Our Expert Tutors and Counsellors

Our expert private tutors

Our highly-educated and friendly tutors have all achieved full marks on the tests that they teach, and know them inside out.

All of our tutors:

  • Have achieved full marks on the tests they teach;
  • Are highly educated at top US or UK universities (many have PhDs);
  • Undergo extensive training in these tests;
  • Know the application processes for schools and universities inside out;
  • Are passionate about their subjects and about teaching;
  • Have CPD-certified Safeguarding qualifications updated regularly;
  • Are fully DBS checked; and
  • Want you to do as well as possible.

Our tutors are selected not just for their experience and their knowledge of their subject areas but also for their communication and motivational skills. They’ve graduated from some of the best universities in the US and UK, and understand the American standardised tests inside out. They’re passionate about helping students to achieve their goals and know how to get them there through the right balance of challenge and support.

We only take on tutors who have a proven track record. Before starting work with us, tutors undergo extensive training in our teaching methodology. Our most experienced tutors have well over 1000 hours of standardised test experience.

About our Academic Director, Lead Tutors, and Senior Tutors:
Our Tutors are experienced specialists, who have passed the tests they teach with full marks. Our Senior Tutors are highly experienced specialists, who have taught several hundred hours each. Our Lead Tutors are our two most experienced and popular tutors and who lead on courses. Our Academic Director is Dan Escott, who leads on all learning, teaching, and curriculum development at UES. All our tutors have passed the tests with perfect scores, and have all gone through a thorough recruitment and assessment process.

Here is a selection of our tutors:

Dan Escott (Academic Director)

Dan is our Academic Director: he actively develops UES’s SAT & ACT curriculums to communicate exactly what each test is and collaborates with our team of tutors on the best practices for student learning. Having moved to London in 2019 with a decade of test prep teaching experience, Dan prioritizes collaboration with students and families so that he can best understand specific student needs and drive instruction to meet clear targets. He has taken over 120 ACTs and SATs in order to deconstruct both tests into clear, learnable entities.

With his students, Dan breaks down each section into question types, patterns, and strategies that can be mastered through practice. This approach empowers his students to develop comfort, proficiency, and overall fluency with the SAT & ACT, so they perform with confidence and certainty on test day. Dan works with both the students and their parents to ensure that his students remain accountable to their goals through purpose-driven homework. Because interpersonal relationships are important to Dan, he builds a unique rapport with each of his students, being sure to understand their motivators and how the SAT/ACT fits into the bigger educational picture.

Dan holds a BA from Wake Forest University and an M.Ed from Eastern University. Dan was a member of the Philadelphia Teaching Fellows’ eleventh cohort, an organization that seeks to bring dedicated teachers to economically disadvantaged schools in the Philadelphia School District. Outside of education, Dan enjoys playing trains with his son, goofing around with his daughter, and sports—specifically basketball and football.

Dan teaches:

  • ACT: all sections
  • SAT: all sections
  • ISEE and SSAT: all sections and levels
Dan E UES

Aida Rocci Ruiz (Lead Tutor)

Aida grew up in Spain and always considered studying in the United States a distant dream more than an actual option. She began studying Business Administration and Finance at CUNEF, in Madrid. After three years, she ventured into the peculiarities of the US application system on her own and became one of the twelve transfer students accepted into Harvard University in 2011. Aida graduated from Harvard Magna Cum Laude with Highest Honors in Psychology in 2014. Her experience led her to co-found a non-profit organization to empower and coach Spanish students from non-international schools to access top American universities.

Shortly after, Aida returned to Harvard to pursue a Master's in Fine Arts in Dramaturgy and Theatre Studies at the American Repertory Institute in collaboration with the Moscow Art Theatre. During her postgraduate studies at Harvard, she became a teaching fellow, assisting top field professors and leading several undergraduate classes. She then went on to a second Master's in London at the prestigious Royal Central School of Speech and Drama; now, as a professional dramaturg, she helps playwrights and directors to find their unique voice to express their ideas. She uses the same skills to inspire young students to tell their story in a compelling and personal way in their US college applications. On top of teaching, she continues to work as a literary advisor and editor in the dramatic arts, and writes for The Theatre Times.

