Some Highlights of Summer 2019

Place at Medical School confirmed.
Foundation student made coveted Grade 5.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
(Mum of against-the-odds Grade 4 student)

Expert Tuition in Mathematics and Computing

with Dr Grahame Blackwell [info]

BTech(Hons) PGCE PhD (Artificial Intelligence)

MBCS CITP CEng EurIng FCybS

Former Head of Maths, Ivybridge Community College

Former Senior Lecturer, University of Plymouth

Marked success with those who 'find maths difficult'

Also with Oxford & Cambridge entrants

- and all those in between

Marked success with adult learners.

Specialist in AS/A Level & Oxford/Cambridge entrance exams

N.B. Oxford/Cambridge entrance isn't just about learning to think outside the box - in most cases you have to define your own box!

Based on Dartmoor,
half a mile from Becky Falls
within easy reach of
Bovey Tracey, Ashburton, Newton Abbot, Chagford, Chudleigh, Buckfastleigh, Teignmouth.

Available on Skype for televideo tuition anywhere

in the world.

Rates

Up to GCSE:               £34/hr

FSMQ/AS/A Level: £37.5/hr

STEP/MAT(Oxbridge):£40/hr

 
If you've "always been rubbish at maths", it may well be down to teaching that didn't suit your personal needs.  You're almost certainly more able than you think you are - especially when you're not getting lost in the crowd but have individual tuition.

If you need to polish your techniques for an important result, there are always ways to do that - especially on a one-to-one basis.

If you're looking for good A Level grades, or even Oxford or Cambridge entrance, who better to help you achieve those goals than one who's helped many, many others successfully down that road before?

Sound-bites from Summer 2024

"I am immensely grateful for what you've done for me over the years. Your guidance has been pivotal, not just in maths, but in shaping my future."[Secured a place reading Physics at University of Durham]

"I achieved a D at A level [Maths], thanks so much, couldn't have done it without you."

"Thanks again - I really think she turned that corner with your help." [Top grade in Foundation level Maths GCSE]

"We are very proud of him and absolutely delighted with a grade 6 in [GCSE] maths. Thank you so much for all your efforts, we are all very grateful."

" I just wanted to let you know that **** got a Grade 5 in his Maths GCSE. We're all delighted as it means he's been accepted into the 6th form which is what he wanted."

"He did good thank you Grahame. He got his Maths [GCSE] ... Thank you for all your help with his Maths."

"Just to say thank you, ***** achieved a high five in her maths. Thank you again for your help and encouragement." [Top GCSE Foundation grade]

"***** is over the moon, she passed her maths!! Thank you again for your patience with her."

"**** got his GCSE results today and got a 6 in Maths! Thank you for all your help and hard work to help him to achieve this. "

"Hi Grahame, I’m pleased to tell you that I passed my exam! Thank you for all your help with your tutoring sessions." [Adult student taking City & Guilds Functional Skills exam previously failed, before tuition.]

"Thanks very much for your support and Tutoring over the last year. She has significantly improved in her math and got a 6 in her end of year report." [Yr 8 student]

To contact Dr Blackwell                         Email Address:
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If no reply within 24 hours
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I just wanted to let you know that I’ve passed my Functional Skills Level 2 exam! I’m really grateful for all your support and guidance throughout my studies. Your teaching made a big difference, and I couldn’t have done it without your help. Thanks again for everything!

From Summer 2023

"He got a 4 in Maths!! Thank you!"

"Thank you so much for all your help and patience with ****** - he could not have achieved a 5 without you."

"Thank you so much for this term it has really helped ******."

"****** says she definitely wouldn’t have passed her Further Maths without your help so thank you once again for all your help, support and encouragement. She was really lacking in confidence with her Maths before her sessions with you and you really helped build it up." [Maths: 8, Further Maths: 6]

"We are very happy this morning as **** got a 5 in her Maths, which is what she needed for her courses next year! Thank you very much!"

"Also, another thank you [re support in investigating medical condition] ...they discovered it affects her processing, and that meant extra time. It was exactly what she needed to be able to really demonstrate her true ability."

"Just to let you know ****** got a 4. Thank you so much for all your hard work with her ... it could have been a very different story without your guidance."

"His Maths mock result was very good compared with the overall class average so he's clearly been listening. Thank you very much Grahame for all your help again."

Highlights of Summer 2017

"over the moon": excellent GCSE result!
"I passed maths !!!!! ... so happy": resit.
"I'm so happy ... it's a hell of a turnaround" (A Level Grade A)

"Just to let you know the good news that W got the grades he needed for his place at Magdalen [Oxford]. Of course he is delighted, as are we. Thanks so much for your support and encouragement which W is extremely grateful for."

"I am over the moon with my results, I got ... including a 6 in maths!!! I am so overjoyed and so proud that I finally got the 6! Our lessons were a huge help and a huge confidence builder! I just wanted to say a huge thanks to you as I couldn't have done it without you!! Thank you so much!"

"We have just got I's GCSE results. For Maths she got a B!! She is absolutely over the moon as she does not find Maths easy but with your help she managed a fantastic result so thank you so much!" [One of two Foundation Tier students who both achieved the highest grade possible in that tier.]

