3rd-year UCL Theoretical Physics student and tutor for maths and physics. Experienced with SEN students.

Find out more about Safwan

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

  When I first started explaining concepts to my classmates who perhaps didn't understand or were struggling. I enjoyed being able to explain something to them and found it satisfying whenever I saw that it had clicked for them. I became excited whenever a person would ask me to help because it was another opportunity for me to explain again how something works. Hence I decided it would be perfect for me to be a tutor. I chose maths and science because those are the subjects that I feel most passionate about and have the opportunity to explain using real-life examples. I love being able to give real-life examples of any concepts or ideas.

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

  I specialise mainly in maths and science because I understand them the best and resonate with them the most. I like teaching almost any topic really, but the ones with more interesting real-life applications, I enjoy teaching them more.

• Did you have any role models; or teachers that inspired you?

  My models are Einstein and Hawking mainly because of the significance of what they discovered despite both suffering disadvantages in their normal life. It shows that having the perfect education and upbringing isn't required to make amazing discoveries. Einstein was in a patent firm when he discovered relativity and Stephen Hawking wasn't even to live long enough to make the discoveries he made.

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

  A good tutor has patience and empathy as well as humour and personality. He can engage with their tutee, helping them to learn the content while making sure they are like a friend instead of a teacher. Both of them have the mutual goal of the tutee achieving the best they can. This is the character I aim to be in every lesson.

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

  One story would be during December when I got my mock grades and I wasn't happy with them. I knew I could've done better and achieved more so I set my goals to revise over December. I was determined to get the grades I wanted and laid out the way I would achieve them. And through wanting to succeed, I was able to improve significantly on my triple science grades, from 5,4,7 to 9,9,9. The thing which I learned was what I was capable of. I discovered if you wanted to achieve something, you have to want it. You have to actively make the effort to achieve greatness.

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

  One difficulty I faced was sometimes not understanding anything in a lesson because of not understand the content beforehand. It's hard to attend lessons and very quickly you lose motivation as the content becomes overwhelming. Hence why with my students, I make sure they understand well the fundamentals before moving on to the next lesson

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

  My passion is teaching in general, it can be anything that I know. It's the process of teaching that I enjoy the most and seeing the click in people's minds that makes me enjoy my job

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

  My amazing dedication and willpower to teach anyone anything and the great lengths I'll go to make someone understand the greatness of maths and science! Also the unfunny jokes I make from time to time