Our story
Bright Heart is a London-based tutoring agency and education consultancy.
We offer a more nurturing approach to tuition.
We work with families, local authorities and schools (we’re an accredited NTP provider) and help students who:
- have special educational needs (SEN)
- lack confidence or motivation or have fallen behind at school
- need homeschooling or Education Other Than at School (EOTAS)
We provide in-person and online tuition and cover most subjects from primary to A-level.
We work with families, local authorities and schools (we’re an accredited NTP provider) and help students who:
- have special educational needs (SEN)
- lack confidence or motivation or have fallen behind at school
- need homeschooling or Education Other Than at School (EOTAS)
We provide in-person and online tuition and cover most subjects from primary to A-level.
Bright Heart provides experienced, vetted and trained tutors that are carefully matched to students.
Tutors exemplify our heart-based ethos in all their tutoring.
Most tutors have teaching experience in addition to tutoring experience. Tutors are provided with training from nasen (National Association of Special Educational Needs).
We introduce self-employed tutors to clients as an agent through our tutoring agency and provide tuition services to clients as a principal through our education consultancy.
Bright Heart provides experienced, vetted and trained tutors that are carefully matched to students.
Tutors exemplify our heart-based ethos in all their tutoring.
Most tutors have teaching experience in addition to tutoring experience. Tutors are provided with training from nasen (National Association of Special Educational Needs).
We introduce self-employed tutors to clients as an agent through our tutoring agency and provide tuition services to clients as a principal through our education consultancy.
Experienced team
Bright Heart has an experienced team, who are passionate about education.
Dr Ryan Stevenson - Co-founder & Director
Dr Ryan Stevenson
Co-founder & Director
Ryan is an experienced tutor who has taught maths and science in London schools
Ryan has taught GCSE Maths and Science and A-Level Chemistry in London schools and Chemistry at university level. He has tutored in London for the last 8 years, including many students with special educational needs (SEN) such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, anxiety, ASC, dyscalculia and health and emotional issues. He has delivered curriculums to home-schooled students and enjoys the unique perspectives and perceptions that each young mind may bring.
Ryan holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Cape Town where he was also a tutor, with research carried out at Cambridge University and the University of Manchester. Further Post-doctoral studies were conducted at Cambridge University. During a period of investment banking in Amsterdam, Ryan earned a BSc in Politics and International Relations from the London School of Economics.
Ryan draws on this broad tutoring experience to screen tutors and ensure they embody the Bright Heart Approach. He uses his expertise to ensure that clients receive well-matched tutors and that tuition is effective. He continues to pursue his passion for education through providing selective tutoring at Bright Heart. Ryan has attended training courses provided by nasen and is a member of the Tutors’ Association. He has been a volunteer therapist at the London charity, Body and Soul, for the past 8 years and has worked on a large project to connect students with nature.
Simon McQueen CA(SA), CFA - Co-founder & Director
Simon has a background in private equity and tutored finance at university
Simon has a background in private equity with significant experience providing growth capital and strategic advice to small and mid-size companies. He has board-level experience focused on strategy, corporate development and financial oversight. Simon has experience tutoring university under-graduate students finance. He also ran a share investment game for 2 years encouraging secondary school students from a disadvantaged background to take an interest in the financial markets.
Simon is a CFA charterholder and chartered accountant who holds a Bachelor of Business Science in Finance (1st class) and a B Com Honours in Accounting (1st class) from the University of Cape Town. Simon was recently awarded a
Simon draws on his commercial expertise to ensure that Bright Heart operates smoothly and is able to deliver the highest standards of service to its clients, students and tutors. He has attended training courses provided by nasen. Simon has a young daughter and son.
Simon McQueen CA(SA), CFA
Co-founder & Director
Simon has a background in private equity and tutored finance at university
Simon has a background in private equity with significant experience providing growth capital and strategic advice to small and mid-size companies. He has board-level experience focused on strategy, corporate development and financial oversight. Simon has experience tutoring university under-graduate students finance. He also ran a share investment game for 2 years encouraging secondary school students from a disadvantaged background to take an interest in the financial markets.
Simon is a CFA charterholder and chartered accountant who holds a Bachelor of Business Science in Finance (1st class) and a B Com Honours in Accounting (1st class) from the University of Cape Town. Simon was recently awarded a
Simon draws on his commercial expertise to ensure that Bright Heart operates smoothly and is able to deliver the highest standards of service to its clients, students and tutors. He has attended training courses provided by nasen. Simon has a young daughter and son.