Results, Summer 2016

Mum & daughter "both over the moon" at result just short of grade A (in a middling GCSE set scoring average grade C).

3rd try at GCSE Foundation Level (max. poss. grade is a C), got C that she needs for her career - "Thank you so much !!!".

ALL other GCSE results were A or A*, with exception of one uncharacteristically low grade C (middling set, been scoring A's) - plus a 'bonus' grade B in Further Maths for one Yr 11!

ALL A and AS Level students achieved A grades in Maths. [Another quote: "she got her 1st choice [uni], we'll always be hugely grateful".]

Cambridge entrant (previously tutored to A* in Maths & Further Maths A Level), unconditional place but chose to sit entrance exams (STEP) with tutoring in gap year to prepare for her degree. Passed both exams, including ultra-difficult STEP 3.

Highlights of Summer 2015

"I got an A in Maths!!!!!!!! Thank you so much for all your help! You are a legend!!" [Place in 1st-choice uni to study Aerospace Engineering.]

"I think it would be fairly safe to say my [GCSE] grade went from an E to a B with your help."
[TWO students initially expecting grade E actually achieved B grades at GCSE.]

"I got the grades I need to go to Plymouth! [for teaching degree course] ... I couldn't have done it without you, thank you for all your help!"

Also grades achieved for: A Level course; F.E. College; Engineering Apprenticeship; Top Maths set, 1st yr at secondary school (two students).

Spring 2016: "Thank you for all the help you've given me - I couldn't have got a place [at Cambridge] without it."

Achievements of some students in Summer 2014, plus feedback from students and parents: 'Class of 2014'

All students privately tutored to Jan 2014 have achieved their maths goals.

These include:

Successful admission to Oxford or Cambridge University (several);
Attaining A Level Maths grade required for preferred university degree course (various);
Achieving A* Maths GCSE pass in Year 10;
Achieving Maths GCSE Grade C for personal goal (adult, 50+);
Passing company entrance exam for sought-after career opportunity.

Dr Blackwell is:

A leading pioneer of educational computing, both locally and nationally - see details.

Creator and Manager of innovative university computing degree programme dramatically increasing access to highly-valued qualifications.

Former leader of an international team in a multi-million Euro research & development project for 3rd-generation mobile telecommunications (3G).

Author of three ground-breaking scientific papers published in international journals over the past six years.

When three A Level passes was the norm for good students across the UK, Grahame Blackwell led a department that saw several Maths/Science students each year getting four A Levels or even five.  Four Grade A's at A Level was not at all unusual.

At the same time Mr Blackwell (as he was then) introduced a Certificate of Proficiency in Arithmetic that was accepted by the dockyard and various other local employers, opening up real job opportunities for those who found maths rather more challenging.

At Plymouth University, as well as achieving his own PhD in a very mathematical subject (Artificial Intelligence), Grahame designed a radically new study pattern catering largely for those with little in the way of formal qualifications.  This opened up Degree and HND courses, and so also exciting career opportunities, for many people that wouldn't have had those opportunities previously.  Each year, at the time of the graduation ceremony, students would return and talk about the great jobs this initiative had won them.

Dr Blackwell's computing experience from age 17 covers a wide and varied field: experimental aircraft trials on the Harrier Jump-Jet; real-time control programming on one of the earliest global computer networks (well before the Internet); creation of the first high-level programming language for the first modular minicomputer; development of top-ranking educational software; playing a leading part in the introduction of computers across the school curriculum; PhD research in the highly specialised field of intelligent robotics; leadership of a software development team in a major international Research & Development Project; creation of a radically innovative online learning environment for students of all ages and backgrounds.

Find out how Dr Grahame Blackwell could help you (or your child).  Send him a message using the form above.

Dr Blackwell's background in educational computing

  • Introduced computing into the school curriculum before the advent of microcomputers, using programmable calculators (1976);

  • Persuaded Cornwall Education Authority to fund the first microcomputer in a Cornish school, to launch computing as a taught subject in secondary school (1977); pioneered teaching of 'O' Level Computing, also guided 6th Formers in construction of specialist digital logic circuits to interface with the school computer (1978);

  • Field-tested a range of microcomputers for an extensive article on choice of educational systems for the national organization MUSE (Microcomputer Users in Secondary Education) (1980);

  • Produced a detailed specification for cross-curricular use of 25 networked microcomputers, including in-service training in computer familiarization for secondary and primary school teachers (1981); this became the Ivybridge Educational Computing Centre, funded by IBM, BP, Tecalemit and the Dep't of Trade & Industry - the first networked computer facility in a Devon state school, providing facilities to all departments including notably CDT and remedial departments (Director: G. Blackwell);

  • Authored Longmans' MicroGuide to the BBC Computer; produced a highly successful educational software package that was adopted by the Open University for teacher training as well as being used extensively in both primary and secondary schools;

  • Provided in-service training for a large number of Devon teachers on a networked laboratory of BBC computers, linked to the BBC/DTI initiative on computer awareness; also taught/managed computing evening classes for large numbers of adults;

  • Introduced 'A' Level Computing as a 6th Form option (1982), with 100% success rate up to time of leaving to continue teaching this subject at HND, Degree and Postgraduate level (including research supervision up to PhD level) - see above.