IB & IGCSE Maths Tutors in Hong Kong

The AA/AI split confuses more families than any other choice in the Diploma, and picking wrong costs a grade.

Analysis and Approaches (AA)

Algebraic, proof-oriented, calculus-heavy. The right course for students heading to engineering, physics, mathematics, computer science or economics at a competitive university — several of which require AA specifically. HL is genuinely demanding and should not be chosen on ambition alone.

Applications and Interpretation (AI)

Modelling and statistics led, with heavier and more explicit use of the graphic display calculator. Well suited to students heading to social sciences, business, design, medicine or life sciences. AI HL is a serious course in its own right and is not a soft option.

If your child is choosing subjects this year, talk to us before the option forms are due. It is a fifteen-minute conversation that regularly saves a grade.

What we teach

• Paper 1 (no calculator) — algebraic fluency, since this is where the fastest gains sit.
• Paper 2 (calculator) — real GDC fluency, not just knowing the buttons exist.
• Paper 3 at HL — extended, unfamiliar investigation-style problems that reward stamina and structure.
• The Exploration (IA), worth 20% — choosing a topic with genuine mathematical depth, and writing the reflection that lifts a mid-band IA into the top band.

Most IGCSE maths grades are decided by fluency rather than understanding. Students who need to think about expanding brackets run out of time; students for whom it is automatic finish the paper and check.

• Core versus Extended — an honest assessment of which tier serves the student, since Core caps the attainable grade.
• Number, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, probability and statistics, drilled to automaticity.
• Method marks — laying working out so that a slip in line three does not cost the whole question.
• Calculator technique and the non-calculator components where the board requires them.

For students moving from IGCSE into the IB Diploma or A-Level, we also run bridging work over the summer, which materially reduces the shock of the first term.

Pure, mechanics and statistics across the full two years, plus Further Maths for students applying to mathematics, engineering or economics at competitive UK universities. We also prepare students for the university admissions tests those courses require.

MYP maths is assessed against criteria rather than a syllabus of content, which many parents find opaque. We work on the four criteria explicitly — particularly Criterion C (communicating) and Criterion D (applying maths in real-world contexts), which are where students who are good at maths still score poorly — while making sure the underlying algebra is strong enough for the Diploma later.

Three habits, applied consistently:

1. Fluency before cleverness. If the basics are not automatic, nothing built on them will hold under exam conditions.
2. Show the working, always. Students who work in their heads lose method marks they had earned. We insist on written working from the first lesson.
3. Mark to the real mark scheme. Students should see where the marks are. It changes how they write answers within a few weeks.