Nick H.

• Oxford, computer sciences
• Oxford

I am a postgraduate student at the University of Oxford reading Mathematics and  Foundations of Computer Science, having just graduated from an undergraduate  degree at Oxford in Computer Science with First Class Honours. I attended a  state grammar school, where I achieved 9 A*s and 3 As. At A-level, I achieved  A*s in Mathematics and Further Mathematics, As in Physics, Computing and  Philosophy and Ethics, and an additional AS-level in Additional Further  Mathematics at A grade. At university, I achieved a distinction in my  preliminary examinations, as well as for practical work each year.

            I am focused on a student-centric teaching approach with lessons tailored to  the student in question. My teaching style mimics the Oxford tutorial system,  and I pay particular attention to being adaptable to add value to the student's  knowledge, rather than lingering on well-understood topics. I encourage lots of  communication, so that I can gauge the student's understanding and understand  their targets as well. I aim to be approachable, and care deeply for the  welfare of my students - I am a flexible person and I appreciate that private  tuition can present a stressful environment, and I try to ensure that I am  sensitive towards that; from my experiences, I have learned how to communicate  effectively with all sorts of people. I believe that the best teaching  environment is relaxed and open, rather than encumbered with unnecessary  pressure, and I encourage my students to appeal to their academic curiosity by  thinking abstractly about problem solving and asking interesting questions.  What I want most is for students to look forward to expanding their knowledge,  and harbour a true passion for the subject.

            I have been a private tutor for mathematics and computer science since before I  started my undergraduate degree in 2015, for a variety of skill levels. Since  joining university, I have been very active in outreach and admissions events,  and I am a student ambassador for both St Catherine's College, and the  Department of Computer Science. I have participated in Target Oxbridge student  shadowing, both college and departmental open days, and interview helping.

            I am beginning a research career in the field of theoretical computer science,  and I spend lots of time reading cutting-edge papers. Technology and software  development is also something that I follow closely, and I contribute regularly  to open source software projects. In my spare time, I am hobbyist pianist, and  I am also currently learning Japanese. During my time as an undergraduate, I  was the president of the computer science society in college, and I organised  trips and socials for the other computer science students - during this time I  was also the coach for the Oxford University ACM International Collegiate  Programming Competition team, and we made it to the 2017 World Finals in South  Dakota.