All of these experiences inform how Aida approaches tutoring. She focuses in developing the student’s learning tactics for long-term gains. Utilising skills from her academic and professional experiences, she curates how students learn and connect different materials with both rigour and ease. In a relaxed, friendly, and supportive atmosphere, students often find that they already had the key to learning in them and leave with long-lasting strategies to tackle new learning challenges.

Aida teaches:

  • ACT: all sections
  • SAT: all sections
  • ISEE and SSAT: all sections and levels
  • AP: Psychology
  • US College Counselling and Application Support
  • US College Essay Guidance
  • Portfolio Review
Aida R UES

Laurence Varda (Lead Tutor)

Born in the UK, Laurence grew up in Palo Alto, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley. He earned his B.S. in Mathematics at the University of California, San Diego, and went on to do his M.A. in Professional Acting at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. In addition to tutoring, Laurence is an actor, and has toured nationally and internationally. He is passionate about theatre, cooking, and martial arts.

Laurence believes that working within a growth mindset is key to helping students maximize their potential, and that too many students incorrectly believe that the limiting factor in their success is their innate ability, as opposed to the effectiveness of their strategies. He is greatly motivated by his own experience in education, and understands how valuable it is for students to experience successes in their study that allow them to develop positive associations with the subjects they are covering. Having taught and studied in both the US and UK, Laurence has a deep understanding of the differences in approach, curriculum, and content between the two countries, and is experienced in bridging these gaps. He has tutored both in test prep, and as a supplement to regular classroom education. At UES, Laurence tutors all sections of the ACT, SAT, ISEE and SSAT, as well as both levels of the SAT Math Subject Tests.

Laurence teaches:

  • ACT: all sections
  • SAT: all sections
  • ISEE and SSAT: all sections and levels
  • Specialist Subjects: Math
Laurence V UES

Olivia Munk (Lead Tutor)

Olivia grew up in Queens, New York and attended Harvard University in 2012. She graduated Cum Laude in 2016 with a degree in English and a minor in Mind/Brain/Behavior. At Harvard, she was an active theatre director and wrote for The Crimson's magazine, Fifteen Minutes ,  for which she served as Editor-at-Large. She blogged for Harvard's Office for the Arts, and was a Becky Greenwald Ledecky Fellow for Harvard Magazine, which allowed her to write columns, news articles, and personal dispatches. After graduating, she went on to pursue a Master of Studies in English (1900-present) at St. Catherine's College, Oxford. She was awarded a Tier 1 Graduate Entrepreneur Visa in order to found her theatre company, Part of the Main, which focuses on improving the representation of women creatives and women's stories in the professional theatre industry.

At UES Olivia specializes in assisting students with both the Maths and English sides of the SAT and the ACT, as well as the ISEE/SSAT and AP Subject Tests. Olivia approaches tuition is a friendly manner, taking special consideration of a student's comfort. Olivia believes that when students feel supported in lessons, they are able to better engage and take an active role in their studies. Olivia excels at making the content approachable, particularly for students who may feel intimidated by the harder maths concepts such as algebra or complex American grammar concepts.

As well as tuition, Olivia also provides application support for personal statements, essays, and college choice. 

Olivia teaches:

  • ACT: all sections
  • SAT: all sections
  • AP Subjects: English Literature, Economics, US History
  • A-Level Subjects: History, English, Economics,
  • ISEE and SSAT: all sections and levels
  • Specialist Subjects: English Literature, Maths
  • Humanities: History and Geography
Olivia M UES

Aditi Periyannan (Lead Tutor)

Having recently graduated from Tufts University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering with the highest honors, Aditi is currently studying as a postgraduate student at Imperial College London and The Royal College of Art.

Having grown up in California, Aditi has extensive experience with the American education system and the process of applying to American universities. As well as providing personalized tutoring for the ACT/SAT, Aditi also teaches a wide range of AP Exams, including BC Calculus, Physics, Environmental Science, Macroeconomics, Psychology, US History, and Art History.

While at University, Aditi mentored and tutored local high school students through the Society of Women Engineers to help with STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) subjects as well as the college application process. Additionally, as a Girl Scout troop leader, she built strong relationships with parents, families, and local schools. Having gone through the American college application process herself, Aditi has the insight to help students both prepare for their tests as well as help students reach their full potential, and start university in the US.

