PhD Mathematics at Trinity College, University of Cambridge teaching online and in person.

Find out more about Douglas

• 1) When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  I became interested in maths at the beginning of Year 12 as I needed to be good at maths to get an offer for Computer Science at university. Soon after, realised that I enjoyed Maths much more than Computer Science. I had a lot of catching up to do to reach 'Cambridge maths applicant' level. In the end it all worked out and I became convinced that _anyone_ could do the same in two years and since then I have been keen to help students who are in the position I was.

• 2) Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  I encourage my students to spend most of the lesson on Olympiad-style problems which involve a lot of imagination as opposed to theory. The ability to come up with really creative ideas separates the good from the great in undergrad!

• 3) Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  Jesus

• 4) What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  The best choice of tutor is someone who has been on a similar maths-trajectory to the one you'd like to follow. If you're looking to get gold IMO before you're ten, look for someone who did that already.

• 5) Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  If you're determined to go to Cambridge, you should be listening (and following) advice from beyond your school. Schools aren't really equipped to deal with ambitious students and follow cookie-cutter recipes for all their students. For example, some schools make all their students do four A-levels or an EPQ, which would be a total waste of time for someone applying to Maths at Cambridge. Don't compromise your own education by ticking boxes for your school.

• 6) What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or still facing in your subject?

  Patience. When students encounter Olympiad maths for the first time, they end up pulling their hair out because they've never had to spend more than ten minutes on a maths problem in GCSE/A-levels. In the real world, an 'easy problem' takes a week. Get used to spending hours thinking about a problem.

• 7) Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  When I was preparing for the maths admissions process, I felt like there was an enormous lack of information at every stage. The few outreach events were ran by the 'admissions department' and not the 'maths department' -- it felt impossible to actually reach someone who had been through the interviews and STEP. I always try to tell me students what I needed to hear when I was in their position.

• 8) What makes you a Superprof (besides answering these interview questions :-P) ?

  I've never had a regular student not get in.