Michael

I achieved 3 A*s at A-level in Computer Science, Maths and Chemistry at Turing House School, before going on to study Computer Science at the University of Southampton, graduating with a first-class degree and receiving two Netcraft Prizes for finishing in the top 4% of my year group, two years running. As part of a PGCE in Computer Science at King's College London, I taught GCSE and A-level classes throughout my school placements.

Alongside my degree, I taught in a range of settings: as a teacher helper at Turing House School across CS and other subjects, and as a teaching intern at Waldegrave School through the Government's Teaching Internship Programme. I've also taught in more informal settings for a long time — running weekend CoderDojo Python sessions for 10–14 year-olds as a teenager, and more recently as Collectable Card Game Officer for my university society, introducing complete beginners to complex rule systems over two years.

I put a strong emphasis on foundational understanding; in my experience, many sticking points in Computer Science trace back to gaps earlier in the syllabus rather than the topic at hand, so I make sure to both diagnose and address these before moving forward. I use concrete, real-world examples to introduce abstract ideas, and I regularly check understanding through questioning rather than assuming a concept was understood just because a lesson has been delivered. Ultimately, through these real-world connections, I aim to elevate the subject from rule memorisation to help students realise how integral computer science actually is to the world.

Outside of tutoring, I play a lot of board games and Magic: The Gathering. I find that there’s a strong link between explaining the rules of a complex card game to a total beginner and explaining tricky CS concepts. Both require many of the same techniques, including examples, planned structure and checking understanding. Over the next few years, I want to see where my skills from tutoring will take me.