In recent years it has become commonly accepted to communicate by text. Many of the quotes below are directly copied from texts, or emails, sent by parents or tutees. In some cases these are in reply to a text or email from me enquiring as to their result.

My First Tutors profile page contains feedback (verified) from tutees who found me via First Tutors.

Recent feedback 23/24

Hi Gary,

Thanks again for all the work you have done with Matthew.He has now had a second prelim and has scored 94%.

He feels now in a strong position to take on the exam and there is the balance of his other subjects.  To that end, we would now, like to pull back from the major focus on maths as we need to focus time and financially on giving him extra support in English!  Sadly, we cannot do everything and this result of 94% in second prelim gives us great confidence that he has listened & learned well.  

We really appreciate the time spent with Matthew and the resources shared & think that as he does not rate his maths teacher in school, you have provided a great source to ask questions of.I thank you for being such a good support.I will continue to recommend you where I can as your online set up is perfect to fit in with family life.

We may be back for some more support in S6 as he will look to take on AH Maths.I know Lucy valued your help a lot during that year.

M — SQA H 2024

Hi Gary, 

Thank you for your time earlier today – Sophia believes the lesson was great and is thrilled to continue 🙂
I just transferred 11.25 to cover today’s lesson to set up your details in my account.

Looking forward to continuing the tuition,

Have a great evening!

Anna

Sophie — SQA AH 2024

Thanks Gary, you’ve been a huge help to his ability and confidence level so far. 

Magnus — SQA H 2024

Feedback from 2023 results

Hi Gary,

Hope you are well and enjoying the sun up in Scotland!!

I just wanted to share some good news, that I achieved an A* in A-levels maths!!!

I am beyond happy with this result and I wanted to thank you, as I really appreciate the help and guidance you gave me throughout these past 2 years.

I am now off to the University of Bath to study chemical engineering.

Thank you again for helping me achieve this. 😊

N — Edexcel A-level

Morning Gary, just thought you’d want to know that you got C from a predicted c/d in higher maths to an actual A in his results this morning. Thank you so much for all your help! Hugely grateful!

C’s mum by text

Hi Gary,

 

Thank you so much for showing me what I am capable of and helping me turn it around. I am immensely grateful for your work.

 

Best wishes,

C — SQA H

Hi Mr. Thomson, I hope you’re doing well. I achieved a B in Advanced Higher maths, it is a little lower than I expected but I’m still happy with it. Fortunately, I achieved BBB overall so I’ll be able to apply to medical school! Thank you so much again for all of your help Mr. Thomson, I really appreciate it.

Kind Regards,

A — SQA AH

Hi,After receiving my results I was graded a ‘B’ for the exam.

N — SQA N5

Hi Gary, It was a mixed bag for L. He was relieved to have passed everything- especially math, which he was very worried about this morning. He got a C.

Thank you again for your help!

 

With very kind wishes

L — SQA N5

She got a B Gary. She’s a bit disappointed but given where she was I think that’s a great outcome. Thank you for your tutoring as I don’t think C would have gotten there otherwise. 

Hi Gary,

I appreciate you asking however i’m sorry to tell you that I got a C. I genuinely did find your tuition very helpful, I been very successful in all of my past paper practice and felt confident going into the exam but on the day just found the second half of the paper very difficult. Thank you so much for this year, i’m very grateful for all the help you gave me and i wish you all the best.

F:)

F — SQA AH — my expectation was that this girl would achieve an A, so this was sad news to receive

Hi Gary, 

It’s lovely to hear from you, I hope your summer is going well, especially after the chaos of exams!

 

I’m really happy to say I got a B in maths, and my other grades suit the architecture course I want to do. 

 

Thank you very much for all your help and best wishes,

 

H 🙂

H — SQA H

Hi Gary, Thanks for your email. I received a B for my Maths which i’m very proud of. I think due to the timetable of my exams with History being only a day apart, that’s what really tipped me back from getting an A.

 

Thanks again for your help. 

 

Kind Regards,

G — SQA AH

Hi Gary, I got a B so well chuffed with that! Thanks so much for your help, wouldn’t have done that without those lessons so thank you!

Kind regards

H — SQA AH

Thanks Gary ☺️

I got a C in my A Level and a B in my AS ☺️

Thanks for all your help, support and encouragement – it has made a massive difference.

I’m going to be starting my apprenticeship as a Chartered accountant on Monday 

 

Thanks again 

J — Edexcel A/AS

he got a C which is great as school predicted a fail although he’d hoped he had done enough for a B!

K — SQA H — the school is George Watson’s College

Hi Gary
Sorry for late reply but yesterday was long day for us
Oli passes the exam with a C but decided do maths again this year
if there will be any problems we will happily reach out to you again
Thanks

O — SQA H

Well, unfortunately J didn’t do as well as any of us had hoped.  He got a D in his AH maths.  Strangely Aberdeen Uni still offered him his place to do Mech Eng, J is thrilled as its exactly where he wanted to go and doing the course he wants to do.  J’s dad and I remain perplexed and are concerned that we haven’t worked out why there is such a disconnect between his ability and his exam results and are concerned how this will impact his exams next year.  His other subjects he got a grade or two lower than what we expected.  Sorry not to share better news.  

