Our tutors - clara maccallum

Clara - medicine, University of oxford

Hi, I'm Clara! I graduated last year with a BA in medical sciences from Somerville College, Oxford, and am now a fourth year Oxford medical student. Before Oxford I achieved A*s at A level in Biology, Chemistry and Maths, as well as top marks in my EPQ, in further maths AS level, and across my GCSEs. I have years of tutoring experience, both online and in person, and across age groups from primary school onwards, in various subjects, including Maths, Chemistry and Biology up to A level, and Physics up to GCSE, as well as admissions tests and University entry. This breadth of experience has built my abilities to convey complex ideas to people of varying age groups and varying levels of knowledge on the subject, as well as helping them find new ways to approach questions, altogether boosting exam results.

I think it is important to tailor lessons to the individual student and to take into account the different paces that different people learn to optimise results. My teaching style is patient and encouraging, allowing students to progress at whatever pace they're comfortable with so they do not get discouraged whilst ensuring they are still challenging themselves to achieve the best outcomes possible for them. In my experience this approach leads to great results, even in those who are much less confident in themselves initially.

Results are of course important, so in my tutoring we focus first on gaining understanding of a topic, followed by how to best approach exam questions, however I also try to foster a genuine interest in the subject, especially in those students wishing to study it further. I have also found that tutoring can build up skills you can take with you for life, even if you don’t continue with the subject, such as how to approach unfamiliar tasks and effective research skills, which I try to help students take away from my sessions.

I have found tutoring to be a particularly rewarding job and have seen great outcomes across my students, so would love to have the opportunity to encourage more interest in the sciences and maths and help more people achieve their best possible results.