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Tutoring Scheme

We offer free tutoring in A-level Maths and Physics to ambitious students of all ability levels at state-funded schools, who feel they could benefit from additional support to their learning, but may not have the means to access it. The scheme is run by student and academic volunteers at the University of Leeds. 

To sign up, just complete the Registration Form and email it to Lucy Byles. 

For any other enquiries, please also email Lucy, or any other member of the team. 

There is refreshment at every session and we have a small amount of funding available to cover any extra travel needed to attend the scheme.

The Team 

Currently, all our volunteers are PhD students and junior academics in the Physics Department at the University of Leeds. You can see photos of the team here.

Lucy Byles (organiser)

Lucy was previously a tutor on the scheme and has now taken over as the lead organiser. She is a PhD student at the University of Leeds and is passionate about improvising accessibility for students interested in physics and maths.

Daniel Hodgson (tutor)
Daniel is a postdoc at the University of Leeds supported by an EPSRC fellowship. Having mentored undergraduate students at Leeds since being an undergraduate here himself, and having experience of tutoring at GCSE level, he is always motivated to teach maths and physics to students of all abilities.  

Aiden Daniel (tutor)
Aiden is a PhD student at the University of Leeds funded by a Leeds Doctoral Scholarship. Being a pupil premium student from a disadvantaged area in Leeds, he's worked his way from high school to University and has probably been in your exact postion before. Having tutored high school students during his undergraduate degree, he's a firm believer that everyone deserves and has the ability to pursue higher education.

Callum Brennan-Rich (tutor)
Callum is a PhD student in the condensed matter physics department, researching magnetic effects in iron-tin alloys.

Rhea Alexander (tutor)
Rhea is a PhD student based at the University of Leeds, but she is also associated with Imperial College, London. 

Ewan Forbes (tutor)
Ewan is a PhD student in the theoretical physics group.

Tanmay Bhore (tutor)
Tanmay is a PhD student in the theoretical physics group.

Cristian Voinea (tutor)
Cristi is a PhD student in the theoretical physics group.

Dylan Barker (tutor)
Dylan is a PhD student in the molecular and nanoscale physics group.

Si Chen (founder)
Si set up the scheme, inspired by being part of a similar programme during her undergraduate degree at Imperial College London. She is supported by a Bell Burnell Graduate Scholarship, which aims to to encourage greater diversity in physics by assisting university students from under-represented groups. 

FAQ 

Who is it for?
The scheme is open to all students in Years 12 and 13 from state-funded schools across the wider Leeds area (meaning you can regularly travel to the University of Leeds campus). 

Our aim is to make tutoring at all ability levels available to any student who might find it useful, but not have the means to access it privately. If you are studying for A-levels and unsure if this is for you, please email us. 

Who are the tutors?
We recruit from PhD, Master’s and final-year Bachelor’s students in maths and physics at the University of Leeds. 

Which A-levels do you cover?
We currently provide support for every Physics, Mathematics and Further Mathematics A-level offered by any exam board operating across England. 

If you are studying something different but closely related, and feel you could benefit from our sessions, just email us with details about your studies, and we will see what we can do! 

When and where does it happen?
There is one session after school every week during university term time. Each session takes place in the Sir William Henry Bragg Building, home to the Department of Physics at the University of Leeds. Once you’ve registered, we’ll send you the details via email. 

Is there a lesson plan?
No, our experience is that it’s more effective to run “clinic-style” sessions that focus on people’s individual needs as they come up. When you come to a session, just bring along something you would like to work on – such as a stats and mechanics practice paper – and we will do our best to support you. 

Alternatively, if you are not working on any specific assignment, but want help with a particular unit such as binomial distributions, we can revise that unit with you and address any questions you have. Our aim is to help you grasp a topic at a fundamental level. In our experience as tutors and as students ourselves, this is the most efficient way to improve your grades. 

What is the student-to-tutor ratio?
We aim to keep a ratio of 4 students to each tutor. 

Why only A-levels?
A-level results are decisive for many students’ futures because universities and employers offering apprenticeships base their decisions on them. These final years are a time of accelerated learning and intellectual development, which unfortunately can widen the gap between private school students and those without access to the same financial resources. 

In the Leeds area, there are other organisations such as The Tutor Trust that cater to GCSE level and below. 

What is your safeguarding policy?
We take responsibility for the safety and well-being of all young people attending the tutoring sessions. We follow the University of Leeds Safeguarding Policy for young persons. 

If any incident causes concern in respect of the welfare of a young person, it may be reported to our designated safeguarding officer, Dr. Almut Beige. 

Can I reimburse my travel costs?
We currently have a small amount of funding available to cover any additional travel you had to undertake solely in order to attend the scheme. If you have a ticket you would like to reimburse, please send a copy of the receipt to Lucy along with your name and which session you required the ticket to attend.

Further information 

For school students
If you are interested in attending, just fill in the Registration Form and email it to us. You will hear back from us soon! 

For teachers
If you think students at your school might find this scheme useful, please encourage them to sign up, and consider advertising the scheme in classes, assemblies, notice boards, newsletters etc. (a flyeris available for your use).

We are also more than happy to visit your school and talk to your students directly about our scheme. 

We ask teachers to let students register themselves and not do it on their behalf. This is to ensure that students participate out of their own intrinsic motivation. 

For volunteers
If you are in the final year of a bachelor’s degree or above in maths or physics at the University of Leeds, we would love to hear from you! 

For charities
Our tutors work on a completely voluntary basis. However, there is a small cost in running the programme coming from reimbursing school students’ travel and providing a light meal for them. If you would like to support us in reaching out to as many students as possible, please contact us. We will provide you with a budget and practise complete transparency in reporting how we have spent your money. 

We would like to thank Prof. Jiannis Pachos for his donation of £50.