Lorenzo

I completed my schooling in Brussels at one of the European Schools, where I studied in Italian (my mother tongue), French, and English, achieving full fluency in all three.

I then attended Imperial College London, where I earned a First Class BSc in Mathematics, along with the First Year Prize and the Winton Prize for research projects in reaction–diffusion systems and stochastic models. I continued at Imperial with an MSc in Theoretical Physics (Quantum Fields and Fundamental Forces), graduating with a Distinction for a thesis exploring questions at the intersection of physics and philosophy.

While I valued this academic path, I became increasingly drawn to education, inspired in part by my family background. I hence enrolled in an exciting programme at the Royal College of Art, while also maintaining weekly contact and completing graduate work with a professor at the Lakatos Institute, focusing on the philosophy of space, time, and symmetry. Through this experience—and by observing closely the realities of academic life—I realised I was far more motivated by helping others learn than by pursuing research alone.

I therefore undertook formal training as a secondary school teacher, an experience that proved both more demanding and more rewarding than any exam I had previously taken. During this time, I also became increasingly aware of the limitations of more traditional educational approaches. This led me to work within the IB curriculum, whose emphasis on inquiry and conceptual understanding aligns strongly with my own approach to learning. Alongside this, I extended my RCA studies into a full Master’s in Education, carrying out my research within the classroom itself.

In my tutoring, I try to strike a balance between support and challenge. I want students to think for themselves, so I’ll often guide them step by step rather than give answers outright, helping them reach that point where things click and they feel a genuine sense of progress. Sessions can start from anywhere—homework, current class material, or more foundational gaps—and I’m comfortable adapting to whatever is most useful in the moment.

Along the way, I like to open things out a little. Making connections to the wider world, or following a short tangent when it serves a purpose, often helps students see the subject as something alive rather than a set of isolated problems. It keeps engagement high and gives more meaning to what they’re doing.

I also place a lot of value on reflection. I’ll usually end sessions by asking students what they feel they’ve understood, what they found difficult, and what the next step might be. Over time, this helps them become more aware of how they learn, and more confident working things out independently. In that sense, the aim is not just to cover content, but to build a way of approaching learning that they can carry forward.

I am currently teaching part-time in a school in South London during the first half of the week, while completing a Master’s in Education at the Royal College of Art. My thesis, carried out within the school, focuses on curriculum design at the intersection of mathematics and the humanities.

With the taught component of the degree now completed, I have substantial availability during the second half of the week, which I am keen to dedicate to tutoring. My schedule is stable and predictable, allowing me to commit consistently to students over the long term.

Looking ahead, I have been offered a continued part-time role at the school, including responsibility for contributing to sixth form curriculum design. This position is compatible with tutoring, and I am specifically seeking to build a stable and ongoing tutoring practice over the next several years alongside my teaching.