WHO IS THE BRITISH TUTOR?

If Sherlock Holmes and Monty Python had a baby, it would be Nick Thomas, aka “The British Tutor”.

My unique tutoring style is a mix of detective work and comedy: I listen very carefully to how my students think, figure out what’s holding them back, and then we laugh all the way to the solution.

There’s nothing like humo(u)r to open up the mind, which lets in fresh ideas and makes learning genuinely enjoyable.

My tutoring clients online are based all around the world: in America, Great Britain, Russia, Switzerland, Italy, the Caribbean, Australia. And after 9 years’ based in London and 6 years’ in New York and Los Angeles, I understand the systems in both the USA and the UK… and how to beat them.

Welcome to my site. Please subscribe in the form in the sidebar: I’m going to be sharing a lot of insight and information for free, and I’d love to keep you up to date. And please contact me about how I can help you or your child.

WHAT YOU WOULDN’T GUESS ABOUT ME

As well as being a scholar at Eton and Oxford, I came second in the UK’s first ever National Sudoku Championship and appeared on the BBC News to talk about how to solve them!

My expertise in numeracy and logic led to a commission to write the book Teach Yourself Advanced Sudoku and Kakuro, which was published in 2006. I was also commissioned to write three books on mathematics for a Japanese publisher. While I was still living in London, the Guardian newspaper hired me to write a column for them called “Nick Afka Thomas does the Maths”; and my board game “The Eton Game” was also published.

I am ALSO a comedy writer/performer and actor, so if your child has any questions about whether the mathsy and Englishy sides of life can mix, I’m more than happy to help them see the connection! I was in the world-famous Oxford Revue at university and subsequently regularly performed in the world’s longest-running comedy show, The Newsrevue.

I am now part of the successful, married, British-American comedy sketch duo “We Are Thomasse“. We’ve had several big viral hits, most notably with Awkward Exes: Britain & America, and frequently work with two-time Grammy-winner Jason Mraz.

Comedy and fun is an important part of making lessons enjoyable… and enjoyable lessons mean engaged pupils who want to learn!

WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT MY TUTORING?

I focus on making learning meaningful. “Meaningful” in that it makes sense, “meaningful” in that it matters, “meaningful” in that my pupils care about what they’re learning and why they’re learning it.

When a student connects to the material in such a complete way- both emotionally and intellectually- confidence and academic growth quickly follow, and from there… success.

Our school system and the culture of testing in general lures us into chasing after the results. This “results-above-all” mindset is self-defeating and misses the point of why we value education in the first place. Of course we want to get the best grades possible, but those elusive results only start to come easily when you stop chasing the results, and instead seek to understand the material itself.

So what is the end-goal of education, if not results? It is to train the next generation in how to process information, draw conclusions, solve problems and be able to apply their skills to unforeseen situations.

Universities and businesses are desperate for motivated people who have the confidence to think for themselves and can deal with whatever problem comes their way. That’s why I don’t offer simple homework help. Instead I transform your child’s experience of the subject itself so that they will connect with their natural abilities and ultimately their faith in their own abilities.

Everyone can excel, but most children are never shown how. A little work in the right place goes a very, very long way.