+44 7947 644617
Computer Science & Physics
Tutor & Subject Mentor
Digital Strategy Consultant
about me
After graduating in Applied Physics, and joining the advanced research lab as a graduate engineer at Rolls Royce, Derby, I decided to enter the world of teaching.
30 years on, I have taught, been part of a Senior Leadership Team and a Director of IT as well as, for a few years, working in industry with RM PLC, Deloitte Consulting and Dan Computers. I am now freelance.
Over three decades the tectonic shifts in technology have been huge. In addition to my established Physics teaching, I added IT and Computer Science as additional strings to my digital bow. Seeing the evolution from coding to IT and back to coding has given me an interesting historical perspective of the ideas and technologies within the current syllabuses.
In terms of Computer Science, I've developed my coding experience to include Python, VB.net and C#. And as a teacher of IT, in the old days, I really enjoyed integrating a Computer Science curriculum with creative tools such as Adobe Photoshop, Flash (Animate) and Fireworks. My students really enjoyed graphic and web design and many of them found themselves in the digital marketing arena! Of course now, many of my A-Level Computer Science students did degrees in the subject and have either entered the tech world or, in some cases, finance.
As a Digital Strategist, I relate well to the younger members of staff as well as those who are, like myself, of a certain vintage. I have an unusual blend of sound technical knowledge and a broad educational experience, which give me a high level of understanding of school systems. I am good at engaging a diverse staff team and understand the importance of bringing them along on a transformative project.
I recently did a case study for Firefly which involved interviewing schools who were using Microsoft and Firefly and the new Teams integration. I successfully helped my last school adopt Microsoft Cloud services and Firefly in time for the first lockdown in March 2020! I enjoy nothing more than inspiring, enabling and motivating others to use technology, whether they be staff, parents and students or the broader school community.
Change can be scary and intimidating! I like to think that my pragmatic, thorough, humorous and patient approach has enabled the schools I've worked in to manage this change as smoothly and painlessly as possible.
And now, I tutor a number of students across the world and at home in Physics and Computer Science. I also support the Computer Science team at the wonder British School of Brussels together with their Year 13 students, in particular their NEA projects.
If you think I can help you in any way, please get in touch!
tuition
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Physics up to and including A Level
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Computer Science up to and including A Level
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Specialist coding languages include Python, vb.net, Java, C#
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General IT - Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Animate (Flash) and Dreamweaver. Affinity Photo.
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Mathematics A Level Mechanics
Sessions are via Zoom or Teams or in person within the Ealing area.
My standard fee for a one-to-one is from £50 to £80 per hour.
Flexible fee structures are offered for groups of 2 or more.
I am in Ealing, West London.
digital strategy consultancy
Drawing on my experience as a teacher, senior leader and a project manager, I will help you piece together a digital strategy which supports your aims as a school. Following an assessment of where you are, I will work with you to develop what you need as an organisation and how best to achieve this in terms of your facilities and the skills of your staff.
I will help train 'ambassadors' within your staff team so that they, in turn, can train others. I will also help you with the 'message' as to how any new processes or systems can help staff with their administrative and teaching and learning tasks. Staff are sometimes nervous that change will bring with it additional workload. I will help you manage this and support you as your school takes on board the new system.
I'll be able to assess if you have allocated a reasonable amount of time to achieve your goals and help you understand the skills you'll need from your staff.
computer science mentor / consultant
Computer Science teachers are a rare breed! While some schools are managing to find a newly qualified teacher, others are having to appoint non-specialists who have the potential but need guidance. Actually, many teachers with degrees in a Computer Science discipline, like Software Engineering, still have not covered the material within the GCSE or A Level. Since 2022, I have been lucky enough to help mentor a couple of NQTs at the British School in Brussels. As well as supporting the Computer Science team in this impressive school, I have been delivering in person and remote workshops for the GCSE and A-Level students.
As mentioned, a number of schools struggle to get Computer Science specialists and unlike other subjects, a degree in Computer Science may not cover all the contents of the subject at school. However, someone with a Computer Science or related degree once given the support, can fly in the role!
Now that the syllabus is focused on computational thinking and coding, some schools may need my support if, say, a mathematician has been appointed in a Computer Science role.
The level of support I can give is totally flexible and up to you!