The Pagman

The Pagman: online physics tutoring for IGCSE and A Level

The Pagman is the online physics tutoring project of Phil McComish, a teacher who has worked as a teacher, Head of Physics and Head of Year in schools since 1995. The brand name comes from the Practical Activity Groups (PAG) used in the OCR A Level Practical Endorsement, abbreviated as PAG, from which "thepagman" derives.

Teaching career and consultancy

McComish taught in England for two years in the 1990s and later in Thailand and Kuwait, at NES, before returning to the UK to teach for ten years at King Edward's School Bath. In 2011 he moved to Norfolk as Head of Physics. He has also worked for OCR advising other schools on their Practical Endorsement course.

In 2021 he left the classroom after 25 years to focus on online tutoring. He has also run training courses for teachers, written chapters for the new Cambridge University Press International A Level book (published in December 2023) and advises schools on how to improve the delivery of the A Level Practical Endorsement.

Courses and lesson formats

The offer is structured around several formats, all with access to WhatsApp support for homework and exam questions:

• IGCSE Physics for the CIE, Edexcel and OxfordAQA specifications.
• A Level Physics for IAL and UK programmes.
• Physics Practical Endorsement courses, with a minimum of three students and a maximum of nine; they run over five days and cover all aspects of the Practical Endorsement. The tutor liaises with the school's exams officer to manage registration.
• Small group lessons of two to five students, designed to learn with a friend and reduce the cost; according to the site, they save 33% compared with the price of an individual lesson.
• Live one-to-one lessons, with five slots available throughout the week.

In all cases, notes and exercises are provided after the lesson, and the content is adapted to each student's needs. The stated approach is focused on exam questions, with a style that aims to make learning enjoyable.

October and November exam preparation

The site announces preparation for the October and November exams, aimed at those who were in year 10 or year 12 when exams were cancelled or are unhappy with the grades obtained in the Portfolio of Evidence and need to sit their modules.

Students and results

The material indicates that he works with students from BSK, NES, KES and NBS in Kuwait, as well as students from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the UK. He also teaches on Downe House Global Academy courses. The website highlights that his students have achieved multiple A* at A Level and grade 9 at IGCSE, and that all his A Level students achieved grades between A* and B.

Publication and editorial work

Phil McComish is a published author: he has written chapters for the Cambridge University Press International A Level book and has a work available to order on Amazon, according to the information on the site.

Location and contact

Phone: +447766503627 · Email: admin@thepagman.co.uk