About Fiaraz Iqbal — Your GCSE & A-Level Tutor in Bradford
I'm Fiaraz Iqbal, a former Headteacher with more than thirty years inside the classroom, the science department, and the headteacher's office. I tutor GCSE and A-Level Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology from my base in Bradford — face-to-face with families across Bradford, Leeds, Ilkley, Bingley, Shipley, Keighley, Halifax, Huddersfield and Wakefield, and online with students across the rest of the UK.
Why I tutor
After leading an international school as Headteacher and spending earlier years as Head of Science, I went back to one-to-one tutoring for the simplest reason: it's the format where I see the biggest jumps in confidence and grades. A whole class can drag the most able student backwards and leave the struggling student behind. One pupil and one tutor, on the other hand, lets me hear exactly where the misconception sits, and unpick it before it becomes a habit. Almost every student I take on has at least one "stuck point" they've been carrying for two or three years — a half-remembered method, a wrong rule learned in Year 7, a bit of algebra they were told to memorise but never understood. We find that point in the first session, and the rest of the work flows from there.
How I teach
Sessions are calm, structured, and grounded in past papers. I don't lecture. I ask questions, watch the student work, and intervene only at the moment a misconception appears — that way the student keeps ownership of the answer and builds genuine confidence. Where a topic needs reteaching, I use the same diagrams, mnemonics and worked examples I've refined across thousands of lessons. Where a topic just needs reps, we drill exam questions against the mark scheme, with running commentary on what an examiner is actually looking for. I've sat on the examiner's side of the table, so I know which one-mark phrases earn the marks and which don't.
What I expect to see in three months
For a student starting at the bottom of a grade, three months of weekly sessions is usually enough to add a grade and a half — sometimes two — provided they keep up with the homework. The 269/270 in A-Level Chemistry mentioned on the homepage is real (and the highest A-Level Chemistry score in the world for 2024). Plenty of my Year 11s arrive projected a 4 or 5 in Higher Maths and leave with a 7. I won't pretend every story ends like that — but I will tell you honestly, after the first session, what's realistic for your child and what you should expect to see by month two.
Who I work best with
Year 9, 10 and 11 GCSE students preparing for AQA, Edexcel or OCR. Year 12 and 13 A-Level students in Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry and Biology. Home-educated children who need structured exam preparation. Adults retaking GCSE Maths or Science to access nursing, teaching, medicine or other careers that require the qualification. I cover Foundation and Higher tier at GCSE and the full A-Level pure, mechanics, statistics, and decision components.
Beyond exams
I also support university applications for medicine, dentistry, engineering and the natural sciences — personal statement review, BMAT/UCAT-adjacent preparation, and Oxbridge interview practice for STEM courses. Several of my former students are now reading medicine at Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds; others are at Imperial, Bath and Loughborough for engineering. Where a student wants to aim higher than their school is currently encouraging, I'll back that — I've seen plenty of "B-grade" students with the right work ethic finish at A* once the foundations are solid.
The first conversation is free
If you're considering tutoring for your child or yourself, the lowest-friction next step is a 10-minute WhatsApp chat. We'll talk about the subject, the exam board, where the student currently sits, and what's realistic. If we're a fit I'll offer the first six weeks at no charge so you can be sure of the value before committing. If we're not, I'll happily point you to another tutor or resource that's a better match.