Experienced and passionate history tutor History teacher at London - Samuel

Sam helped prep my daughter for her Oxbridge interviews this fall. The coaching, advice and constructive criticism he provided her with were invaluable. She thoroughly enjoyed each session and more importantly gained a lot of confidence thereafter. Although I was not privy to the tutorials themselves, I did see the emails prior to each session and the detailed feedback after each. Sam's meticulousness, in-depth instruction and the thought he put into each session were evident in these exchanges. He truly went above and beyond.

Samuel and I had approximately 12 online tutor lessons. We worked through each focus area separately and then made a final review in the final lessons.

It was a pleasure working with Sam throughout the application process for studying History at Oxford. Sam and I covered a host of different areas, including the HAT (History Aptitude Test), historiography, and subject-specific interview technique and practice. Sam was flexible regarding meeting times for our sessions via Zoom, and overall, working with him really helped to make my experience of applying for Oxford much less stressful and more enjoyable, while also cementing my passion for History and broadening my knowledge and understanding of the subject.

Good god, I don't know where to start! Sam was so wonderfully helpful and lovely while helping me prepare for my Oxford History Aptitude Test and interviews. He was great at getting me to understand the correct approach to the HAT (very different from ordinary history essays I was used to churning out upon request at school) and explained everything so clearly and yet in such incredible detail that I understood immediately. What few concerns and uncertainties I still had or later came up with were all quickly ironed out in our subsequent sessions together. The interviews were no different - you were so precise and constructive with your feedback that between our first and last mock-interview, I really think I improved considerably.

Applying to Oxford is a stressful process in and of itself. It was made worse for me since I switched courses last minute - and was also applying to the US (a combination that I, in my naivety, tried, and am forever grateful to have made it out alive to warn others against). Sam's support, insight and reassurance really made the Oxford process so much less daunting and stressful and increased my confidence immensely in the lead up to my HAT and interviews. He also just made the whole thing so much more fun than it otherwise would have been and was a pure delight to work alongside. If Sam could manage with such dire ingredients as the ones I presented with (applying to Oxford, unprepared and terrified), I'm sure he would be great for anything!

Although, on a more constructive note, I thought there was a way you could have been more helpful: actually sitting the HAT and interviews for me, but other than that…

And at any rate, it did not matter too much in the end since I got an offer to read History at Oxford anyway.

Sam has an incredible and infectious enthusiasm for history, which makes him a fantastic teacher and communicator. His vast knowledge of a wide variety of historical periods make him espeically well suited to students who want to explore beyond the confines of the base curriculum.

Sam helped me a great deal in my application to read history at Oxford. Sessions with Sam were great for many reasons, but two factors were perhaps most important. First, he helped me to understand the demands of the personal statement and the History Aptitude Test, two of the most important parts of the application. He helped me to identify the most suitable methods of approaching them, specific to my interests and needs. Second, Sam introduced me to some of the most interesting theoretical questions central to the subject of history. Notably, we discussed topics that were new to me, such as historiography and philosophies of history. Sam provided me with reading suggestions that challenged me as a historian and opened my eyes to some of the broader issues intrinsic to the discipline of writing history. In all our conversations, Sam asked constructive and challenging questions which led to really interesting discussions.