Director
John is an experienced qualified teacher and former head teacher
John is a qualified teacher with over 15 years of teaching experience. He has taught English and Spanish from primary to university level and tutored students in numerous subjects and was an SAT and Cambridge FCE tutor for several years. John has also been a head teacher, a position he used to implement many new extra-curricular activities to empower pupils. John became a Bright Heart tutor in 2018 and had a very positive impact on his students. He was appointed as a Director in January 2020 and became a full-time employee in April 2020. John is Bright Heart’s Designated Safeguarding Lead.
John holds a Master of Arts degree in Education, Concentration in Educational Leadership, from Framingham State University, Massachusetts (1st class) and a BA in Literature and Linguistics (1st class) from Universidad Nacional, Heredia. He is also a certified translator and interpreter and has worked with the U.S. State Department, UN, OECD, Pope Francis (via video conference), Nobel laureate economist Joseph Stiglitz and the President of Costa Rica.
John has vast experience tutoring students with special educational needs (SEN). As an administrator, he has successfully managed and evaluated several programmes for the inclusion of students with special learning needs into mainstream classrooms. He has embraced the person-centred Bright Heart philosophy to instil in his students a love of learning and continues to tutor Bright Heart’s students. John draws on his wealth of teaching, tutoring and educational leadership experience to provide continuous professional development for tutors and to ensure that tuition programmes are designed and implemented to the highest standards. John carries out student SEN / academic assessments using a holistic approach to address both academic and emotional needs. John is the father of a young boy.
Sima Vadgama - Client Manager
Sima has a background within the global education sector
After finishing school, Sima pursued her passion for art and media and graduated with honours in Digital Film and Video from London South Bank University. After that, she took on a challenge to live in India for ten years. She utilised her background and exposure to the UK education system to contribute to helping students within India’s education system. Sima’s roles ranged from working with management teams at various schools in admissions, administration, marketing, and event management to working with an EdTech startup providing e-learning applications to poorer students. She was also recognised by a wide range of communities in North-West India for her commitment to counselling individuals.
Since returning to the UK in early 2020, Sima has trained as a life coach. In addition, she has been working as a language tutor for various students in the UK by teaching them Gujarati (the native language of Gujarat, India).
Sima strives to ensure that Bright Heart’s clients receive an exceptional level of service and that students’ unique learning needs are met. She offers clients a friendly and personalised approach. Sima has a young daughter who is at primary school.
Sima Vadgama
Client Manager
Sima has a background within the global education sector
After finishing school, Sima pursued her passion for art and media and graduated with honours in Digital Film and Video from London South Bank University. After that, she took on a challenge to live in India for ten years. She utilised her background and exposure to the UK education system to contribute to helping students within India’s education system. Sima’s roles ranged from working with management teams at various schools in admissions, administration, marketing, and event management to working with an EdTech startup providing e-learning applications to poorer students. She was also recognised by a wide range of communities in North-West India for her commitment to counselling individuals.
Since returning to the UK in early 2020, Sima has trained as a life coach. In addition, she has been working as a language tutor for various students in the UK by teaching them Gujarati (the native language of Gujarat, India).
Sima strives to ensure that Bright Heart’s clients receive an exceptional level of service and that students’ unique learning needs are met. She offers clients a friendly and personalised approach. Sima has a young daughter who is at primary school.
Dr Rosie Ingold - Education Consultant
Dr Rosie Ingold
Education Consultant
Rosie is a qualified teacher with pastoral and mentoring experience
Rosie has a background in education. She has worked in teaching and pastoral roles in schools across the UK. Rosie is passionate about ensuring all young people are holistically supported to fulfil their potential.
Rosie holds a PhD in Geography, a MA in Landscape and Culture (with Distinction), and a BA (Hons) in Geography (1st class) from the University of Nottingham. She trained as a secondary school Geography teacher at UCL Institute of Education in 2014/15 and obtained Qualified Teacher Status in 2015. She has also worked as a mentor to teachers working towards Qualified Teacher Status at international schools.
Rosie joined Bright Heart after almost a year in India, where she supported her husband in a diplomatic role. While in India, she completed a Personality Development and Communication Skills course through the University of Madras. Rosie draws on her wealth of educational experience to ensure that students receive high-quality tuition from well-matched tutors. In addition, she is committed to providing friendly, empathetic, professional support to clients and tutors. Rosie lives in southwest London with her husband.
