Pre-IB Maths Head Start
One week, five mornings, the week before term. For students starting IB Diploma Mathematics in September. Separate Analysis & Approaches and Applications & Interpretation streams, taught by the founder.
ABOUT THE COURSE
The gap nobody warns you about
IB Diploma Mathematics does not begin where most Year 11 courses end. It assumes a level of algebraic fluency, notation discipline and problem-framing that schools rarely have time to build in the final weeks before the summer. Strong students feel it in the first term: the maths is not harder in principle, but it moves faster and expects more to be automatic.
This course closes that gap while there is still time. Five mornings, the week before term starts, spent on exactly the skills Year 1 will assume from day one. Students arrive in September able to follow the lesson rather than decode it, which is the difference between a good first term and a year spent catching up.
It is taught by Suneel Gupta, an MSc physicist with more than thirty years of teaching, in person at our Sant Gervasi centre or live online worldwide.
CHOOSE YOUR STREAM
Two courses, taught differently
Both streams cover similar ground, but the approach differs, because the two Diploma courses reward different habits. Choose the one your child will take in September. If that is still undecided, say so and we will advise.
STREAM ONE
Analysis & Approaches
For students heading into AA at SL or HL. Weighted towards algebraic manipulation, proof habits and the pure groundwork that AA Paper 1 tests without a calculator.
- ✓Algebraic fluency, surds, indices and rearrangement
- ✓Functions, transformations and graph reading
- ✓Quadratics, factorising and completing the square
- ✓Trigonometry and the groundwork for calculus
STREAM TWO
Applications & Interpretation
For students heading into AI at SL or HL. Same foundations, approached through modelling, data and technology, which is how AI asks its questions.
- ✓Algebra and functions in applied contexts
- ✓Modelling with linear and exponential relationships
- ✓Data handling, statistics and interpretation
- ✓Using technology properly, and knowing when not to
Still weighing the two courses up? Our guide to choosing between AA and AI walks through how universities treat each one.
THE WEEK
Monday 24 to Friday 28 August 2026
WHEN
5 mornings
Monday to Friday, three hours each morning with a break
WHERE
Barcelona or online
Sant Gervasi centre, or live online worldwide
GROUP SIZE
Around five
Per stream, so nobody sits at the back
- MonDiagnostic and algebraic foundations. We find out precisely where each student is before teaching anything.
- TueFunctions and graphs: the language the whole Diploma is written in.
- WedStream-specific core: proof and pure technique for AA, modelling and data for AI. Calculator work begins.
- ThuHow the IB actually asks questions: command terms, the formula booklet, and what examiners reward.
- FriConsolidation, a short assessed paper, and a written note home on what to watch in Year 1.
Every student leaves with a personal summary: what is solid, what to keep practising, and the specific habits to carry into September. Parents receive it in writing.
Learn from experienced expert tutors who actually raise scores.
The biggest difference between a good score and a great one is who teaches you. Our tutors bring decades of experience and the kind of one-to-one attention a tutoring platform simply cannot match.
Seasoned subject experts
You are taught by experienced specialists with deep subject and exam knowledge, never a rotating roster of part-time college students.
Exam-focused teaching
Every topic is taught the way it is examined: mark schemes, command words, calculator strategy, and past-paper technique from day one.
Genuine personal attention
1-on-1 and small groups only. Every lesson is built around you and your target score, not a packed classroom pace.
30+
Years of teaching experience
5.0
Google rating
15+
Countries taught
QUESTIONS
Before you book
Who is this course for?
Students who finish Year 11 (or Grade 10, or 4t d'ESO) this summer and begin IB Diploma Mathematics in September. It suits students at any starting point, whether they found the last year comfortable or a struggle, because the aim is the same for everyone: arrive in Year 1 fluent in the algebra the Diploma assumes.
Who is it not for?
Students already partway through the Diploma. If your child is entering IB Year 2, the material here will be too early. Speak to us about Year 1 to Year 2 bridging instead, which is a different course.
What if we have not chosen between AA and AI yet?
That is common in August, and it is a good reason to come. Say so on the form and we will place your child in the stream that fits the likely path, then advise once we have seen them work. The first two mornings are close enough that a switch is straightforward.
Does my child need a graphic display calculator?
Bring one if you already have it, since we use it from day three. If you have not bought one yet, wait: we will tell you which model your school expects before you spend anything.
How large are the groups?
Small, around five students per stream, so every child is seen and asked to speak. When a stream fills we open a waiting list rather than expand the room.
How does the online group work?
Live with the founder, not a recording. Shared whiteboard, work sent for marking between sessions, and the same materials as the Barcelona room. Morning sessions in Barcelona time suit families across Europe, and early morning in the Americas.
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Parent + student welcome. No commitment, just a clear plan for the next steps.