 

I should however add that we really appreciated your help and J definitely felt a lot more secure in the topics you covered with you so would highly recommend your tuition.  

J — SQA AH — I can only think that this tutee suffers from a form of exam anxiety, although he claimed that this was not the case and that he did not suffer from nervousness in exams

Previous feedback

You have helped him tremendously over the last months and he went through his exams with with grace and calmness. 

Thank you again! 

H — Edexcel IAL exam 2023

I think you might be a miracle worker. He’s actually excited about his maths exam?!

C — SQA Higher 2023

Gary is extremely supportive, reliable and provides clear, informative and immediate feedback. He is very knowledgable and patient. He has helped to make challenging topics much more straightforward for me. A-Levels are a stressful time and whilst the stress cant be taken away, Gary’s approach to tutoring has helped to make me feel more confident in my exam preparations. I would happily recommend Gary to others.
Thanks Gary; your support is appreciated.

J — Edexcel A-level 2023

Hi Gary,

 

Thanks for your support so far. She got her prelim mark back last week and got 80%. A fantastic result given her Maths teacher had initially forecast her a C ‘on a good day’ (direct quote from her Uni reference!). 

 

All the best, A

 

Hi A, 

 

Hi Gary,

 

Thank you! She certainly is making up for lost time (and took lots of pleasure from showing her teacher exactly what she is capable of). 

 

The tutorials are working really well for her 🙂 

 

All the best, A

E — SQA H 2023

In the short time my son has been having tuition with Gary I have already seen a positive change in my sons belief in his ability to do A level maths. Gary is an excellent tutor and my son is thoroughly enjoying his lessons

T — Edexcel A-level 2023

We just wanted to take a moment to thank you for all the support and guidance you gave to Will last year when he completed his Math Higher. He really enjoyed his tutorials with you and went from strength to strength in both his confidence and his ability. He is still hoping his appeal will result in him achieving an A – but whatever the outcome he came a long way from the F he was awarded prior to you providing your support. 

Best wishes,

 

Carole & Jackie 

Will — SQA H 2022 

M — SQA AH 2023 

Yes she is loving it! She is finding it so good and I am very grateful

L — SQA H 2022. Her mum, Carolyn, in reply to me asking, via text, how her daughter was finding online tuition. The following text was to inform me of L’s result:

Hi Gary, just to let you know L got a B in her maths. We are very pleased. Considering school thought she would fail, we are very happy. Thank you for everything you did with her.

L — SQA H 2022

Very friendly and helpful tutoring. My son is feeling much more confident going into the higher exam after only a few lessons.

C — SQA H 2022

Thank you so much for your help W is absolutely loving the lessons and has a renewed confidence in Maths. 

Carole 😃

W — SQA Higher Maths 2022

I would highly recommend Gary to anyone struggling with maths

I found Gary really easy to talk to and a friendly person

He helped break my problems down into smaller terms that I could understand and explained to me the process of why we do these step in maths and how formulas work

Matthew — OU Engineering student 2022

Gary has great knowledge of the whole A-level Maths syllabus, with expertise in pure mathematics and the Edexcel (Pearson) exam board. The online lessons are engaging and very productive, Gary encourages questions and explains methods well. Gary offers good levels of support while helping you to strengthen independent study through problem solving skills and study, overall a good balance of support and guidance.

Amos — Edexcel A-level 2022

Hi

 

I got my results back for maths prelim and I got 88% overall, got top in the class.

 

Regards, S

S — SQA Advanced Higher Maths 2022

Hi Gary,

 

I’ve just received my results for the TMUA i got a 7 (7 in paper 1 and 6.9 in paper 2). Doing some rough calculations this puts me in roughly the top 15% of candidates so im super chuffed. I’ve also been invited for an interview on monday. 

 

Kind regards

 

B

Hi B,

Many congratulations to you! Not having had any of experience of these tests I didn’t know how it would turn out, but it did seem to me that you’d come on by leaps and bounds just prior to sitting it, and that by dint of your own hard work. Nonetheless I am very pleased to have had some input to your studies. Is the interview at Cambridge or Imperial?

Kind regards,

Gary

Hi Gary,

 

Thank you so much again for your support! I’ve got an interview for Cambridge on the 6th and imperial on the 8th which is going to be a bit stressful but I’m sure ill get through it in one piece. 

 

Kind regards

 

B

B — TMUA candidate 2021 with plans to read Computer Science at Cambridge

Gary worked with my son for over a year, helping him to prepare for Higher and Advanced Higher Maths, TMUA and STEP exams. Gary was punctual and reliable, he established a good, professional working relationship with my son, the sessions were student led, stimulating and there was a very successful outcome. I would have no hesitation in recommending Gary as a tutor for students who have advanced level mathematical skills and who are interested in pursuing STEM subjects at top UK universities.

B’s dad TMUA 2021 

Hi Gary, I have actually done my assessment already so there is no need for another session tomorrow. I think I got 71% overall so thank you very much for all your help this semester I really appreciate it.
Isla

Isla — 1st year university Chemistry student

Dear Gary,

I just wanted to say thank you for your support with Isla over the past few weeks. It has made a huge difference to her confidence with the maths coursework, and consequently also with her feeling more settled at university.

 

She doesn’t think she will require further sessions, but I would like to keep your contact details just in case things change, if that’s ok?

