Patient, engaging & experienced tutor (7000+ online hours taught) providing Maths, Further Maths & Physics tuition from KS3 to A-Levels!

Find out more about Axel

• 1) When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  There's a bit of a backstory to this, as a kid I always I was always very practical and hands on, building go karts or tinkering on motorbikes with my dad, and at school loved subjects like technology, and even did some optional DIY modules my school offered, which ultimately let me to my automotive Engineering Degree. Maths coincidentally was always my strongest subject, with my parents enrolling me in Kumon for years too which gave me a massive boost. I think my practical approach to life went hand in hand with my enjoyment in all STEM subjects. When I was at university looking for a part time job, I wanted something that would be an addition to my CV and that would work well around my studies, and so I came across tutoring, and I haven't looked back since!

• 2) Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  I teach Maths, Further Maths and Physics, all subjects I did at A Level and used throughout my degree, so I have a really thorough understanding of them all, better than I did when I was doing my exams, and it's something I've grown to love to share with students, to really help them. I love how maths and physics really lends itself to the real world, everything around us is shaped by them, and we use them (sometimes without even knowing it) on a daily basis. Throughout my studies I've learnt so many interesting facts and figures about the world in an engineering sense, and I love to bring those into my lessons, so my students can actually see how what they're learning actually has real world implications!

• 3) Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  My German grandma spent her entire career as a teacher, and she is one of the most patient, helpful and genuine people I've met. She's over 80 and to this day sometimes neighbours kids along with my own younger family members come round her house for help on their German homework or their History, and it always inspiring the way she's always happy to go out of her way to help.

• 4) What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  Patience and engagement is key! The bottom line of tutoring is to build confidence, no matter the subject. People come to tutoring for all different manners of help, wether it's to get a grasp of a subject they don't understand, or striving to be the best in a subject they do understand, but none of that is possible if a student doesn't have confidence surrounding their abilities in that subject. Understanding the ability of a student and therefore pace at which to conduct a lesson, and rewarding progress is such a valuable skill to have, and that is what will bring out the best in a student. Engagement is also super important. There's nothing worse than having someone talk at you for an hour, not sure anyone wants to hear me ramble at them! My lessons are always super engaging, our hour is always conducted like a discussion or a conversation; the student is involved in every single thing we're learning about.

• 5) Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  It's not from school but its a valuable lesson my grandad instilled in me from a very early age; "if you're going to do something, do it right". Life is too short for half measures, and that's something I've applied throughout my life. At university I was always busy, at a society, or a sport, or working until 4am in the library etc, but it's a motto I've applied to my tutoring aswell. In schools in large classes teachers often won't necessarily revisit a topic for the sake of one student who doesn't understand something, but in tutoring that's not the case. I won't ever move onto the next part of the lesson unless my student has understood it, leaving no stone unturned as it were.

• 6) What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or still facing in your subject?

  I have mainly tutored online over the years, and there is still a stigma I believe to online tutoring, many parents would rather have someone tutor face-to-face because they often see how an online lesson can have the same benefit or impact as sitting next to someone, but I believe the opposite is true. As a bit of a tech-wizard, I've always been able to maximise the potential of an online whiteboard, not only with the interaction of working on the same page but also having the internet at my fingerprints. If I need another diagram, or a case study, or a video etc, within a few clicks it's on the lesson space for my student to see too.

• 7) Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  Pretty much everything I do in my life revolves around some sort of Engineering related matter. Tutoring maths and physics is my profession of course, but I have a large collection of motorcycles that I tinker with, maintain and modify, I spend a lot of time designing and building things in CAD, and I run a side business where I'm number crunching a lot of the time, so I'm always keeping my mind active!

• 8) What makes you a Superprof (besides answering these interview questions :-P) ?

  I think this comes down to experience. Having tutored thousands of hours in the process, I've developed an ability to understand students abilities, goals and timelines, and can prep a tailored lesson or lesson plan every time, where no 2 lessons are the same. I've accumulated so many resources (papers, worksheets, questions, textbooks, examples, case studies etc) over the years that I can pull into my tailored lessons, and I'm very proud of the feedback and success stories I've had over the years, and it gives me a huge sense of pride.