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:
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Have achieved full marks on the tests they teach;
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Are highly educated at top US or UK universities (many have PhDs);
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Undergo extensive training in these tests;
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Know the application processes for schools and universities inside out;
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Are passionate about their subjects and about teaching;
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Have CPD-certified Safeguarding qualifications updated regularly;
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Are fully DBS checked; and
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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.
Here is a selection of our tutors:
Simon Lewis
Simon is a director of UES Education and Head of College Counselling. He graduated with a BA (Hons) in English Literature at Goldsmiths, University of London, in 2003, and then trained as an English language teacher. Prior to working at UES, Simon also worked in business development for Working Links, a public-private partnership running Government contracts, and then set up a social enterprise offering career, financial, and housing advice in Kensington and Chelsea. He is also an accomplished cellist, and has toured extensively across the UK and Europe.
Simon has designed and delivered courses for a wide range of students from teenagers to postgraduates and professionals, and brings over ten years of teaching experience to UES. Simon has designed English courses and resources for the full spectrum of US standardised tests, and also teaches the maths and science components of the ACT, SAT, ISEE, and SSAT. His approach to teaching and to designing courses is to focus not only on what is taught, but also on how students learn, and to challenge and motivate students in a supportive, relaxed environment. His students have gone on to gain places at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, UPenn, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, University of Chicago, Duke, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Stanford, and many more.
Simon teaches:
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Head of College Counselling
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ACT: all sections
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SAT: all sections
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SAT Subject Tests: English Literature, Math Level 1
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GRE and GMAT: Verbal and Writing sections
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ISEE and SSAT: all levels
Laurence Varda
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:
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ACT: all sections
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SAT: all sections
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SAT Subject Tests: Math Level 1, Math Level 2
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ISEE and SSAT: all sections and levels
Dan Escott
Having recently moved to London with over 5,000 hours of test prep experience, Dan utilizes his past decade of work in the United States as an ACT & SAT tutor to meet the needs of all students. He has taken over 80 ACTs and SATs in order to fully understand the test patterns and to be able to deconstruct both tests into clear, learnable entities.
Collaborating 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 standardized test. Dan works with both the students and their parents to ensure that his students set goals and remain accountable through purpose-driven homework. Interpersonal relationships are important to Dan, so he focuses on developing a strong rapport with his students and getting to know their motivators.
Dan holds a BA from Wake Forest University and an M.Ed from Eastern University. Prior to becoming a full time test tutor in 2014, Dan was a member of the Philadelphia Teaching Fellows’ eleventh cohort, an organization that seeks to bring high quality teachers to the most economically disadvantaged schools in the Philadelphia School District. Within the PSD, Dan taught social studies to students from 7th-12th grade and ran SAT workshops. Outside of education, Dan has recently relocated with his wife and two cats from Philadelphia to Crouch End. Dan religiously follows the Philadelphia 76ers (his hometown’s basketball franchise) and remains active through basketball, running, swimming, and lifting.
Dan teaches:
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ACT: all sections
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SAT: all sections
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ISEE and SSAT: all sections and levels
Bassam Beidas
Originally from Lebanon, Bassam earned a full-ride tennis scholarship to Pepperdine University in California, where he earned a BSc in Business Administration. After reaching the top 500 in the professional tennis world rankings, he founded a thriving start-up in Beirut that later brought him to London.
Having amassed over 500+ hours of US standardised tutoring, Bassam has honed his teaching abilities to work with students of all levels. He places a heavy emphasis on understanding how the test-writers think and getting his students to identify the traps that are waiting for them. He also leverages lessons learned from his time as an athlete, working with his students to improve their diet, sleep, and more in order to bring out peak performance on test day. Bassam has worked with students from many of the top schools in London such as Eton, Harrow, American School in London, and Brighton College.
In London, Bassam successfully gained entry to the London Business School for his MBA. Bassam’s journey to business school required him to master the GMAT, which further honed his skills in mathematics and English. Bassam used his own teaching methods for the SAT and ACT to help inform his own GMAT studies. Bassam channels his recent test prep into his teaching, as he understands first-hand the pressures of standardised tests such as the SAT and ACT. In the process, Bassam developed the belief that anyone can conquer a standardised test if they are willing to work hard and try different methods.
