A PhD-qualified tutor who spent 15 years teaching at Durham University, now working one-to-one with students from KS3 to A Level.
I started tutoring while I was studying for my Master’s degree and found that I really enjoyed helping students who were struggling with their studies. After completing my PhD, I was offered a teaching position at Durham University, where I continued teaching and working with students at university level.
Since then, I’ve worked with students across Math’s , Physics, Chemistry and Biology, from KS3 through to GCSE and A Level. I have two first degrees, a Master’s degree and a PhD, but I don’t believe qualifications alone make someone a good tutor. Understanding a subject is one thing. Being able to explain it clearly, patiently and in a way that makes sense to the student is something you develop through experience.
Knowing a subject and being able to teach it are two different skills. It’s the second one that takes years.
What I enjoy most is helping students who have lost confidence. I’ve seen students who thought they weren’t good at Math’s go on to achieve grades they never expected. One student I began tutoring in Year 8 had very little confidence and disliked Math’s. We continued working together through GCSE and A Level, where she achieved an A* and an A before going on to study at Imperial College London.
For me, the best outcome isn’t simply a good exam result. It’s seeing a student become confident enough to tackle a question without immediately thinking they can’t do it. That’s what I try to help every student achieve.
I start with the basics, because Maths builds up step by step and a gap early on affects everything above it. From there, lessons are led by the student. I ask what you’re struggling with at the moment, and that’s what we work on.
In a first lesson I’ll put you at ease by saying plainly that I’m not going to be judgemental, and that I don’t expect you to be able to answer the questions yet. We talk through which topics are causing difficulty rather than testing you on them.
My aim is to give as much help as needed at the start, then steadily less as the tuition progresses, until I’m only correcting minor mistakes. I know a student has succeeded when they need less and less help and can confidently tackle questions framed differently from the ones they’re used to.
Students arriving at university had the grades to get there, but often didn't understand the basics underneath them. The same is true at GCSE and A Level, so that's where I start.
Plenty of students could recite a method but couldn't use it in an unfamiliar context, like applying pure maths to a mechanics problem. Recognising a question matters as much as answering it.
A student who believes they can't do a question won't attempt it properly. Praise for the parts that are right, even when the final answer isn't, does more than correction alone.
I contacted Sharry for my 15 year old daughter who is not the biggest maths fan! She adores him. He is a patient, kind man with a genuine love for teaching. She looks forward to her lessons with him and is progressing well with his help. It is my hope that when she completes her GCSEs that Sharry will tutor my younger child also. I highly recommend
Sharry is really engaging and explains concepts really well. My son has been with Sharry for the last month and feels he is making really good progress. He is gaining confidence and understanding is increasing, sessions are enjoyable which is so important.
Sharry is currently tutoring my daughter GCSE maths and he is amazing. He is so kind, patient and friendly and she is really thriving with him. I would highly recommend Sharry to anyone looking for a tutor.
Thank you Sharry, my son has struggled with his GCSE maths, and thanks to tutoring he received from you he passed, which he is now over the moon, highly recommend you as a tutor, you were easy to get along with and my son enjoyed every lesson.
Our son Charlie, was working to an expected GCSE grade of 5 and frankly we were worried he would even attain that. We approached Sharry 8 weeks before his exams. During that time Sharry worked with diligence and patience with Charlie. He is good humoured and has a calm and empathetic style which Charlie really responded to. Sharry's timekeeping is prompt and his communications through a family WhatsApp group were excellent. The results? Charlie learned today that he attained a grade 7 which 2 months ago would have been unimaginable. Whilst we are super proud of Charlie's application (no amount of tutoring will help without it) we have no doubt that he would not have accomplished what he has without Sharry. Thank you Sharry - you're amazing and really make a difference
Sharry is kind, professional and knowledgeable. An absolute star!
Daughter is enjoying the very informative lessons. Less than 6 moths to her A levels so need to keep it up. Thank you.
Sharry is an absolutely fantastic tutor! He has supported my son in the months leading up to his GCSE’s and the change in my son’s confidence and ability to grasp the more complex areas of maths has improved immensely. I would highly recommend him and will definitely be in touch in the future if my other children need support. Thank you Sharry!
Son and parents over the moon. Sharry's lessons are looked forward to by our son after the first week. Cannot recommend highly enough this excellent teacher. So glad we tried first tutors again.