Harris Iqbal - Tutor Support
Harris is an experienced tutor who has taught maths in London schools
Harris has a passion for teaching, having tutored since the age of 16 when he mentored fellow GCSE students at his school. This experience led Harris to volunteer to teach disadvantaged students in South Africa, which built a good foundation for his tutoring and further developed his love of teaching. Harris became a Bright Heart maths tutor in 2018 and has had a very positive impact on his students. He has also taught as a maths intern at Queen Elizabeth Grammar school, providing one-to-one support, planning lessons, and organising events at the school.
In addition to his tutoring, Harris works with Bright Heart on a part-time basis to help support its tutors. He draws on his wealth of tutoring experience to provide an excellent service to his fellow tutors and also helps with tutor recruitment. Harris holds a BSc in Mathematics (2:1) from Brunel University London.
Harris understands the competitiveness of a classroom can be daunting to an individual and has always encompassed Bright Heart’s person-centred approach. Harris has worked with many students with special educational needs, including dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, anxiety, ASC, dyscalculia and health and emotional challenges.
Harris Iqbal
Tutor Support
Harris is an experienced tutor who has taught maths in London schools
Harris has a passion for teaching, having tutored since the age of 16 when he mentored fellow GCSE students at his school. This experience led Harris to volunteer to teach disadvantaged students in South Africa, which built a good foundation for his tutoring and further developed his love of teaching. Harris became a Bright Heart maths tutor in 2018 and has had a very positive impact on his students. He has also taught as a maths intern at Queen Elizabeth Grammar school, providing one-to-one support, planning lessons, and organising events at the school.
In addition to his tutoring, Harris works with Bright Heart on a part-time basis to help support its tutors. He draws on his wealth of tutoring experience to provide an excellent service to his fellow tutors and also helps with tutor recruitment. Harris holds a BSc in Mathematics (2:1) from Brunel University London.
Harris understands the competitiveness of a classroom can be daunting to an individual and has always encompassed Bright Heart’s person-centred approach. Harris has worked with many students with special educational needs, including dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, anxiety, ASC, dyscalculia and health and emotional challenges.
Jacqui Mackway-Wilson - Social Media Manager
Jacqui Mackway-Wilson
Social Media Manager
Jacqui is a former early years teacher now focused on digital media
Jacqui qualified as an early years teacher. She later completed a course in teaching children with special educational needs (SEN). Jacqui’s teaching career spanned almost a decade before she launched South Africa’s first glossy monthly magazine for teachers. This was later published in Australia and New Zealand and marked the beginning of her transition into full-time digital marketing. Jacqui has two sons and is no stranger to the unique pressures that having a child with special educational needs places on families, as her younger sister Candice was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and Autism.
Jacqui draws on her unique teaching, SEN and digital media experience to create social media content for Bright Heart that aims to provide helpful advice and inspiration to families. She is passionate about social activism, delivering talks to schools, teachers and parents on digital safety, cyber bullying and good citizenship.
How it started
Ryan witnessed first-hand – both teaching and tutoring for some of London’s top agencies – the lack of individual care and attention provided to students.
Simply put, there was too much focus on the mind and short-term academic goals. This failed to acknowledge the needs of the heart to realise long-term potential. The former, imbalanced approach was especially problematic for students with special needs and those lacking in confidence or motivation.”
Ryan found that by acknowledging the whole person first and any challenges they may have, the mind would naturally follow. The benefits of this approach were demonstrated by the exam results his students achieved and their improved motivation for learning. Read more about Ryan’s tutoring ethos in this article published in the nasen Connect magazine.
Bright Heart was established to replicate Ryan’s successful approach to private tuition.
Our Philosophy
We call our tutoring methodology the Bright Heart Approach. It is a more nurturing approach, which puts into practice what we have observed across many students. It is based on our experience that effective tutoring connects on a deeper level than focusing purely on intellectual abilities. This leads to longer term stability and success.
We ensure our tutors are suitably prepared to meet student’s unique learning needs. Our training relationship with nasen helps to achieve this.
We believe that establishing good rapport with students is essential for successful tuition. Students therefore receive a free trial lesson to ensure their tutor is a great match.
Our Mission
- To be the UK’s leading provider of tuition for students who would benefit from a more nurturing approach to learning.
- To ensure the unique needs of students are met by providing quality, trained tutors.
- To serve parents and organisations that struggle to find the appropriate supplementary education for their children or students.
Our Ethos
- We believe each person has a unique perception of the world. This affects how they learn and interact with others.
- We believe intellectual capabilities are only one part of the whole person.
- We believe the best academic results are achieved in a learning environment based on mutual respect and warmth, good rapport, and well-prepared and trained tutors.
