Tutor Profile

Fully Qualified Teacher | Full-Time Online Economics Tutor | 20+ Years' Experience | 12,000 hours of one-to-one tuition to over 400 students

I am a fully qualified teacher, experienced examiner and full-time online Economics tutor, with a degree in Economics from Liverpool University.

Based in Bristol, I now tutor students almost entirely online across the UK and internationally.

I help GCSE, A-Level, IB and international Economics and Business Studies students improve their understanding, confidence and exam technique so they can achieve the highest grades they are capable of.

I work with a limited number of students each year to ensure highly personalised support. Please get in touch to check current availability.

Teaching Experience

I taught Economics in secondary schools for over 10 years and combined this with part-time tutoring before becoming a full-time private tutor in 2015.

I typically work with 40 to 50 students each academic year, and they consistently perform above expectations.

In 2025, the majority of my A-Level students achieved grades A* to B, with many securing A*/A grades.

All of my previous students have improved by at least one grade since beginning tuition with me, and many have improved by three or more grades.

I teach all major exam boards, including: Edexcel AQA OCR Eduqas WJEC Cambridge International Edexcel International International Baccalaureate (IB)

I have experience as an Economics examiner and hold an Enhanced DBS certificate.

Tutoring Approach

I will always begin by discussing my tutee's individual requirements and areas of the syllabus they would like to focus on. Students may ask to recap concepts and theories that aren’t fully understood, however in my experience most require help with exam technique, and how to translate their knowledge into a high grade answer. I therefore place a great emphasis on guiding students through the process of answering past paper questions, across all topic areas. In our sessions I will help with essay structure, illustrate how to use higher order analytical and evaluation skills, and crucially, how to apply an answer to information in a case study, or how to bring in real world examples. I have an extensive bank of model/A* answers, that I have written, as well as hundreds of essay plans, that I share with students to aid the learning process.

Online Tuition

Almost all of my tutoring is now delivered online using Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet, together with shared Google Docs.

This makes lessons highly interactive and engaging and allows us to work through questions, essay plans and feedback together in real time.

Students can use a webcam if they wish, but this is completely optional.

I have successfully taught students from across the UK and internationally, including Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Recent Student Progress

Examples of recent student progress include:

E grade to A* E grade to B Fail to C C and D grades to A What Families Say

“Matt only got an E grade in his February A Level mock exam and the school predicted he would get a C grade. With the significant assistance from Ian, Matt achieved an A* at A Level.”

“Ian is a brilliant tutor and one of the best tutors we’ve used. He managed to get my daughter from a fail to grade C in a very short period of time.”

“Despite getting Cs and Ds frequently in class tests, my son achieved an A grade in his A-level.”

Get in Touch

If your child is struggling with Economics or wants to achieve the highest possible grade, please get in touch to discuss their current performance, target grade and how I may be able to help

Qualifications

PGCE Secondary Education

PGCE · University of the West of England, Bristol · 2005

QTS

QTS · General Teaching Council · 2005

BA (Hons) Economics

Bachelors · University of Liverpool · 2:1 · 1993

A Levels: Economics, Geography, Sociology

School · King Edward VI School, Morpeth · AAA · 1990

Reviews

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Sushma

Ian tutored my son for AQA A-level Economics, with a particular focus on improving his 25-mark essays. My son really enjoyed Ian's teaching style, and we saw a significant improvement in both his confidence and the quality of his work. As a parent, I found Ian to be highly responsive, reliable, and flexible when it came to scheduling lessons. I would certainly recommend him to anyone looking for an excellent Economics tutor.

Alex

Ian started tutoring our son in A level economics at the end of his first year in sixth form after he received a late dyslexia diagnosis. He progressed from a being predicted a grade C and getting a grade D in is mocks, to achieving a really strong grade A in his actual A level exams. Ian helped to consolidate learning and with applying that learning to the various different styles of questions. As they neared the actual exams, lots of past papers / questions were completed with great feedback. Our son will be off to his first choice uni to study economics. Thank you Ian!

jenwaiwan

In particular, I liked the routine of our lessons: first, we would discuss the topics or techniques that we would cover that day. Then, I would start writing my responses from sample questions, with Ian adding in comments to the document live. We would also discuss alternative ideas for longer essays, such as 25 markers on monopolies or consumer welfare, with Ian's samples on these topics being very useful. The most valuable part of the lesson were the explanations - he is very good at breaking down specific concepts and constructing diagrams from scratch (such as the quota diagram, including consumer and producer surplus). In addition, whenever I gave a wrong answer on a multiple choice question, he would guide me towards the correct one without just telling me.

lcompton

Ian Armstrong is the most exceptional and professional tutor we have worked with during ten years of home-educating my son. From the outset, Ian exceeded every expectation. Within just a few sessions, my son was genuinely enjoying Economics, which says a great deal about Ian’s engaging and encouraging teaching style. Ian tutored my son for two years (Edexcel A Economics) and showed outstanding patience, adaptability and dedication throughout. My son has a slow processing speed and needs more time to absorb, understand and write information. Ian tailored his teaching carefully to meet these needs, making sure each topic was properly understood before moving on. His exam preparation was particularly valuable. Ian guided my son through numerous past papers, mock tests and longer timed questions, helping him build structure, confidence and calm under exam conditions. Thanks to Ian’s patient and thorough approach, my son completed the syllabus on time and entered his exams feeling well prepared. The results spoke for themselves, with my son reaching a high B / low A grade level in end-of-syllabus mock papers. Ian is polite, punctual, friendly, professional and deeply committed to his students’ success. I recommend him without reservation. We are incredibly grateful to have found him.

annew

my daughter found Ian's tutoring and exam support for A Level Economics very helpful. Ian was great at explaining concepts and increasing her understanding and confidence and provided in-depth feedback in response to practice exam questions.

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  • This tutor has a verified PGCE qualification
  • The highest level of qualification that this tutor has provided us with a copy of is a Bachelors (or equivalent)
  • This tutor has an average feedback rating of at least 4.75/5 from 20 or more reviews.
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