Private Tutor
London, Surrey and international
Gavin Fiddler
“We are all finished with the difficult 11+ process and are extremely pleased with the results as my son was offered places at four schools, including at his first choice. We would wholeheartedly recommend Gavin as a tutor as he had great rapport with our son and was able to gently encourage and build his confidence. Additionally, we felt that Gavin had a good handle on the level required for the schools that we were aiming for and that our son made good progress under Gavin’s tutorage.”
— happy parent
What makes a great tutor?
A great tutor is one with a very refined patience, one that ensures the student genuinely understands, and one who imparts their own knowledge and experience of life into their own lessons.
What are you trying to encourage and cultivate in your students?
I like to encourage my students to be knowledgeable beyond their academic subjects. They should also know how to reason in a variety of situations because such a skill is as important as acquiring knowledge. We can only know an iota of the knowledge that humanity has uncovered but we can apply our intellect to a wide range of disciplines.
Apart from teaching, what are your own extra-curricular interests?
In recent years, I have taken an interest in learning modern languages, which has been a lesson in both humility and perseverance. Forcing oneself to communicate without the eloquence of native speech has been a very rewarding experience. Like many tutors, I enjoy reading both fiction and non-fiction but find that I have to be rather picky in what I choose. I am also a keen electric guitar player and have recently take up the acoustic guitar as well.
What makes Commons Education tutoring different?
Commons Education recognises that tutoring is an ancient profession that has stood the test of time. I enjoy being part of a co-operative of educators that sincerely strives for education for its own sake.
Who or what inspires you?
In education, Michel Thomas was a great inspiration because his methods convinced me that a bad experience of learning can be reversed later in life. If learning is the residue of thought then understanding knowledge is power.
-
Gavin Fiddler is an expert professional tutor in south-west London who has helped hundreds of students secure places at academically competitive schools.
He believes that his unusual educational journey has contributed to his patient, thorough approach to teaching:
Gavin gained his degrees from institutions that catered for continued and unconventional learners. His first degree in history was gained at a university designed for students of all ages; his Cambridge college gave people a second chance in education and nourished postgraduates; his department at Oxford has been committed to lifelong learning for decades. These experiences inspired him to pursue personalised education and private tutoring as a full-time career.
Gavin additionally has his own website at www.tutorofwimbledon.com
-
-
BA (Hons) History – University of London
MPhil Modern European History – University of Cambridge
MSt Literature and Arts – University of Oxford
Gavin Fiddler is an accredited full member of The Tutors’ Association