I've spent the last decade helping students find their own way to a mathematical idea, rather than just handing them the answer.
I have a B.Sc. from the University of Manchester in the UK and a PGDE in Post-14 Education with a Specialisation in Mathematics, from Edge Hill University. I've spent six years teaching in bilingual schools in Shanghai and France, alongside a decade of tutoring, so I'm equally at home with the Cambridge IGCSE syllabus and the IB Diploma, in the classroom or over a screen.
My undergraduate thesis was in computational biology, working with protein databases — real hands-on work with data, algorithms, and pattern-finding. That quantitative way of thinking shows up directly in how I teach maths: I care about the underlying mechanism, not just the recipe for getting an answer.
I strongly believe that when students understand the mathematical objects they are manipulating, rather than just seeing it as a game of symbols, they will be able to apply their knowledge more flexibly and creatively, and will be more likely to remember it. I will teach you what things are, what we can do with them, and why - not just shortcuts to getting a correct answer.
My approach is rooted in cognitivism — the idea that learning happens by understanding how a student is already thinking, not by overwriting it. In practice, that means spending real time figuring out where a misconception comes from, then guiding a student to make the connection themselves rather than simply supplying it. The goal isn't just the right answer today; it's a student who understands their own thinking well enough to solve the next problem without me.
"I started tutoring part-time and got addicted to creating lightbulb moments. There's nothing quite like hearing a student say 'ahh, I get it!'"
I'm also drawn to applying mathematical ideas to the real world — especially in geographical contexts, which is where projects like the Shanghai metro routing problem came from.
I also work through maths textbooks myself, every day. Partly that's just for the sake of it — I like staying sharp and never getting complacent — but it also keeps me on the other side of the desk. Sitting with a problem I haven't solved yet, and going through the same frustration and breakthrough my students go through, is the best reminder I have of what learning maths actually feels like.