 

Many thanks again, and wishing you a happy festive season.

 

Best wishes,

Isla’s mum

Hi Gary,

Just wanted to let you know that I had my first Uni test two days ago on Statistics and Data Presentation and I managed to get 100%!

Albeit it was an open book exam but I will and I’m sure you would like to as well put it to down to your training me in Stats(obviously there’s me cooperating as well but you know!). This for me definitely shows that it was worth working through the course in sixth year despite unfortunately not being able to do the exam!

Thanks once again, definitely enjoying the course that I am doing at Uni so far!

J was an AH Statistics tutee last year who is now doing Statistics at University

Gary has been highly professional in his approach and communication throughout has been clear and more than adequate. As parents we had confidence in the service Gary offers. Our daughter was working at Higher Level and found Gary’s approach to be flexible to her needs and she felt comfortable and supported in all the work that was undertaken. We would highly recommend Gary and we’re very grateful to him for all the help he has provided.

Izzy H 2021

2021 Results

9 A, 4 B, 4 C, and 1 D

Of course, I will actually let you know even sooner than that, thank you. And as for the grade, I got an A1!! I was very proud of myself. Of course, part of that grade is your merit too. 

A

A — SQA H 2021, and returning for tuition for 2022 AH exam

Dear Gary

How are you? Did you have a nice break? We’ve just returned from Barra where we spent some time with B. 

We are over the moon! B got the best mark of her whole exam results in maths. In her provisional marks it said A Band 1, and the final result yesterday was an A. It was so worth to keep going and I cannot thank you enough for your support and your inspiration to keep B motivated during the very difficult last year. We will definitely recommend you. 

B has decided to take a gap year to gain some work experience. She has been admitted to Edinburgh University for Linguistics (deferred entry), but it is still a long time to go and her plans can change. I am certain that an A in maths (and of course all the logical thinking she is now able to do ;-)) will help her to find her path in life. 

Without you, it wouldn’t have happened.

With deep gratitude and best wishes

A

Hi Gary,

Sorry for the delay on letting you know what I got for maths! I completely forgot but you’ll be happy to know that I got an A band 1 ! So I’m really happy with that and want to thank you for helping me get there. I couldn’t have done it without you! 

Thank you

B — SQA H 2021

Hi Gary
I hope things are well with you
A got her provisional mark yesterday and she was awarded a B !!(this mark won’t change i believe)
To say we are delighted by this is an understatement,she actually failed the prelim so I’m so proud of her .
Thank you again for your work with her , I don’t think she would had passed without your teaching.
All the best
David

A — SQA N5 2021

Gary,

 I am so sorry I didn’t get back to you straight away when we heard the results of the exam.

Amazingly W passed !  He got a C scqf level 5. !  W and myself were absolutely delighted.

So thanks for your hard work and giving W enough confidence to do it. I think your tuition and practicing past papers at home really helped.

Unfortunately,. W failed 3 subjects he was expected to pass which was really disappointing.

But the maths was the jewel in the crown.

Thanks again.

W — SQA N5 2021

Hi Gary,

I was going to mail you today, unfortunately Aman got a D . Sorry about that, you worked hard on him and aman also worked hard at the end.  He said he did ok, not sure what happened. 

Kind Regards,

Khadar

Aman — SQA Advanced Higher 2021

This result shows the need, if maths is going to be important for your future studies, to get help as soon as you feel that you are having difficulty with it. I started work with Aman in December by which time he was feeling it hard to keep up with his AH studies. He did well in the time we had but I think that what his result shows is that a sustained period of work is required for success at advanced levels of mathematics.

It can be a difficult call to make but everybody who has studied maths will recognise that there comes a point where extra tuition would be beneficial. Good tuition is not cheap but it should be seen as an investment in your future, so please don’t leave it until it is too late, and be prepared to work consistently throughout the school year.

I hope you are well. We just wanted to let you know that Alex got an A in maths  :-). We are so proud of him. we wanted to thank you again for your tutoring and support.

Have a great day

Elisabeth

Alex — Edexcel A level 2021

Hi Gary, just wanted to let you know that Andrew got an A for his Advanced Higher maths! He also got a Merit Certificate from his school. Big thanks to you, as he would not have done so well without you help. He also got an A for Advanced Higher Physics. Both results should stand him in good stead for first year at Glasgow. Really appreciate all your work and patience. Best wishes, Fiona

Andrew — SQA Advanced Higher Maths 2021

Dear Gary,

Hope you are well.

I would like to thank you for all the time you spent tutoring me over the past few months. Additionally, thank you for the help that you gave me. I got my results back and I got an A in Maths. Thank you for tutoring me.  

Kind regards,
EL

Eleanor — SQA AH  2021

Hi Gary, 

Just wanted to email quickly to thank you for your help and inform you about my results. 

I got an A in Maths! And A’s all round! I couldn’t have done it without your help I’m so thankful you could assist my learning through such a difficult year. It’s been great chatting through problems with you. You’ve been a great help and I can only wish you the best. 

Kind regards, 

S

Sandy — SQA H 2021

Hi Gary

Thanks for asking, he got a B which he is pleased with 🙂

Thanks again for all your support!