Aditi teaches:

  • ACT: all sections
  • SAT: all sections
  • SSAT: all levels
  • ISEE: all levels
  • AP: BC Calculus, Physics, Environmental Science, Macroeconomics, Psychology, US History, and Art History
Aditi P UES

Sean Kelly (Lead Tutor)

Born in the north of England, Sean holds a BA in English language, graduating from the University of Manchester with First-Class Honours in 2008. Two years later, he became a fully qualified teacher and has amassed over ten years' experience teaching at prestigious secondary schools in the UK, Spain and the Middle East. During this time, he has gained a reputation for helping countless students to fulfil their academic potential.

Sean recognises that the most successful lessons take place in environments in which students feel comfortable and supported and so he believes that building a rapport with his students is a crucial part of the learning journey – something that he has always been successful in doing. Sean also aims to instil in his students the confidence to take ownership of their own learning; he sees this as crucial in developing into a well-rounded, successful individual.

Sean recently ventured into the world of full-time tutoring, using the skills and experience he has acquired over the years to prepare his students for a range of exams, including GCSE and A-level English. He now teaches all sections of the ACT and SAT.

In his free time, Sean likes to keep himself as physically active as possible. In recent years, he has developed a greater appreciation for the great outdoors and has spent many a chilly night in his tent in fields across the UK.

Sean teaches:

  • ACT: all sections
  • SAT: all sections
Sean K UES

Arun Janssens

Originally from Japan, Arun moved to the United States to attend Brown University, where he earned a BA in Biology. During is degree, Arun worked as a Teaching Assistant for an advanced cell biology seminar where he helped graduate and undergraduate students synthesize information from lecture material and understand key points from assigned research literature.

After graduating, Arun continued in the education sector and became an Assistant Science Teacher in New York City where he taught students with learning difficulties such as ADHD, dyslexia and autism. With abilities and needs varying from student to student, Arun's challenge was to identify key areas where his students required support and design personalised lesson plans to target those areas accordingly. This attention to the specific needs of students has served him well at UES, as tailors each lesson towards the needs of the individual pupil.

As someone who independently applied to US universities as an international student, Arun has a personal understanding of how daunting the admissions process can feel from the outside looking in. Arun looks to make the process feel more accessible to students who may not be well acquainted with standardised tests or the US approach to education, while motivating them to do their best. Arun has passed all sections of the SAT and ACT with full marks and teaches all aspects of the exams.Outside of tutoring, Arun works as a Community Disability Advocate where he empowers clients to advocate for their rights and supports them as they engage with their communities.

Arun teaches:

  • ACT: all sections
  • SAT: all sections
Arun J UES

Jared Michaud

Jared grew up in rural northern Maine and graduated cum laude in 2019 from Yale University with a BA and Distinction in Theater Studies and a Certificate in Education Studies. He also studied under Janna Baty at the Yale School of Music and was awarded the Beekman Cannon Friends Prize and the Metcalfe Prize for the best music and theater essays, respectively. While at Yale, Jared served as an Academic Strategies Peer Mentor at the Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning and as a Teaching Artist in numerous youth music and theater education contexts. Jared has offered college application advice and test prep services as a volunteer with REACH and a Teaching Assistant at Bowdoin College's Upward Bound program. His college application essays have been featured in The Road to Yale (2017) and on various college admissions websites.

Since Yale, Jared has received an MA in Music Education and Vocal Performance from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance, and alongside tutoring, Jared works as a professional opera singer and music facilitator. He also was the recipient of the Yale Glee Club Service Through Music Fellowship, allowing him to live in Jerusalem and serve an Assistant Conductor and Dialogue Facilitator for the Israeli-Palestinian Jerusalem Youth Chorus. .

At UES, Jared specializes in tutoring both the Math and the English sections of the ACT and the SAT. Using a student-centered approach, Jared particularly cares about the needs, interests, and strengths of the students, rooted in the belief that the best path to academic success is full student engagement and commitment. His dialogic pedagogy constantly balances the enjoyment of the student with a deep understanding of concepts, ultimately making the content very approachable.

