precisely because it is tailored and focused on the student's needs, interests and speed of working, which maximizes engagement and retained learning for the student compared to classroom learning. Having spent the last six years as a private tutor, I believe active recall and spaced repetition are the most effective method for students to learn and retain information. I therefore engage students as much as possible with questions that stretch and engage them, as well as consolidate previous material we have already covered through appropriately intellectually challenging questions related to the material we discuss throughout lessons.
SOLUTION TO PROBLEM 2: Helping students apply what they know optimally to past paper questions:
Helping Students apply their knowledge to exam questions:
Many students face a common yet significant hurdle in exams that I can help them solve: students often have difficulty in deciphering the precise intent of past paper questions and linking these questions to the relevant syllabus content and their existing knowledge. For example, I had a student that came to me with an essay from school they scored 0 on titled “How can the government solve the problem of congestion?”, where the student talked extensively in their answer about traffic lights. Traffic lights are not related to economic theory, so the student needed to reorient back towards the syllabus (government intervention: regulation, tax, subsidies for public transport) to help apply their economic knowledge in the exam (this student gained 4 grades with me in 6 months). This confusion often leads to responses filled with irrelevant information, resulting in substantial mark deductions—potentially scoring zero on affected sections—while also wasting valuable time. Having a professional economics tutor guide students, give positive feedback, corrective feedback and show the correct way to interpret exam questions is a tremendous help to students in this situation. The hallmark of a professional is that, like a medical doctor, they can diagnose the specific problem in their field that they face and prescribe the best practice solution to that specific problem. Often students need to be able to (like a doctor) diagnose the precise problem they face in the exam (students need to be able to accurately think, “is this problem fiscal policy, monetary policy or supply side policy etc?” and know exactly which problem they are facing); then students need to be able to recall from their knowledge base the right diagrams, chains of reasoning and solution for that specific problem type.
To address this common problem, I have developed a targeted approach involving fast diagnostic tests in lessons that pinpoint the specific question types where individual students struggle with identifying what is required to apply their knowledge optimally to exam questions. I implement tailored strategies to enhance recognition of these question types in lessons through engaging, dynamic 1to1 lessons , enabling students to effectively deploy their knowledge in exams; targeted, engaging, past paper practice that helps students understand how to target the markscheme can be specifically directed at exactly what will help unlock students’ potential the most. This strategy also gives ample time for students to explore many exam questions, articulating their ideas to show, prove and practice that they are staying on track in their exam practice. The lesson style is conversational, highly interactive and very encouraging, which students really enjoy, whilst gaining a lot of marks.
For instance, one student who began with me at a C grade struggled with identifying what the question wanted in microeconomics government intervention past exam questions. Through focused training on mapping questions to appropriate syllabus content, they achieved an A* in their recent end-of-year exam, scoring 23 out of 25 in the essay based question and attained an A* predicted grade. This improvement was achieved in only a few lessons, so I can turn around student performance very quickly, delivering very high value added, when the main issue is students not being able to understand how to apply their knowledge in the exam. This demonstrates how my techniques can deliver substantial grade improvements in a short timeframe.
This method I have developed yields rapid results, empowering students to apply classroom learning more precisely and efficiently in their Economics A-Level exams. Drawing from my experience working one-on-one with over 110 students, I have created engaging, efficient assessments to detect issues in question interpretation, coupled with proven strategies to build student competence and confidence in how to apply their knowledge to the exam. Students need to know whether an exam question is monetary policy, fiscal policy, supply-side policy, government intervention (taxation, subsidies), market structures (oligopoly, monopoly) or another topic to score the best marks and stay relevant to exam questions. Helping students stay on topic in the exam helps them gain a lot of marks very quickly and is an area I can add tremendous value. These interventions consistently elevate student performance, proving highly advantageous for very many students, in a short space of time. Meticulously planned and thorough practice targeted at specific student weaknesses with helping students apply their knowledge to the exam can deliver dramatic and fast results.
Signs of this challenge include school teacher feedback noting that responses lack relevance to the question. My strategies are particularly effective in such cases, where students know the course content but not how to apply it to exam questions, allowing students to reclaim lost marks swiftly. I also thoroughly teach economic theory to students who require a more didactic specification and syllabus focused approach, so I genuinely tailor every lesson to the specific issues students’ face to deliver the best results.
With extensive expertise in resolving this issue students have of applying their knowledge to the exam, I am ideally positioned to guide students back on track in A-Level economics, ensuring their answers align closely with exam requirements.
Furthermore, during my final exams at Oxford University, I dedicated significant revision time to categorizing and mastering a vast array of question types—far more extensive than those in A-level courses. This disciplined approach to tackling every exam question, akin to a physician accurately diagnosing a condition before prescribing the exact treatment, was instrumental in earning three prizes and achieving some of the highest marks at Oxford University in my year for economics, including the top score in game theory.
These same principles—precisely identifying whether a question pertains to monetary policy, fiscal policy, supply-side policy, taxation, subsidies or other topics, then delivering the correct diagrams, chains of reasoning, and theory—are now applied to transform A-level students' performance when they falter in understanding what they need to do in the exam to answer the question.
SOLUTION TO PROBLEM 3: Helping students score marks more efficiently with detailed knowledge of exam technique:
I have helped many students with specific exam technique issues that they face in A-Level economics.
I can give very detailed feedback in terms of precisely where students are doing well, hitting the mark scheme efficiently. I have found that positive reinforcement and encouragement helps students understand what they did right in their exam practice to encourage them to do that again in the future. I found that students respond really well to and like positive reinforcement. I also give detailed corrective help, which is possible in tutoring sessions where 1to1 attention and time with each student allows for tailored focus on each student’s specific exam technique needs. If students are making any exam technique mistakes, often you can help them claw back quite a lot of marks if students do not know what the markscheme requirements are in the exam to score marks more quickly. Having taught A-Level economics professionally, full time, for many years (including in international tutoring schools such as Akademeia Tutorial College), I have built up extensive experience with all the mark schemes for the major exam boards: Edexcel, AQA, OCR, Edequas, Cambridge and CIE. I'm very familiar with the exact exam requirements in the exam, having taught 110 students 1to1 A-Level economics, so I am in a strong position to correct any exam technique deficiencies students may have to help them score marks more efficiently on the mark scheme. Helping students become competent with how to score marks in every exam question can be a great boost to their grade.
I've developed detailed knowledge of all the different exam question types and the requirements for every question. I can give precise guidance on how many points to include, how many minutes to spend and the best structure for 4, 5, 8, 10, 12 and 25 markers for all exam boards. I show students exactly where the marks are allocated on the mark scheme, helping students know what detail they need to give in order to collect marks most efficiently. I have got detailed advice in terms of timing, to help students spend the right number of minutes to spend per question for every A-Level economics exam board as well.
I can also give detailed advice for the synoptic paper (paper three for AQA and Edexcel), which is a more complicated paper, because it requires understanding that you need to include microeconomic and macroeconomic effects in the same exam answer. I have developed specific exercises and questions for students to help them practice generating both microeconomic and macroeconomic effects specifically to hone their skills for the 25 marker in paper 3 (for AQA and Edexcel students).
Last year, I had to take down my advert due to excess demand in 2024 December in the academic year, tutoring regularly 60-70hr weeks until the June 2025 exam. I have some slots available now for 2025 (updated 23.8.2025). I have experience with and am happy to take on IB economics, GCSE economics and economics oxbridge admissions students.
