We cover Maths and the Sciences from GCSE to undergraduate level, plus the full range of senior school and university entrance exams. Whatever the area, the approach is the same: match the student to someone who genuinely specialises in it, build from the foundations up, and back every lesson with work written for that student. That applies whether a student is trying to save a grade that has slipped or is already near the top and going after an Olympiad medal, an admissions test or an Oxbridge offer. Rates for each level, along with single lessons, blocks and intensive packages, are set out on our pricing page, and you can see what students have gone on to achieve in our case studies.
Chemistry
GCSEA-LevelIBUndergraduate
Chemistry from GCSE through to undergraduate level, across physical, inorganic and organic. We teach the whole specification at every level, and carry on into degree-level material for students who need it.
Lesson structure
Recap of core principles and previous homework
Step-by-step problem solving, easy to hard
Exam-style drills against the mark scheme
Practical and analytical write-up guidance
Exam boards
AQAEdexcelOCRWJECIB
Case study: GCSE and A-Level Chemistry
This student came to us after mocks wanting a grade 7. They understood the chemistry; the problem was getting it onto the page under exam conditions. Weekly sessions went on technique, and on better ways of committing things to memory. They got an 8, stayed with us into A-Level, and finished with an A after more work on analytical techniques and thermodynamics.
Case study: undergraduate computational chemistry
A 2:2 in the quantum mechanics coursework, with finals worth 70% of the module still ahead. We went back to deriving things from first principles: matrix algebra, Dirac notation, operators, the Schrödinger equation, space-spin functions, then Slater determinants in DFT. They sat a strong paper and finished the year on a high 2:1.
Biology from GCSE through to undergraduate biochemistry, covering the whole specification. Most of the difficulty in Biology is not the content but the mark schemes, which reward a very particular kind of precision, so that is where a lot of the work goes.
Case study: A-Level Biology
Illness had taken out most of Year 12. We ran weekly lessons, then more often as exams approached, working through the topics that cause the most trouble: respiration, photosynthesis, the immune system, the kidneys. Alongside that we drilled mark schemes, which in Biology are unforgiving. They got an A in mocks and an offer from their first-choice university.
GCSEA-LevelFurther MathsUniversity maths for scientists
Maths from GCSE through to Further Maths, and university-level maths for scientists, including linear algebra, calculus and statistics for chemists and biologists. We teach the entire specification across pure, statistics and mechanics, and we derive a method before drilling it, so an unfamiliar question is something to work at rather than something to recognise.
Lesson structure
Review of the previous topic and marked homework
Guided teaching of the new concept, derivation first
Worked examples building from easy to hard
Independent practice with detailed written feedback
Exam boards
AQAEdexcelOCRWJEC
Case study: GCSE Maths
A grade 5 in the mock, with a full year to work with. We covered the whole course again, then spent the final stretch on past papers, including ones we wrote specifically for the topics that kept going wrong. We also went back through every piece of school homework to find where the errors were coming from, and built problem sheets around each one. They finished with a grade 8.
Case study: A-Level Maths resit group
Three months with a group resitting A-Level Maths, each weak in a different place across pure, statistics and mechanics. We ran it like a classroom so they could argue a problem out with each other before bringing us an answer. Outside sessions, everyone got their own homework sheets, marking reports and feedback. They ended up far more willing to be wrong in front of each other, and took a median grade of A*, with particularly strong scores in Pure and Mechanics.
Physics from GCSE through to A-Level, covering the full specification, with particular depth in mechanics, waves, thermal physics, electricity and quantum. Physics rewards students who can say what every term in an equation is doing, so we teach it that way: derive the relationship, understand it, then apply it to a situation you have not seen before.
Lesson structure
Concept walkthrough with diagrams and derivations
Applying the relationship to real situations
Past-paper style questions against the mark scheme
100%Every student we have entered for a Chemistry Olympiad or Challenge has come away with a Gold award.