Bassam teaches:
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ACT: all sections
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SAT: all sections
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SAT Subject Tests: Math L1 and L2
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GRE and GMAT: all sections
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ISEE and SSAT: all sections and levels
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US College Essay Guidance
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Testing advice and support
Olivia Munk
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 SAT 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:
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ACT: all sections
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SAT: all sections
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SAT Subject Tests: English Literature
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ISEE and SSAT: all sections and levels
Matt Lukacs
After graduating from the University of York with a degree in Theoretical Physics, Matt joined the accountancy firm KPMG to begin a career in finance. Having a change of heart, he then decided to study for his PhD in nuclear fusion at Imperial College, investigating the safety analysis of commercial fusion power stations.
Matt headed various seminars during his time at university and volunteered to help younger students tackle set problems. Since then, he has amassed hundreds of hours of tuition covering a wide range of exams from GCSE English to university physics. He now specialises in US standardised tests and has experience leading courses covering all sections of the SAT and ACT at top schools including Charterhouse, Southbank, King's Canterbury, Ardingly, and Bradfield College.
Matt is a firm believer that anyone can solve complex problems if they’re explained in the right way. His passion for the subjects he teaches can be seen in his approach to lessons, not simply repeating facts but allowing a deeper understanding and enjoyment of the subject at hand. As Matt has vast experience teaching the entirety of the SAT and ACT, he's able to help students apply their strengths in one section or another to the areas they struggle with most.
Matt teaches:
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ACT: all sections
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SAT: all sections
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SAT Subject Tests: Math L1/L2 and Physics
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ISEE and SSAT: all sections and levels
Aida Rocci Ruiz
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 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. 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 she can inspire young students to tell their story in a compelling and personal way for their application essays. Currently, she is pursuing a second masters in London at the prestigious Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. On top of teaching, she continues to work as a literary advisor and editor in the drama 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:
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ACT: all sections
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SAT: all sections
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ISEE and SSAT: all sections and levels
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AP: Psychology
Joanna Harker Shaw
Originally from Scotland, Joanna is one of our most experienced English 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, Joanna 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, Joanna 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, Joanna has helped her students gain places at top colleges in both the USA and UK. She particularly specializes in working with students who have dyslexia or other learning difficulties.
A published poet, Joanna runs poetry workshops and also teaches English & Creative Writing at university level. Her experience with writing and literature helps inform her teaching style, as she teaches students to think critically while encouraging their talents and building their confidence. Using this wealth of experience, Joanna is able to tailor her teaching in order to be effective when working with students of all different ages and backgrounds.
Joanna teaches:
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ACT: English, Reading, and Writing sections
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SAT: English, Reading, and Writing sections
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SAT Subject Tests: English Literature
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ISEE and SSAT: English at all levels
Peter Woodford
A US native originally from Chicago, Peter received a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, where he double majored in Philosophy and Religious Studies (2004). He went on to do a Ph.D. in Religious Studies at Stanford University, focusing on philosophy of religion and the relationship between religion and science. Peter’s PhD was awarded from Stanford University in 2013, and he first came to the UK via a 3-year postdoc at Cambridge University. In addition to tutoring, Peter is an active academic. He teaches courses in philosophy and religion at universities in the UK and has articles published in leading academic journals.
Peter has several years' experience teaching at the college level both in the US and UK, and he brings an understanding of both the US and UK systems to his tutoring. Peter covers all sections of the SAT and ACT, and he has a passion for learning across a range of subjects. He enjoys helping students break down the tests and the types of questions asked, so that they feel comfortable and prepared on test-day.
Outside of tutoring, Peter mostly goes on trips with his family and chases after his very active 2 yr old daughter, making sure she doesn’t injure herself. He loves hiking, reading, and music; while he continues to follow sports in the US, he is developing a passion for football and cricket.
Peter teaches:
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ACT: all sections
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SAT: all sections
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