Jared teaches:

  • ACT: all sections
  • SAT: all sections
Jared M UES

Sarah Azamtu

Sarah graduated from the University of Bristol where she obtained her Master's in Aerospace Engineering. At university she first began privately tutoring during her free time, coaching students to achieve high marks in their A-Levels and the International Baccalaureate.

During her time at Bristol she conducted multiple research projects focusing on areas such as advanced composites and bridging the gap between human-computer interaction and materials science. She also has a keen interest in space travel and was lucky enough to work with Airbus and The European Space Agency, working on the design and development of one of their Earth observation satellites. Outside of the lecture theatre, she was a cheerleader on her university’s national champion team where she was thrown into the air hundreds of times a week! In her term breaks, she also liked to spend her time hiking and volunteering abroad and was fortunate enough to receive an award from her university for this work.

After achieving her master's degree with First Class Honours, her interest in space led her to a role at a cutting-edge reusable rocket engine company in Oxford. Tutoring has always been something she has enjoyed and she is particularly drawn to the challenging style of the SATs and ACTs. She believes it is important to excite and encourage her students so that they are eager to learn, especially as the tests require students to think differently from what they may be used to with the UK curriculum.

Sarah teaches:

  • ACT: all sections
  • SAT: all sections
Sarah A UES

Yinka Banjo

After earning his BSc in Biological Sciences at UCL, Yinka left the UK to join a Chinese tech startup on a scholarship from the British Council. Since his return in early 2018, Yinka has continued to pursue his passion for technology through participation in hackathons across the capital where most recently his team had the opportunity to pitch to investors and VCs.

A keen believer in the power of education to transform and access to a quality education being a fundamental human right, Yinka began his life as a private Tutor helping underprivileged students obtain top grades in STEM subjects. Since then, Yinka has amassed over 1000 hours worth of tutoring experience across GCSE, A Levels and university entrance exams with a particular affinity for US standardized tests.

Yinka’s passion for teaching is a direct product of his passion for learning and he always endeavours to not only help students improve their attainment, but to also cultivate a genuine desire to know more. Yinka believes in meeting students exactly at their point of need, using language and strategies which are bespoke and centered around their unique requirements.

Outside of his work as a Tutor, Yinka can normally be found rebooting his computer after writing buggy code.

Yinka teaches:

  • ACT: all sections
  • SAT: all sections
  • SSAT: all levels
  • ISEE: all levels
Yinka B UES

Honor Granville

A recent graduate from Georgetown University where she obtained a degree in Government & Politics (with minors in Music and English), Honor has personal experience of the process of applying to US colleges from the UK.

Before moving to the US, Honor worked as both an Academic and Peer Mentor while at Latymer school, which involved private, confidential counselling for students on a regular basis as well as academic support in English, Maths, and French. In addition, Honor has also worked at Notting Hill Preparatory School as a Gap Year Assistant, where she was selected by the Special Educational Needs Department to work individually with younger students. Most recently, Honor took part in Georgetown's Sursum Corda Program, meeting twice weekly with students to build literacy and reading comprehension.

Having studied in the US, Honor has extensive knowledge of and insight into the admissions process, including SAT/ACT tests and college essays. Honor uses her past experiences in both tutoring and mentoring to build relationships with students and work collaboratively with them throughout the testing process. Through this approach, she is able to transmit her enjoyment of the teaching and learning process in each lesson.

Honor teaches:

  • ACT: all sections
  • SAT: all sections
Honor G UES

Lori Wormald

Lori attended university and spent the early years of her working life in the US before being transferred by her employer to UK.  Lori had a successful career in the IT industry based in the UK and throughout Europe and the US.  She became a full time tutor twelve years ago, focusing mainly on A level maths, GCSE maths, and the US math curriculum.      

Lori began working with both the ACT and SAT in 2014 and has logged hundreds of hours helping students achieve their test prep goals.  Given her experience with both the US and UK education systems, Lori is particularly good at helping students interpret the ACT and SAT and how they differ from the traditional UK exams.  

Lori holds a BSc in mathematics with distinction and BA in Education - both from the University of Minnesota.  

In Lori's spare time she loves to play tennis, ski, paint, walk her dog and spend time with her husband and adult son.

Lori teaches:

  • ACT: all sections
  • SAT: all sections
  • A-Level/GCSE: Maths
  • AP: Calculus

Laurence Collin

Laurence Collin is a full-time professional tutor specialising in US university standardised testing. With over 6 years of professional experience in the field, Laurence is one of our top senior tutors specialising maths and sciences.

