Meet The Mentors – Maths Circles with Axiom Maths
To date, Tutorfair Foundation has reached more than 200 young mathematicians through its collaboration with Axiom Maths. Last year, we were selected as a Delivery Partner by Axiom and began delivering Maths Circles at the start of 2024.
The Maths Circle Programme exposes students to mathematics from beyond the National Curriculum, exploring topics they wouldn’t otherwise encounter at school - not even at GCSE or A-Level. This makes Maths Circles an ‘enrichment’ opportunity as opposed to an ‘acceleration’ programme – perfectly complementing existing maths education.
To celebrate this, read on to meet some of our fantastic 2024/25 mentor group. The following three Mentors deliver 16 weekly Maths Circles between them and are an excellent example of the individuals we are hoping to recruit to the programme.
Scroll to the bottom of the article to find out how to apply!
Mert Y
Education: BA Physics Ed., MA Physics
Tutoring Experience: 29 Years
Occupation: Private Tutor
Favourite thing about the program: Working with students who willingly attend the programme, without the stress of being them graded or judged. Also, valuing mathematical curiosity and sharing our love of maths.
What’s the most challenging thing? Constructing and delivering a session without being didactic, but it is also very satisfying to watch students discover the concepts themselves. What piece of advice would you give to a new mentor? Be patient when they are stuck and give them space to think while making sure they do not lose their interest.
Amina H
Education: BA Mathematics, PGCE Mathematics
Tutoring Experience: 6 Years
Occupation: Maths Teacher
Favourite thing about the program: Teaching through discovery and being adventurous!
What piece of advice would you give to a new mentor? This is a great programme for you if you are interested in getting into teaching mathematics through exploration and discovery. It is important you familiarise yourself to the topic covered in each session so that you are able to probe students and ask the right questions to aid their thinking.
Daniel P
Education: BA Economics, MA History
Tutoring Experience: 5 Years
Occupation: Private Tutor
Favourite thing about the program: The moment something clicks for a pupil.
Why did you get involved with Maths Circles? I wanted to teach pupils not just to search for the solution path but to think, to construct arguments and proofs and where context is provided to interpret the outcomes of their calculations.
What piece of advice would you give to a new mentor? Yes, there is a curriculum to be followed, but there is plenty of scope to also be creative. You can invent problems that analyse the structure of the “mathematical system” in a new way.
Interested in becoming a mentor? Get in touch with a CV – we are always on the look out for new tutors.
Want to nominate a young person to take part in the programme? Please get in touch with joss@tutorfair.org – we can’t wait to hear from you!