BACKGROUND
An Undergraduate Theoretical Physics MSci student at UCL, Hugh has been tutoring one to one sessions for five years, focusing on the sciences and mathematics and is based in London.
As a university student Hugh and a small group of colleagues collaborated on a teaching outreach project, aimed at attracting more young applicants to take STEM subjects at A-level and beyond. The team created a blueprint for a workshop that could be deployed in a single day, in schools with low STEM uptake. The proposal was awarded funding by a national education body. Unfortunately, as the first trial workshops were at the beginning of the Covid-lockdown it meant that it was impossible to continue.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE AND APPROACH
In 2016, whilst studying for his A-levels, Hugh started tutoring students that needed help with their GCSE Science and Maths skills. At the same time he worked at a local school, with fellow students, in voluntary group workshops to help pupils who were struggling with the essential skills in Maths and English they needed to get a passing grade at GCSE level. Many of those students really flourished with the extra attention and felt able to aim for high grades. Multiple A-grades were achieved over the two years he was a part of the workshop, from students who initially thought they wouldn’t get a qualification at all.
Having graduated in 2018, Hugh has been taking on A-level students in Maths, Physics and Chemistry. He focuses on helping students understand the core concepts so that they can tackle any problem an examiner could put in front of them. In recent years, examiners have often included questions that present the syllabus in a slightly different format in order to test this understanding so being as prepared as possible is key. Further, understanding the questions examiners have set in the past; the marking criteria they utilise; and the structure with which each board assesses students, allows a pupil to get the highest possible grade in their subjects.
For more than 5 years Hugh has been involved in teaching projects and over that time has worked one to one with many students across multiple subjects. The goal is always first and foremost to instil confidence and understanding within any student so that can walk into the exam room as prepared as possible. With the right guidance a student can always aim for the highest grades and often they will find that subjects they previously found the most challenging are actually subjects they excel at given some attention and passion.
WHY TUTORING?
I love working with students to build up a strong, conceptual understanding, so that they are prepared and confident. Anyone can aim for the highest grade in any subject with the right support, and I enjoy seeing students work on areas they find challenging only to discover that they should and can aim for the top grade no matter what their expectations have previously been.