J

D — SQA N5 2021

I got a B in my maths thank you very much for helping me

Hamish — SQA N5 2021

Hi Gary,

A got a C in his maths. He was disappointed as was hoping for a B. He got AABB in his other subjects so overall, under the circumstances, he did well – he missed at least three weeks revision at a critical time. He would like to do biology at Uni so should get conditional offers ok.

Best wishes

A

A — SQA H 2021 

Hi gary

Kind of you to ask. He got a C which he was pleased about. 

Other results were 5 As and a B in biology. 

Thanks for the help you provided regards 

April

A — SQA N5 2021

Hi Gary, he got a C. He messed up his first paper, second went well but in early tests had not done great. He will retake this year. He is grateful for your help and perspective as he found the year v difficult. Best, L

F — SOA H 2021

Other recent feedback

Hi Gary,

Thank you so much for your time with J this year. He has discovered that he has a passion for Statistics and that discovery could well end up defining his career. Thanks for the part you have played in that. 

All the best for the future,

R

J — SQA Advanced Higher Statistics 2021. J was unable to sit the exam as his school did not offer AH Statistics. I was willing to provide tuition for J as an external exam candidate but this did not come to fruition once the SQA exams were cancelled. Nonetheless we continued our tutorials and I can testify that J was indeed passionate about Statistics. Given the importance of Statistics to our society I feel it is important to support those with an interest in pursuing the subject.

In his class test he got around 63% it seems , in paper 1 itself he scored 70% . It’s a great improvement from 13% at the start of the year, even his teacher was surprised it seems! 

Thank you soo much for helping him and not giving up on him. I hope he will do his best for his final exam. All credit goes to you for encouraging him and not giving up. 

Many Thanks. 

K

Aman — SQA Advanced Higher 2021. It’s a “prelim” result being that is being referred to. A really showed true grit in achieving this comeback 

Dear Gary

I hope you are well. B came home today saying that she managed to answer all maths questions in her test and that she has a fairly good feeling. It’s a really good start to the exams. 

I’d like to thank you for all the hard work you put in with her, for showing flexibility when she forgot her lessons and for just generally making maths less scary for her (which is actually quite a big thing.) 

I hope she’ll do well in the exams and I hope that she’ll grasp the importance of understanding maths as a ‘life skill’. 

 

I’ll recommend you to anyone who needs a maths tutor in future (both my girls are now (almost) school leavers, but I know plenty of children who would benefit from tuition. 

 

Thank you for everything 

Best wishes, A

 

B — SQA Higher 2021

Hi Gary – L says he has now taught you everything you know so you’ve cut him loose. May I just say what a total life-saver you have been. Without your input he would not be where he is – unconditional to Uni and not frightened of maths. Priceless. We salute you.

Very best wishes for the summer and future. B and T A.

L — SQA Higher 2020 A and SQA Advanced Higher 2021 

Mr. Thomson is an amazing tutor, he is very patient with me and explains everything really well. I would definitely recommend him if you want to improve your mathematical skills!

Ana T — SQA Higher 2021

Gary is an excellent tutor with great work ethics, he has been tutoring my son Alex for few months now in A level maths. Gary is knowledgeable, organised and patient. The sessions are engaging, my son his happy and confident to ask anything to Gary. I highly recommend Gary.

Elisabeth (parent)

Recent feedback for online tuition:

Gary is teaching my son AH maths. He is very punctual, helpful and understands his student’s capability very well and helps them to understand the concepts clearly. My son is very happy with Gary and is improving in his reasoning skills. I find Gary very flexible as when I requested extra sessions for my son to catch up, he immediately agreed to help even though he is busy with his time. He also organised a homework plan for my son that helps him to practice during the week, which is very helpful. I am really pleased with Gary, he encourages my son to aim higher than what he thinks he can achieve and provides confidence that he will be able to reach that target. I find it a very important trait that needs in every teacher these days. In present difficult times, Gary is teaching online, however this is not making any difference as he has very good resources and tools similar to white board for teaching online where both can share the board while learning. I find him very professional and I am really glad I found Gary for helping my son.

Khadar (parent) — AH 2021

My son has been doing online tuition with Gary for about three weeks and is really enjoying it and finding it very helpful. Gary uses a whiteboard to go through questions in detail that my son is having difficulty with. He provides high quality teaching and is very flexible and reliable. We would highly recommend him.

Anne (parent) — H 2021

My 16 year old son is finding Gary an excellent tutor. He has an engaging manner, a very effective zoom teaching method and explains problems in a clear, effective and understandable way. My son speaks very highly of Gary and is delighted with his regular sessions. I have no hesitation in recommending Gary as a very effective tutor.

Stewart (parent) — H Maths 2021

Gary has provided online tutoring for my son in advanced higher maths. The online platform of learning works exceptionally well. My son has commented that it is like having a tutor in the same room. Topics to be covered are discussed prior to the session – this allows my son to go over areas of maths he requires particular help with. I would highly recommend Gary as a tutor.

Pauline (parent) 

My son has had four virtual sessions with Gary so far, and he has found them to be very worthwhile.
He completes his calculations on a shared whiteboard which means that Gary can see what he is doing in real-time.
Gary has adapted his sessions to cover the topics my son has found the most challenging, and it is very straight forward having the sessions in the online format.
Many thanks!

