Paul

Retired academic economist, but my first degree was in mathematics, and I've loved maths for my entire life. Two of my early jobs were about using maths in industry, and much of my academic work has involved a lot of maths.

Tutoring Experience

Several decades teaching economics at all levels, including quantitative and statistics courses. For several years I taught an after-school advanced maths class at an Edinburgh secondary school (Craigmount), and in the last few years I have taught several pupils individually - they would either come to my house or we used Skype. The latter was also useful as I travel quite a bit for consultancy work, and Skype enabled us to have a class while I was away. This individual tuition was mostly at advanced higher level, and also STEP level for Cambridge entrance.

Tutoring Approach

I like best teaching people who are already good at maths, and like it, but need or want some stretching. My view is that the current syllabuses for higher maths and advanced higher maths are pretty good on maths techniques, really quite poor when it comes to creativity and problem solving. So when I can, I try to emphasise these elements in my teaching. For Cambridge (and Oxford) entrance, problem solving is essential.