Prior to studying physics and philosophy at the University of Bristol, Laurence attended Highgate School here in London. There, he earned two prestigious scholarships and excelled in his studies. Laurence's experience at Highgate School allows him to connect with students attending similar schools as he knows first-hand the demands of being enrolled in a top UK institution. Laurence has helped students with US standardised tests from excellent schools around the UK including Harrow School, Tonbridge School, UCS, and LAE Tottenham.

Laurence believes a key tenet to doing well is to identifying the student's motivation. Whether from curiosity, wonder, the thrill of learning, or the more prosaic desire to succeed and get qualifications, students need to have motivation to learn. Finding out a student's driving reason for tuition helps him tailor their sessions to best revolve around the student reaching their goals.In his spare time he likes playing tennis and listening to podcasts.

Laurence C UES

Laurence teaches:

  • ACT: Maths and Science sections
  • SAT: Maths sections
  • A Level: Maths and Physics
  • Specialist Subjects: Maths, Physics

Ezra Harker Shaw

Originally from Scotland, Ezra is one of our most experienced tutors and teaches the full spectrum of US standardized tests including the ISEE, SSAT, SAT, and ACT, as well as UK tests including Common Entrance exams. Since graduating with a 1st Class English Degree, Ezra has gone on to obtain a MA in Russian Literature from UCL and is currently undertaking a PhD on Collaboration in Literature.

A tutor for nearly ten years, Ezra has taught the SAT and ACT in top schools around the UK including City of London Boy's School, Uppingham, Marymount and LAE Tottenham. As part of UES, Ezra has helped their students gain places at top colleges in both the USA and UK. They particularly specialise in working with students who have dyslexia or other learning difficulties.

A published poet, Ezra runs poetry workshops and also teaches English & Creative Writing at university level. Their experience with writing and literature helps inform their teaching style, as they teach students to think critically while encouraging students' talents and building their confidence. Using this wealth of experience, Ezra is able to tailor their teaching in order to be effective when working with students of all different ages and backgrounds.

Ezra teaches:

  • ACT: all sections
  • SAT: all sections
  • ISEE and SSAT: English at all levels
  • Specialist Subjects: English Literature
Ezra H UES

Elsa Rohm

Elsa has been engaged with education in the United States from a young age. She attended numerous engineering camps at Brown University and developed a passion for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education, serving as a mentor in the program. While at university, Elsa tutored middle and high school students, particularly in mathematics, and provided support for university applications.

Originally from Providence, Rhode Island, Elsa graduated magna cum laude from Tufts University with a degree in Environmental Engineering and Community Health and a minor in Dance. Following this, Elsa completed her MSc in the Control of Infectious Diseases with distinction, the highest honor, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Since joining UES, Elsa has utilised her experience to help students achieve their goals on the SAT and ACT tests as well as help students prepare for university in the US. As part of this, she believes in the importance of developing strong relationships with students, parents, and families.

Elsa teaches:

  • ACT: all sections
  • SAT: all sections
Elsa R UES

Maria Blesie 

Born in the US, Maria grew up in London before moving back across the pond for university. She graduated from Princeton University in 2018 with an A.B. degree in History (summa cum laude), and her senior thesis analysed the evolution of Anglo-American informal diplomacy between 1887 and 1945. Maria is passionate about history, and was an editor for the Princeton Historical Review, a bi-annual journal of the best independent historical research produced by undergraduate students at the university.

At Princeton, Maria served as a Fellow at the Princeton Writing Centre, where she worked with university students on assignments ranging from short response papers to senior theses with multiple chapters. Her teaching emphasised equipping students with the tools to continue developing proficiency in their writing in the long-term, and she is a firm believer in adapting her tutoring approach to the individual needs of her students.

Maria teaches the ACT and SAT, and aims to work with students to develop the tools and skills they need to succeed in these exams. In her spare time, Maria enjoys reading, exploring museums, and watching football and tennis. She is also a singer, and hopes to join a choir again soon.

Maria teaches:

  • ACT: all sections
  • SAT: all sections
Maria B UES

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info@ueseducation.com

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