Jan 

Gary has an excellent structured approach to the Maths tuition that can help at any stage of preparing for the exams or tests or simply catching up. Gary was the only person my son could find who agreed to help him with Advanced SQA Higher in Maths of Mechanics.

Tania

Excellent support provided online. Gary is professional and clearly experienced in teaching and has tools to provide value and positive learning experience for my son.
Calm and supportive. Quiet, shy boy feeling comfortable and encouraged to target maths he finds difficult, checking over areas he is more confident in. Only a few lessons in but would already recommend to all.

April

2020 results

4A, 4B, 3C — I always encourage tutees to take the prelim exams very seriously (but of course not everybody listens). However this year those who did listen, and were able to score well, benefited from this advice, and I’m very pleased for them.

2020 has obviously been a bit different,  however as the above results indicate many families were happy with their grade. Here are a few of the comments received in texts:

Gary was great at helping me acheive the maths grade I needed to progress into PDGE teaching English Literature.

Maths intimidates me, and Gary was really good at explaining things in a way I understood. If there was anything I was unsure of, he’d always find a good analogy that would make it relatable. And no question was too silly.

When COVID hit and we had to go into lockdown, Gary made the transition to online learning really easy for me. I was worried I wouldn’t learn as much as I would in person, but if anything it was even better because I could make notes easier on the PC while we were going over things.

Thanks Gary 🙂

Hannah — N5 level 2020

Hi Garry,

Hope all is well and you had a good holiday. Just got my results after the U-turn by the SQA, I achieved and A in maths :). Thank you very much for helping me with my maths last year. I would like to continue maths tutoring this year. What day and time would work for you? The most helpful for me would be the same as last time. 

L — H 2020 — going on to do Advanced Higher maths

Dear Gary,

 

How are you? I hope all is well with you and yours, and that you have continued to be able to work throughout the lockdown period.

 

I am pleased to report that C was awarded a B at Higher Maths. Thank you very much for helping him to gain a better understanding of Maths, and to improve so much on his grade from last year’s result of a D. He is very happy with the award.

 

With all my very best wishes,

E

C — H 2020 — got a B at prelim and could have achieved an A if the exam had gone ahead. These tutorials were a joy to take part in, as it is great to see someone finally come to understand maths better. But then a few days later:

Hi Gary,

 

Just wanted to let you know that C’s result has been upgraded to an A, so clearly his teacher agreed with your assessment of his ability, as well as the improvement in his understanding of Maths thanks to your help. Thank you again!

 

All my very best wishes, E

Which was nice! More feedback from the same parent at First Tutors:

Thanks to Gary, my son improved from a D in Higher Maths at first attempt to an A. Through his student-led approach combining careful listening and patient tuition, Gary helped my son fill in the gaps in his knowledge, built on and improved his understanding of concepts and working methods, and increased his self-confidence in tackling exam questions. My son found his explanations clear, and his manner very approachable and supportive. I cannot recommend Gary highly enough!

C — H 2020

An A! Many thanks to you! He got 5 As for his highers so is delighted! A is asking if you are available to tutor him for advanced higher?

Feedback from same parent at First Tutors:

Gary tutored our son Andrew for Higher maths. Gary is an excellent tutor: very reliable, patient, and encouraging. He was able to explain very tricky aspects of maths in a clear manner. Andrew seemed to get on well with Gary and never complained about doing extra maths outwith school. Andrew went on to acheive an A in higher maths, definitely thanks in a big part to Gary. Andrew is now studying for advanced higher maths, so we are delighted that Gary is able to tutor him again this year.

A — H 2020 — got an A at his prelim. Physicist needing to strengthen his maths. 

Hi. S very pleased with his Maths result – thanks for all your help so far! Aiming for an A at Higher!! Thanks, A

S — N5 2020  — A — worked hard for his prelim and achieved an A. Another tutee whose tutorials are a complete joy to take part in.

Hi Gary, R got a B for her maths so she is very pleased with that and reckons it is due to her tuition with you. Thanks for all your hard work with her. I hope you are well. C

R — N5 2020 this was a case of upgrading from a D at prelim

Hi Gary thank you for your text, I hope you and your family are well. A got a B and he is very happy. We really appreciate all your help. Best wishes A

A — N5 2020 — worked hard for his prelim, got a B and could have got an A if the exam had gone ahead

Thank you for all your work, you are a great teacher. Yes, she thinks the same, but is happy with the B, under the circumstances. We both appreciate all your teaching, it really did help her.

B — H 2020 — a B but had been a C and would have been a A if the exam had gone ahead since A obtained at prelim. Of course that would have been an A is my opinion, but this is one tutee who really got a lot out of tuition and so I feel confident saying would have been an A

…she is over the moon and under normal circumstances we know she would have achieved even higher as you were a great tutor for the short time she had with you and it was all starting to click together, many thanks for all the help you gave her S

C — H 2020  — a C but had been a D before the whole issue of downgrading was rethought. Only started tuition after her prelim.

