Lucy

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I have a PhD from Imperial College, and a first class honours undergraduate degree. I enjoy helping build students confidence when approaching problems, helping them gain independence and problem solving skills. I have experience with learning difficulties - I have ADHD and as a result have taught myself numerous learning and memory techniques which I help students learn and apply.

I was born and raised in Reading, attending the Abbey School until university age, after which I studied Materials Science and Engineering at Swansea University.

I completed my PhD in 2020, studying 'Superalloy Development' at Imperial College which was completed in collaboration with and sponsored by Rolls-Royce plc. on new gas turbine engine materials. My technical area is materials/metallurgy which is a unique blend of maths, chemistry and physics.

Tutoring Experience

I have tutored Maths GCSE since I was 16 and Chemistry/Physics/Biology for two years.

On top of private tuition, I have taught a number of Undergraduate courses at Imperial College London. These included group labs, tutorials and advanced microscopy, from which I learnt to adapt my approach and explanations to multiple different students with all different levels of ability.

I have also been a marker for student reports and exams, where I learnt how markers grade work and what they look for. I can explain to students the key phrases and answer structures that markers seek from students.

I also offer help with writing style and personal statements as I have had extensive practice at both, and thanks to extensive interactions with admissions tutors during my PhD and teaching at Imperial College I can advise on what they're looking for.

A common 'problem' I have seen students encounter is not being 'good' at sciences and math. Throughout my PhD I took part in STEM outreach activities and take pride in making STEM interesting and applicable. My key method is showing students how much math and science they use in every day life without evening thinking.

I have excellent personal links with admissions tutors at Imperial College, with whom I have often had debates about admissions and student applications/attributes. I enjoy advising students on University choices - from locations to subjects - which I personally found incredibly daunting at 18. I am knowledgeable about what Universities look for in their applicants and can review personal statements and applications.

Tutoring Approach

I take pride in understanding the students learning style to better inform my approach and help build confidence. I help students break problems down into logical, bite-sized pieces to make working through the steps easy and straight forward, whilst gaining maximum method marks.

Over my time as a tutor, the biggest thing I've learnt is that success in exams and academics (as well as life...) is confidence. So many students start sessions saying 'I can't do Maths/Physics/etc' but as we progress, I can set them the highest grade questions and they will breeze through them. Afterwards, I ask 'was that hard?' and the response is always 'no, it was fine!' - then they're shocked to learn that it was a tough question. I like to think that my students finish sessions with me knowing that they're able to set their mind to anything they think they 'can't' do (and when I finish with them I always say that to them too).

I also like to make the learning relatable to every day life, which I find materials makes easy for maths, chemistry and physics topics (both chocolate and sweet/candy/sugar science is heavily dependent on all three!).