Prepared exclusively for Jynella & Nathan
Thank you both for your time, and for your enthusiasm, it is the best possible fuel for the four months ahead. Following our conversation, here is the plan to take Nathan to the TMUA in January, and two ways we can work together.
Nathan is already a strong mathematician, so the goal here is not to teach new theory. What turns strong maths into a strong TMUA score is fluency: the automatic, instant command of technique that lets him work fast and accurately under real exam pressure, with no calculator and a tight clock.
That is exactly what my method is built to drill, and it is why four focused months is enough. The same work sharpens his Edexcel International A-Level resit at the same time, the two reinforce each other rather than competing for his attention.
Four focused months. Click on each step below.
Pinpoint exactly where the reflexes need rebuilding, restore core fluency in the Edexcel A-Level material, and start on TMUA-style questions.
Paper 1 methods and Paper 2 logical reasoning, drilled until they are automatic, while we keep sharpening speed and accuracy.
Full TMUA papers under real timed conditions, fixing error patterns and building the stamina to stay sharp for the whole test.
Intensive mock cycles through December, final polish, and the TMUA itself in January.
You both felt twice-weekly was right, and for a four-month sprint I agree. Here it is beside the classic weekly rhythm, so you can compare.
Two hours a week · now → January
One hour a week
And when a key moment calls for it, we can add the occasional intensive 'drill week' with extra sessions, just give me a little notice and we'll agree a rate for the additional hours.
Because he is preparing two things at once, we flex the focus to whatever helps most that week.
If an Edexcel topic needs shoring up, we make it the session's focus.
Targeted work on the automatic reflexes, so technique becomes fast and instinctive.
As January nears, we shift fully to timed exam practice.
The objective is simple: every session moves the needle on the TMUA, the resit, or both.
For a student already as strong as Nathan, yes, and his gap year is a real advantage. With no school timetable competing for his attention, he can organise his days around this, put in the hours, and bring his own questions and problems to every session. That makes the work exceptionally efficient: our time goes exactly where he needs it, and he keeps driving it forward in between.
Yes, and they reinforce each other. The fluency that lifts his Edexcel resit is the same fluency the TMUA rewards, so almost every session serves both.
This is where a great deal of the progress happens. He trains on the platform, drills the exact techniques we have worked on, and prepares the questions he wants to bring next time. On a gap year, with the time to commit properly, that between-session work is a big part of why four months is enough.