Earlier years

Hi Gary, just got my gcse results and good news I got a 5 which is the highest grade I could get doing foundation. Once again I would like to thank you for being my tutor. You really did send my maths to the next level possible

M — IGCSE 2019 — a 5 is a high C/low B

hi gary, it’s b here l thanking you for your months of help with my maths. unfortunately i only received a 5 in my final exams which was lower than expected! this was down to the papers extreme challenges not your tutoring! hope u had a great summer

B — IGCSE 2019

He’s finally home and opened the envelope and we’re very excited to say he got an A in his maths 🥳🥳🥳🥳

Thank you so much for your help in getting him there!!!

 

Cheers

K

H — N5 2019

Hi Gary, He got B. He is going to school today to get the marks. Then I will let you know the breakdown.

A — Higher 2019

Hi Gary A has got 4As including his Maths. I haven’t seen his score sheet yet as I am away and will reach home later this evening. I will let you know the breakdown later today. I was planning to let you know when I got them in hand. Apologies for the delay. Thank you for all the help you offered.

G — Higher 2019

Hi Gary – F is pleased with his result. He got a B – I think he was hoping for an A but pleased all the same. Many thanks for all your help. Thanks

D — Higher 2019

Hi there Gary, Following my Higher exam results I did find out that I have failed Higher Maths. However, I didn’t need it for the course I want to do at university. However, I am pleased to say that I sat the exam and that I got to experience the process – and a lot of that is to do with you. Thank you for building my confidence and helping me even set foot into that exam hall  I put my all into the exam and couldn’t have done anymore. Thank you so much! It was a real learning curve for me. P.s I got all the other highers that I needed!

M — Higher 2019

Hi Gary, Thank you so much for all the work you did with C. She managed to pass her maths, she got a D but she was so happy that she managed to get that and thankfully she doesn’t need higher maths for her chosen university course. Again many thanks for your patient teaching in helping her understand.

M — N5 2019 (Not sure D counts as a pass, but it does accrue UCAS and SCQF points.)

Just thought that I’d let you know that A passed her Higher Maths. She achieved a C grade and she has successfully been offered a place at –University to study Business Management. Thank you for all your help.

Sally — Higher 2019

Hi Gary – L managed a C in his Nat 5 maths, delighted with that – thanks for your support through the year!!

K — N5 2019

Hi Gary, just to say I got my results this morning and got an A in maths! I don’t know what band yet but I am very happy! 😀 Thank you Gary, I couldn’t have done it without your help!

R — Higher 2018

Dear Gary Thank you so much, M achieved an A pass in her exam, and has secured her place at Aberdeen Uni. Coming from a previous D to an A is a huge testament to your input. Thanking you again. M & M J

M&MJ — N5 2018 

AM — Higher 2018

Hi Gary just to let you know that E got a B for her Higher Maths she is so happy and couldn’t have done it without your help. Got As in the other 4 so super chuffed. Thank you Y

ED — Higher 2018

Good afternoon Gary, Hope this finds you well. Delighted to let you know N got an A in her maths Nat 5 exam. Thank you for your help in her achievement. Best regards, S

NK — N5 2018

Hello I’d liked to thank you for tutoring me maths half a year ago since i have passed my N5 maths exam and gotting an A thanks

BS — N5 2018

Hi Gary. So proud of her she got an A in her maths . Thanks again for all your help . It definitely made a difference for her confidence for sitting her exam.Thanks for everything.

Catherine’s mum (N5 student last year) H 2018

Hi Gary, You were on my list to contact to let you know she passed and got a C so we are really pleased! You were so helpful to her and I am so thankful to you. Very best wishes, D

LB — H 2018

Hi Gary, R passed with an A , needless to say we are over the moon, I will be in touch in a few weeks to hopefully carry things on for his highers. Thanks, R.

RR — N5 2018

Gary brought my daughter from a Nat5 Grade D to a fabulous A… He did more than I would have expected, in terms of additional assistance, igniting a joy for the subject and in giving of his own time. M has now secured her postgraduate place thanks entirely to Gary’s tutoring.

MJ — N5  2018

Thank you very much Gary. My son achieved an A for his Higher. We are very pleased with his results. Gary is a very measured and practical Tutor. He was able to give my son the confidence he needed as well as the support to learn the subject and consolidate his school work. I would thoroughly recommend him to anyone looking for support in Maths.

JG — Higher 2017

Hi Gary, thought you may  like to know. P got an ‘A‘ and is delighted. Thank you for all your help you really made a huge difference . We’ve got you number for  J! Thanks

Mr & Mrs Smith — Higher 2017

Hi Gary. Happy to say she got an A. Thanks for all your help and will be in touch around November time.

Catherine’s mum — Nat 5 2017 — Catherine is going on to do Higher Maths

Gary great news R got A higher in maths thx so much.

NI by text — Higher 2017

hi gary, thank you for asking! I got a B in my exam (90/130), which was better than I expected. Thanks for all your help I don’t think I could have passed without it. all the best,

SZ — Higher 2017

Hi again, Thank you very much for all the help you gave me leading up to the exam and it certainly helped. I got a B for maths along with 2 other Bs and 2As. I certainly couldn’t have gotten that mark without your help. Thanks again

NG — Higher 2017

Delighted to say she got a C! It’s a great result for her because she needed it to do Psychology at University. Thanks so much for the time you gave her, I think it really made a lot of difference even though it was only a few weeks – I think you really helped her to learn how to think through the questions so she could see what was being asked. If anyone asks me for tutor recommendations I will definitely pass on your name! best wishes and thanks again,

Sarah, N’s mum — Higher 2017

R got an A thanks to your help.