For Oxbridge and US applications especially, super-curricular achievement is often what separates a strong applicant from an exceptional one. We prepare students for:
Cambridge Chemistry Challenge (C3L6)
Chemistry Olympiad
Biology Olympiad and Challenge
Junior, Intermediate and Senior Maths Challenges
Case study: Cambridge Chemistry Challenge
A Lower Sixth student with Ivy League applications coming up needed something beyond grades to show for themselves. We had two months. Most of it went on chemistry from well outside the IB course: advanced atomic structure and bonding theory, analytical techniques, thermodynamics, some introductory solid-state. The rest went on the paper itself. They took a Gold award, placing in the top 10%.
Small-Group Classes
GCSEA-LevelResit groups
For students working towards the same exam, we run small-group classes at a reduced rate per student. Sessions run like a classroom: students talk a problem through with each other and present their reasoning before we work it out together. It builds the confidence to be wrong out loud, and to defend a method when you think you're right.
Group teaching doesn't mean generic teaching. Outside the session, every student still gets homework sheets aimed at their own weak points, detailed marking reports and individual written feedback, exactly as they would one-to-one.
Well suited to
Resit cohorts working to the same deadline
Friends or classmates preparing for the same paper
Siblings at the same level
Intensive revision blocks before mocks or finals
School Admissions: 11+, 13+ and 16+
We prepare students for entrance assessments and interviews at the country's most competitive senior schools: the written papers, the reasoning components, and the interview itself, including how to talk about themselves without sounding rehearsed.
Leading independent schools such as:
WestminsterSt Paul'sKing's College SchoolGodolphin and Latymer
Positioning: what makes this student a fit for this school, and this school a fit for them
Case study: Westminster 16+
He wanted Westminster for sixth form but had no idea how to approach the Physics and Maths assessments, or the interview. At GCSE he had been taught to recall formulae, so we replaced that with working things out step by step from what he already knew, which holds up on unfamiliar questions as well as familiar ones. Then we turned to the interview: which parts of his profile fitted Westminster, and why Westminster fitted him. He went in confident on both, performed excellently, and received an offer.
University Admissions & Oxbridge
Personal statement drafting and review
Mock interviews with subject specialists
Problem sheets built from the student's own personal statement
Bridging guides between A-Level or IB and first-year undergraduate content
Case study: Oxford Biochemistry
We took her personal statement and built a long problem sheet from it, covering everything she had claimed to find interesting, from molecular orbital theory to CAR-T cell therapy. After each mock question we worked on where the follow-ups would go, including the concepts that keep coming up in Biochemistry interviews, like clathrate cages and hydration spheres. She also got a written guide to the gap between A-Level and first-year undergraduate biology and chemistry. She scored 6/7 at interview and received an offer.
Admissions Tests
TARA (formerly the TSA), for Oxford
LNAT, for Law
ESAT, for Cambridge Engineering and Sciences
TMUA, for Maths
Critical thinking and reasoning papers
Preparation covers the underlying skills, not just past papers: how to take an argument apart, how to manage the clock, and how to write a section-two essay that actually answers the question.
What families say
"I would absolutely recommend Ridgeway Tutors for any level, from final year Chemistry to GCSEs, as their team have such a firm grasp on their subjects and a perfect approach to teaching."
"Seb was a great tutor for my daughter. She said that he was patient and took his lead from her as to what areas needed to be covered. He helped her achieve a great Grade 8 at GCSE and I would recommend him highly to anyone looking for a tutor."
"I was extremely satisfied with Ridgeway's professionalism, reliability, and communication throughout the time we worked together. Multiple tutors helped tailor each session to the areas where I most needed improvement across Biology and Chemistry in the run up to my interview and Olympiads. In particular, they significantly improved my performance by helping me develop stronger time management under exam conditions, sharpen my issue-spotting skills, and adopt a more structured approach to analysis and critical reasoning."
"Sebastian helped me in two main areas that I struggled in: Computational Chemistry and Inorganic Chemistry. I requested help on complex Computational Chemistry theories that involved a lot of hard concepts in quantum mechanics, which he was able to relay to me in a fluid way that allowed me to understand these ideas."
Not sure what you need?
Book a free consultation. Tell us the subject, the level and the deadline, and we'll tell you honestly what the work looks like before matching you to the right specialist.
