1^st lesson free

Andrew

Rate $80
Response 1h

$80/hr

1^st lesson free

Test prep
Writing
University Entrance
School Entrance Exams
Advanced Placement

Former British Council DoS | IELTS Writing & Speaking Specialist and Question Writer | 100% Pass Rate | 20+ Years' Experience

Test prep
Writing
University Entrance
School Entrance Exams
Advanced Placement

Lesson location

- online

About Andrew

Every student is different, and it's never mattered where they started, only how they finished. Over the years I've helped thousands of students reach their goals, and I'm with you every step of the way.

I care more about whether you actually understand something than whether we've technically covered it. My style is patient but direct, I'll tell you honestly what isn't working, but I'll never leave you without a clear way to fix it. What keeps me doing this after twenty years is simple: I still get a genuine kick out of watching someone realise they can do something they didn't think they could. That moment never gets old, and it's the reason this still feels like more than a job to me.

That's shaped by a path that wasn't straight. Classroom teacher in Taiwan. Director of Studies at a British Council school, training other teachers, not just my own students. Running operations for an international education company, designing IELTS programmes for hundreds of students. Then building my own academic English company here in Cambridge. Every stage taught me the same thing: the learner comes first. When you understand what you're learning and why, you're a step closer to real English proficiency.

Technical skill is half the exam. The other half is confidence, how naturally you express your own thoughts under pressure. So I help you relax into English enough to make mistakes, try things, and actually enjoy it. That shows up in your score as much as your grammar does.

I'm Cambridge-based, hold full safeguarding qualifications, and have direct connections with university admissions offices. Many of my students have gone on to Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL and LSE.

About the lesson

Sound familiar?
Stuck on the same band score for longer than you'd like. Your English is good, genuinely good. But something in the exam room keeps costing you marks you don't understand. Maybe you've already done a generic IELTS course. Left with a folder of tips that didn't move your score. Maybe there's a university deadline coming. A visa application. A career move, waiting on this one number.

I know this pattern. Twenty years of watching students in exactly this spot. It's almost never a knowledge gap. It's one specific, fixable thing. Hiding in plain sight.

How I teach >>
Every lesson starts with data, not guesswork. First, a full needs analysis: your level against your target band. Your writing marked against the real IELTS criteria. Your speaking assessed the way an examiner actually assesses it. That tells us exactly what's costing you marks. So we don't waste a session on skills you've already got.

Lessons are built around you. Strong grammar, weak paragraphs? We fix structure. Good vocabulary, underdeveloped speaking answers? We work on extending your ideas. Nothing generic. Nothing off-the-shelf.

Your first lesson is always free. We go through your skills in detail together, breaking down what's strong and what needs work, so you leave with your questions answered and a clear sense of direction. No pressure. No commitment to continue.

What you get >>
After lesson one, you'll have a clear breakdown of your band against each IELTS criterion. For Writing: Task Response, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, Grammatical Range. For Speaking: fluency, pronunciation, vocabulary, idea development. You'll know exactly where the gap is. Not just that one exists.

I use my own AI-assisted marking tools to track your progress, lesson by lesson. Which errors keep recurring. Which criteria are improving. Which still need work. No guesswork, for either of us. You'll also build a personal collection of fully worked model answers, marked and explained to examiner standard, for every task type we cover. Something to revise from long after the lesson ends.

Between lessons, extra practice writing gets fast, detailed, criterion-referenced feedback. Keep improving between sessions. Don't wait a week to find out what you got wrong.

Who this is for >>
Academic IELTS students at any starting point, from Band 5 upwards. Refining a strong 7 into an 8, or building the fundamentals for the first time, it works either way. Everything is scaffolded, staged and made manageable. Broken into steps that fit where you are now. Not a fixed programme you're expected to keep pace with.

My background >>
CELTA qualified, Cambridge English Language Assessment. Over 20 years in English language teaching. Four years as Director of Studies at a British Council school. Over a decade running my own academic English company. I've designed IELTS and Cambridge English programmes for cohorts of hundreds of students. Built the assessment rubrics and marking standards behind them. Trained other teachers to apply them consistently. I know these criteria from the examiner's side, not just the student's.

Lessons run 60 to 90 minutes. Entirely online. No software to install. Any device. Flexible scheduling.

My promise >>
You'll leave with the skills to exceed even your own expectations. Not just meet the score you came in for.

If that's you, let's find the thing that's actually holding you back.

Rates

Rate

Pack prices

5h: $400
10h: $800

online

$80/h

free lessons

The first lesson with Andrew will allow you to get to know each other and discuss your needs for future lessons.

Former British Council DoS | IELTS Writing & Speaking Specialist and Question Writer | 100% Pass Rate | 20+ Years' Experience

Lesson location

About Andrew

About the lesson

Rates

Rate

Pack prices

online

free lessons

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Former British Council DoS | IELTS Writing & Speaking Specialist and Question Writer | 100% Pass Rate | 20+ Years' Experience

Lesson location

About Andrew

About the lesson

Rates

Rate

Pack prices

online

free lessons

Similar Test prep tutors in Cambridge

Sophie

San

Pauline

Allu

Henry

Sean

Alex Hartman

Marianela

Max

Amber

Nina

Dhusar

Kerry

Alan

Ngoc

Shanaiya

Anna

Komal

James

Jonathan

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