Mrs Thomas parent of R by text — National 5 Maths 2016

Once again, thank you for all your help over the last two years – I would never have imagined myself passing advanced higher maths two years ago. — C at Advanced Higher

Hi Sir Thankfully I achieved an A in my higher maths and received a place at St Andrews University for Computing Science. I just wanted to say thank you so much for all the help you gave me throughout the year not only with my higher maths, but also for all the moral support and confidence you gave to me, words cant describe how grateful i am to you and for your help.

Dan — Higher Maths 2016

Hi, Delightfully she got an A. At the time she felt she was on the cusp of an A/B and we don’t know her actual band as yet. Clearly she is delighted with her 3As and 2 Bs. Many thanks

Lesley L parent of H — Higher Maths 2016

Hi Gary, Just to let you know Aidan passed maths with a ‘C‘. Thank you it would not have happened without you.

Andy J parent of Aidan — Higher Maths 2016

We have just returned from holiday and I am absolutely delighted to tell you that Beth got a B in her maths exam. When you started working with her I had my doubts that she would pass at all as she was averaging F scores. She is taking maths hopefully to higher if they allow her to do it over  2 years. Thanks again

Lesley parent of Beth — National 5 Maths 2016

Gary, Been meaning to get in touch all day. E got an ‘A‘ and is really chuffed. Thanks for all the help and I will contact you soon to arrange a suitable time to start Higher!

Kevin T parent of E — National 5 Maths 2015

Thanks for your email enquiring about Caitlin’s maths Nat 5. You will be pleased to hear Caitlin got an A in her exam! Not sure if she is more shocked or delighted. We couldn’t be happier and would like to extend our thanks for the huge part you played in helping her achieve this. We will happily recommend your tutoring services to others and please feel free to use Caitlin’s result (from fail at prelim to A in final exam) in any publicity. Many thanks again

Ellie C – Caitlin’s mum – 2014

Hi Gary, I got a B in my Maths, I’m very pleased with that Thanks for al your help

Joe G — SQA Higher Maths tutee – 2014

Gary,   Jack really enjoyed his session with you on Friday and thought it was very beneficial.

Lorna W — Jack is an SQA Advanced Higher Maths tutee – 2016 who got an A with Edina Tuition in the 2015 Higher

Thanks for all you done for Kieran x

Nicola M — Kieran was a P7 pupil needing help with remembering multiplication facts – 2014

Thank you very much Gary. We are delighted too that  Aaron is happy with his tuition.

Janet L-D – Aaron was an S2 pupil at Stewart Melville’s – 2013

Just a word of thanks especially for the first lesson on Differentiation. Had my test today and I got 100%! Thanks again for helping me out with solving how to go about the questions!

Craig C — SQA Higher Maths tutee – 2013

1) Why do mathematicians confuse Halloween and Christmas?

2) At a recent conference on logic there were 600 attendees and only one toilet facility. What “common or garden” compound logical sentence, or proposition, may be validly inferred?

3) What is zenzizenzizenzic?

Answers.

An astronomer, a physicist and a mathematician are on a train in Scotland. The astronomer looks out of the window, sees a black sheep standing in a field, and remarks, “How odd. All the sheep in Scotland are black!” “No, no, no!” says the physicist. “Only some Scottish sheep are black.” The mathematician rolls his eyes at his companions’ muddled thinking and says, “In Scotland, there is at least one sheep, at least one side of which appears to be black from here some of the time. Ian Stewart Concepts of Modern Mathematics

i prefer pi — mathematical palindrome and contra tau

by xkcd

thanks to Mark Heath for permission to use his cartoon.

I didn’t think that klein bottles existed, now I’m not so sure.

Complete success would mean that every individual felt, “I enjoyed the mathematics that I had time to learn. If I ever need or want to learn some more, I shall not be afraid to do so.”

W W Sawyer

To teach effectively a teacher must develop a feeling for his subject; he cannot make his students sense its vitality if he does not sense it himself. He cannot share his enthusiasm when he has no enthusiasm to share. How he makes his point may be as important as the point he makes; he must personally feel it to be important.

George Polya

Understood or not, tapping the aesthetic component of mathematics is a crucial and neglected component of mathematical education. See Simon Fraser mathematical educator Nathalie Sinclair’s 2006 book Mathematics and Beauty: Aesthetic Approaches to Teaching Children. Given that basing mathematical education on utility and importance has not worked very well, perhaps introducing the aesthetic is past overdue.

David Bailey and Jonathan Borwein Why Mathematics Is Beautiful and Why It Matters

It is impossible to be a mathematician without being a poet in soul.

Sofia Kovalevskaia

One cannot be a mathematician if one does not have the soul of a shaman.

Bruce Albert

It’s my contention that not only is the aesthetic component of maths neglected but also the historical and cultural components. Maths is a subject created by human beings to meet human ends, whether it be the need to balance the books, or the need to understand or uncover a truth of nature.

Along with other maths educators I contend that what maths education is weak at is providing a believable context; believable, that is, by the consumers of mathematics education ie school kids. That is the challenge of teaching and tutoring this important subject. Important, but let’s keep things in perspective:

Music and poetry are more important than carburettors and calculus, because both the bus driver and I would be better human beings if we had more in common because we could then collaborate better to live in a saner world.

