Nathan

Full-Time Professional Tutor with MSci Masters in Mathematics degree from leading institution University of Bristol. Awarded a First-Class for Masters Dissertation on The Mathematics of Music and Acoustics. Currently provide private tuition of STEM subjects, Music, and Japanese for schools across the South West (and online), with over 8 years experience teaching students of all ages, and a keen emphasis on nurturing their innate passion for these subjects.

Having recently relocated from Bristol to Dorset, I now live in the countryside with my partner and cat. As a former professional chef, I have a passion for passing on knowledge and teaching in an efficient, coherent manner which gives the student that spark of triumph when they finally solve a problem or learn something new for the first time.

Tutoring Experience

Naturally, my main discipline is mathematics, following a First-Class Masters Dissertation specialising in the mathematical foundation of music tuning systems, compositional techniques, timbre, and the vibrational phenomena of cymatics. During my time at the University of Bristol, I also deeply studied topics such as Fluid Dynamics, Quantum Mechanics, Statistical Mechanics, and Relativistic Field Theory. However, I still retain a fond passion for the simpler regions of maths, right the way down to basic algebra or even long division - and have helped tutor students from primary school level all the way up to assisting fellow undergraduates at University with their exam preparation over the past 8 years.

Similarly, I have taught multiple other STEM subjects to students up to A-Level standard, including Chemistry, Physics, and Computer Science/IT. I keep a detailed and updated knowledge of a variety of exam board specifications in all of these areas.

Alongside my 4 years studying at University, I retained my passion for music by fully immersing myself in Bristol's music scene, becoming the Musical Director of UK National A Cappella Champions, The Bristol Suspensions; producing and arranging award-winning studio tracks as a professional Audio Engineer; and appearing in interviews on national TV (BBC/ITV) for various accolades. I have since gone on to be a peripatetic music teacher at schools across the South West (teaching classical guitar, singing, vocal percussion, composition, arranging, jazz and choral harmony, music theory, etc.) and as such hold Enhanced DBS. I have helped tutor music students up to A-Level standard and stay up to date on the latest specifications across multiple exam boards.

Finally, with my Japanese heritage, I studied Advanced Japanese (N4) as an open-unit alongside my degree, and was awarded an Upper First-Class (>90%). I thoroughly enjoy teaching the fundamentals of Japanese to newcomers of the language, whether they are looking for formal tuition for potential future career prospects or are just fans of the wonderful, rich culture.

Tutoring Approach

Fundamentally, my principal goal is to make a subject enjoyable and fun to learn. We've all been at the despair of a teacher who makes a topic so intensely boring that we lose all passion for the subject, and it has always been my aim to turn that feeling around. This is typically achieved by finding what makes a student connect to the subject, and then honing that innate drive to let them realise their love of a topic by themselves. Whilst there will always be support when a problem gets tricky, there is never spoon-feeding answers, because the overwhelming joy that a student feels when they reach a conclusion independently is what retains knowledge in long-term memory.

Primarily, I focus on transparent teaching of the foundational theories underlying a topic, to ensure a broad understanding of each area of the curriculum - which is often missed or overlooked in schools due to a lack of time or struggles to help each individual student understand in their preferred learning mechanism. As such, I offer an extremely adaptable and flexible approach to every student to cater for their requirements and preferences - which are discussed during an initial free meeting to determine an action plan and to set achievable but challenging goals. My encouraging nature helps students build their confidence and realise their full potential for all subjects on offer.

I offer both in-person and online tutoring, and am fully equipped with specialist hardware and software for both occasions. Students can request regular tuition for more in-depth support, or a short intensive course for that last-minute exam preparation.