Nicholas

I grew up in London, taking my A Levels in Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry and Physics at Trinity School, Croydon, attaining all A*s. I then went on to study Natural Sciences, specialising in Chemistry, at the University of Cambridge, achieving a First in my BA. I achieved the Foundress Prize and Foundation Scholarship for Examination Performance from my college (Pembroke) before continuing at Cambridge, gaining a Master's (2:1) in Chemistry.

My specialism and love for chemistry is primarily in the realm of organic chemistry. Its attraction for me is that its effects are seen in real life every day, whether it be researching new drugs, or the interactions of various compounds in your food to make that curry extra tasty. This relation to real-life drives my tutoring wherever possible. If I can bring a topic back to something personal to a student, they will undoubtedly obtain a better grasp of the topic.

However, my Master’s research took me to Addenbrooke’s Hospital where I joined the MRI research laboratory, innovating at the very forefront of medical technology. We developed a novel image-processing method to obtain higher-resolution images for the strongest MRI machines, specifically for use in a methodology called Diffusion Tensor Imaging. DTI is used to maps the diffusion of water in the brain in order to locate abnormalities and pathologies. Whilst I have left research for now, I do hope to see this as part of the standard MRI machine imaging sequences in the near future.

I believe the success of any tutoring journey is based upon a grounding of developing curiosity and genuine interest for a subject. The parts I love about studying myself was the understanding of the world around us. That love for learning then allows students to want to do the hard work to better understand the world.

Throughout my own learning experiences, especially during supervisions at Cambridge, and now as a tutor, I have found that the saying “making mistakes is the best way to learn” really is true. However, I think this is incomplete; I believe a more complete version would be “figuring out how, where and why you’re making mistakes is the best way to learn”. If you can’t figure out the reason behind the wrong answer, then when you’re confronted with a different style of question or an unfamiliar scenario altogether, you won’t know how to proceed. I don’t believe you’ve really learnt anything if you find yourself like this.

Putting this methodology into practice for me, often means extending that awkward silence when students are stuck, for an extra five or ten seconds. I find that is when the penny-drop moments occur, and that feeling is the one that will inspire students to keep learning and want to keep learning.

When broaching a new topic or problem-type, I tend to lead from the front and guide my students to the answer with a worked-through example. The aim is that the next time we come across this type of problem, my students are able to tackle it by themselves with confidence.

Throughout this process, I encourage students to create their own set of notes, summaries, worked examples, and “rules of thumb” that make sense to them. This active learning helps reinforce understanding and gives them a personalised resource they can return to during revision. My goal is always to break down challenging concepts into clear, manageable steps so that students feel capable, motivated, and increasingly confident in their own abilities.

Throughout this entire process, I encourage my students to take notes themselves, to write down any key ideas they might think are useful for the problem at hand. I enjoy making challenging ideas clear and approachable, helping students not only unlock their potential but gain the confidence to exceed their own expectations.

I am currently applying for graduate jobs in patent law and data science, hoping to start in September 2026. From then, I will continue tutoring alongside full-time work, so I am eager to build long-term relationships with students and families.

Outside of tutoring, I love sport; I coach young cricketers aged 7-14 over the summer, and play a lot myself. One of my proudest achievements to date is earning a Full Blue for the Cambridge University Hockey Club (CUHC), playing in our 3-0 victory over Oxford in March 2025. That being said, I am equally happy taking on clients who wish to apply for both Cambridge, Oxford, and all other universities.

Finally, when I do get the chance, I love to go hiking. A long-term goal of mine is to complete the Munro Challenge and I'd also like to climb Mont Blanc at some point.