Paul Halmos Halmos Quotes

…mathematics in the Chinese curriculum is not seen as an elite subject. It is viewed as an essential of life, and one in which everyone can be highly competent if you work at it. ‘Maths gets you everywhere’ is a common phrase used in China and far from turning pupils off the subject, this focus and respect for it gives their pupils confidence and purpose.

Sean Harford HMI, National Director, Initial Teacher Education, Ofsted Maths teaching in China…

Learning and creating mathematics is indeed a worthwhile way to spend one’s life.

Garrity and Pederson “All the mathematics you missed”

Young man, in mathematics you don’t understand things. You just get used to them.

The above quote is from John von Neumann, see the von Neumann wikiquote page for the citation. There is a thread in Quora regarding this remark of JvN.

I like this quote of von Neumann’s and often mention it to tutees. Of course in the world of school maths and private tuition the focus is very much on getting pupils/tutees to understand things, as well as getting used to them.

Why get a maths tutor? What does your money get you?

The role of the teacher is to create the conditions for invention rather than provide ready-made knowledge.

Seymour Papert

An hour of conversation and problem solving (not drilling, although this could equate to getting used to things). For younger mathematicians both approaches are necessary, but private tuition provides a space where the tutee can feel free to ask questions and make errors in a non-judgemental environment. This is important and valuable and can give the boost to a child’s confidence that leads to an improvement in results. “Thinking aloud is allowed”.

For younger children I use Cuisenaire rods to help develop their number work.

For older children sitting national exams I stress the importance of understanding the basics of their previous mathematical work, as building blocks to the maths they are currently studying, and I ensure that time is given over to revision.

How to get better in math at about.com has some good advice especially the first two points regarding understanding versus memorisation, and the call to get active. Becoming an active learner is one of the many benefits of maths study, and I encourage all tutees to ask questions and make connections in maths as a means to understanding the topics we are studying.

Some feedback from my tutees.

• Zoom for audio/video and explaineverything.com whiteboard
• I make use of Desmos, the SQA website, and other online resources to ensure that we cover the basics via easily shared means
• the great advantage to having a personal tutor is that you can ask specific questions about things that you don’t (as yet) understand — so please ask away!

how to be more productive

Increasing your productivity is perhaps the most useful step you can take in improving your maths.

Top 10 productivity hacks for learning maths

Cal Newport has a website on how to work more productively in the social media age — The Deep Life. You need to pay attention to this topic now, your future self will thank you.

school maths

higher mathematics — paid for site but with free resources. Past paper questions ordered by topic — very handy!

advanced higher mathematics — as the previous link but for Advanced Higher

sqa higher maths past papers

maths is fun — very clean, easy to read pages and good content. The name of the site reminds me that we had a phyics book called physics is fun when I was at school.

advanced higher/higher

One of the important uses of trigonometry has to do with simplifying calculations with vectors, and therefore Trigonometry is Essential to Physics

Vectors and python

general interest

mathigon — Philip Legner’s beautiful web site on maths

plus magazine — an online magazine dedicated to explaining mathematics

chalkdust — excellent magazine for mathematically curious people

number gossip — everything you wanted to know about a number but were afraid to ask!

mathematicians born in Edinburgh — including a former pupil of George Watson’s College William Hodge

billionaire mathematician James Simons — making money by taking a scientific approach to markets — please also see How to become a quant below

The Good Thinking Society promote maths achievement, and their aims are broadly in line what I believe should be the purpose of education

maths education

a mathematician’s lament 

The Scottish Mathematical Council

interactive and dynamic

cut the knot — good for interactive puzzles — the creator of the site, Alexander Bogomolny, died in 2018

geogebra — dynamic geometry for everybody

desmos — you may like to consider using desmos as your go-to graphing tool

graphic calculators

These allow a more complete understanding of mathematics — “definitional”, graphical, and numerical — to be developed, all in the palm of your hand.

The SQA seem to disdain the use of these tools, and I can appreciate the reasons for doing so, but at the same time I really love my GCDs.

Casio fx-cg50 — this is the graphing calculator that I recommend

video

numberphile — videos about numbers and stuff

3brown1blue — for Advanced Higher topics and beyond

ridiculously large numbers — by David Metzler

the philosophy of mathematics — by Ray Monk

podcasts

I cannot think of any podcasts that are good for high school maths. If you know of any please let me know. On the other hand there are many excellent science podcasts, and I encourage you to follow and listen to these on a regular basis — it’s amazing what you can learn from this source.

blogs

Similarly I do not know of any good blogs for high school maths. There are many for maths beyond high school, but none that I know of aimed specifically at school students. Again please let me know if there are any that you follow and read on a regular basis.

For instance top 25 high school maths blogs are all American and more aimed at other teachers rather than students. I really want to point to a blog which is aimed at making maths clearer for students.

quotations on the subject of maths

today in science history has a page of mathematics quotations

how to become a quant

Michael Halls-Moore has a very informative site on all things to do with becoming a quantitive analyst. See A step-by-step guide on getting a job as a quantitive analyst and Understanding how to become a quantitive analyst. Basically you have to be prepared to study a lot of maths.