Owen T.

I'm a fourth-year mechanical engineering masters student at the University of Bristol, where I'm specialising in experimental mechanics for composite materials. I'm on track for a first-class degree, with hopes to begin a PhD next year. I've been working as a tutor on top of my studies for almost two years now, teaching maths and physics students at all levels of their education but with a particular emphasis on physics A-Level. On top of my academic work, I'm an Assistant Scout Leader and hold an enhanced DBS for your peace of mind. I'm friendly and confident and enjoy getting to help tutees gain experience with the subjects I enjoy so much. At A-Level, I achieved A*A*AA in Mathematics, Product Design, Physics, and Further Mathematics. My specialisation is in maths, having qualified for the UKMT British Mathematics Olympiad (BMO) in the upper sixth form, as well as gold medals in the UKMT maths challenges 2012-19. I also gained 8 A*s and 2 As in IGCSE, including A*s in Mathematics, English language, and three sciences.

The real advantage of tutoring is the flexibility allowed by 1-to-1 work. I'm keen to let students take the lead in the styles of learning they best connect with. A tutor with an in-depth knowledge of the subject and syllabus is really important for this, as students can arrive at a session asking to work on a particular topic and feel confident that they will receive a rewarding session. I often structure my sessions around past-paper questions. I tend to begin a session with a recap of previous work and a chat so I can learn what the student has been working on in school. When theory is introduced, it's often mixed with questions to test understanding meaning that the sessions work more like a two-way conversation than a lecture. When possible, I also try to bring in examples from my university course such as error analysis of experimental data. I find that this problem-based learning helps students to contextualise the work they do in class, as well as providing opportunities to explore the topics more broadly. Students tend to really enjoy being able to tackle these complex problems in a way which doesn't feel like a usual exam question. This also helps students with their university applications. I provide regular lesson reports and work with students to identify the areas which they need to focus on week-by-week, in conjunction with their lessons in school.