Six to a room
Every group is capped at six learners so a tutor can watch the working, not just the answer. Nobody spends an hour quietly stuck at the back.
Term tuition · Ages 9 to 18
A steady map through the subjects that feel hardest.
Cedar Atlas teaches maths, English and science in groups of six, from a quiet study room built for concentration rather than a rush through the syllabus.
We start by listening
Before a place is offered we sit down with the learner, look at recent work and agree what the first half-term should actually fix.
A note you can read
At the end of each term you get a short written note in plain language: what moved, what is still shaky and what to practise over the break.
Our approach
Teaching that follows the learner rather than the timetable.
Most students arrive having been told they are behind. We would rather find the exact step where the ground gave way, rebuild it, and then move forward at a pace the learner can feel. Sessions are structured, unhurried and always end with something written down to take home.
Subjects and stages
What we teach, and who it is for.
Six teaching strands run each term. Learners usually take one, occasionally two, and can change strand at the start of a new term.
Foundations in number
Place value, fractions and the habits of clear working, taught slowly enough that the reasoning sticks.
Lower school maths
Algebra, ratio and geometry, with weekly problems that ask learners to explain a method out loud before writing it.
Exam maths
Full syllabus coverage with timed practice, plus a running list of the question types each learner keeps losing marks on.
English and writing
Close reading, essay structure and sentence craft. Every piece is marked with one thing to keep and one thing to change.
Combined science
Biology, chemistry and physics taught around the required practicals, with diagrams drawn rather than copied.
Sixth form support
Pure maths, mechanics and A-level essay subjects, in small clinics shaped around the week's lectures and coursework.
Ways to study
Three shapes of session.
Most learners start in a small group and add a one-to-one block only when something specific needs unpicking.
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Small group · six learners
Ninety minutes, once a week, same tutor and same group all term. The default, and the format that suits most learners best.
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Paired session · two learners
For siblings or friends at a similar stage who work better with one other person in the room and a faster back-and-forth.
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One-to-one clinic
A single hour aimed at one topic — a coursework draft, a returned paper, or the one chapter that never made sense.
A term at Cedar Atlas
From first conversation to the end-of-term note.
A short conversation
You tell us the subject, the year group and what has been going wrong. We tell you honestly whether we are the right centre for it.
A settling-in session
The learner joins a group for one session. No commitment either way until both sides think the fit is right.
A term of weekly work
Same tutor, same room, same time each week, with a short piece of practice between sessions rather than a pile of homework.
The written note
A page at the end of term covering what improved, what is still fragile, and what we would work on next.
The people teaching
A small team, teaching their own subject.
Every tutor at Cedar Atlas teaches only what they know deeply, and stays with the same groups for the whole term.
Maren Ashby
Maths · Ages 11–18
Teaches algebra and mechanics, and is unreasonably strict about showing your working. Leads the sixth form clinics.
Idris Bellamy
English · Ages 11–18
Runs the reading and essay groups. Marks with one keep and one change, and insists every argument survives being said aloud.
Priya Nandakumar
Science · Ages 13–16
Builds the combined science strand around the required practicals, with far more drawing and far less copying.
Questions
The things families ask first.
Can we try a session before committing?
Yes. Every learner joins one settling-in session before a place is confirmed. If the group or the pace is wrong, we will say so rather than take the booking.
When do sessions run?
Weekday evenings and Saturday mornings during term time, in fixed weekly slots so the same group stays together. Slots are agreed when a place is offered.
Do we need to buy books or materials?
No. Worksheets, practice papers and any reading are prepared here. Learners bring a notebook, a pen and whatever their school has set that week.
Can a learner change subject or format?
At the start of any new term, yes. Mid-term we would rather add a short one-to-one clinic than move someone out of a group that has already settled.
How much practice is set between sessions?
One short piece, usually twenty to thirty minutes. It exists to keep this week's method warm, not to compete with school homework.
Enquire
Tell us who you are teaching us about.
A few lines is plenty. We read every enquiry ourselves and reply with whether we have a group that fits, and what the first session would look like.
- Places are offered per term, and groups are capped at six.
- The settling-in session comes before any commitment.
- If we are not the right fit, we will tell you plainly.