Dear Sharry, I would like to thank you so much for supporting my son and my daughter. For 6 years, you've been always there with your perfect knowledge, excellent teaching approach, friendly attitude and continuous patience & help; I could never think of a better maths tutor for my children! Both of them think they were so blessed to have such a wonderful tutor with great experience and passion for work! I would recommend you to any student who wishes to obtain grades A and A*. You are number one Maths tutor, par excellence! Many thanks, Samira
Sharry is a very knowledgeable tutor and helped me get to the standard I needed
We needed a maths tutor for our granddaughter and were very happy that Sharry was available- he has been excellent in every respect. This is a follow up to my first comments, which were before my granddaughter's GCSE results. She was worried about Maths, but she was really pleased to find out that had achieved a very comfortable pass, which is very much down to Sharry's help & encouragement! Again, thank you very much, Sharry!
Sharry is an excellent and very patient tutor who helped me build confidence in A-level maths. He explained topics I struggled with in a different way that made me understand more easily. Sharry's laid back but highly motivating approach definitely helped me achieve a grade B at Alevel
Sharry is an excellent maths tutor, who is clearly very experienced. He is friendly, and approachable. His input has been very valuable and I would certainly recommend him.
Sharry is very pleasant and approachable. My son is not the most communicative student but Sharry has managed to strike up a rapport with him and Daniel is finding the sessions very helpful.
Sharry has already be a significant help giving me a real confidence boost with his friendly patient manner.
Megan is really enjoying working with Sharry. He is giving her the confidence to progress in maths by making demands of her whilst being consistently supportive
Brilliant!!!, Sharry is a very pleasant and approachable tutor, always available to help and consistently reliable, he has shown great patience and knowledge, my daughter has thoroughly enjoyed working with him and her grades are dramatically improving. absolute pleasure A**** tutor, all we can say is thank you!!
My son has now had a few tutorial sessions with Sharry. Following a Statistics AS Mock he was having a confidence crisis and Sharry has been excellent in re-assuring him and showing him how to read the questions properly and work thru things in a methodical manner. This was exactly what was required and my son's confidence in Maths is improving further as he continues to work with Sharry.
A level Maths We feel very lucky to have found Sharry! My daughter lost her confidence at the start of A level Maths but at the end of her very first session with Sharry, she was so much happier, and her confidence started to grow. She achieved an A at AS level, and is now aiming for an A* at A2. The following observations are from my daughter: Sharry has a very positive and friendly personality, and is easy to talk to. He makes you feel comfortable asking questions, and is excellent at explaining. He is very thorough, going into more depth than class lessons. He gives you a summary/teaches you, then you do the questions together. He will sometimes talk you through questions, especially if you don't understand. As the year goes on, you do more independently, and he checks/helps. If you don't understand, he will go over it until you do. He gives a few different ways of doing things, as one might suit you better. The sessions feel like revision. You go through exam papers in the lead up to the exams, which is very helpful, as you can see patterns forming.
I would have no hesitation in recommending Sharry to anyone. He is extremely friendly, knowledgeable and has the ability to explain complicated topics in a more basic and easy to understand way. His teaching has instilled more confidence in my son.
Sharry was reliable and very well prepared for both A level and GCSE maths. We would highly recommend him.
Sharry Borgan has been a tutor now for my son for approximately 6 weeks to help and support him with A level maths. My son's confidence and performance had declined with maths as he struggled with the higher level of work at A level. From the very first time Sharry visited he put my son at ease and quickly established the areas my son needed help. Sharry is patient, professional and very knowledgeable. In the 6 weeks since Sharry started my son's confidence and knowledge has already grown and this has been due to Sharry's help. My son looks forward to Sharry's visits. I am very pleased that I chose Sharry as my son's tutor as his input is already paying dividends. I can highly recommend him. Thank you Sharry.
Sharry is most pleasant as well as knowledgeable. Hopefully this will rub off on my son. I have every confidence in Sharry.
I would recommend Sharry to anyone. My son has been very impressed as Sharry explains everything clearly and patiently, he is well organised and punctual.
Sharry is pleasant and is an excellent tutor my daughter is very pleased with her tuition, highly recommended.
Very professional. Excellent communication. Great tuition.
Sharry is an excellent tutor Matthews’s skills and confidence have greatly improved and we are looking forward to positive A Level results
Thanks to Sharry my daughter achieved a Grade A maths A level this year, and she told me that without his help she would never have achieved such a good result. I would have no hesitation in recommending Sharry to anyone considering a Maths tutor as without him my daughter may not have been going to her university of choice in September.
Sharry is a very patient tutor . He explains maths in an easy to understand way but in no way patronising way . He is very organised and punctual and hard working . He clearly enjoys his tutoring role . Highly recommend
Sharry is patient, reliable and has the ability of getting complicated aspects across, sometimes in different ways than in college, most times in better ways. Highly recommendable.
Sharry is very friendly and is extremely knowledgeable. Callum is very happy with Sharry as a tutor. He has planned a study programme to fit in with Callum's exams in January. We are very pleased with Callum's progress under Sharry's guidance.
