Oxford graduate and full-time tutor offering online Maths lessons! A-level, TMUA, STEP, UKMT/BMO, IB, Mock Interviews

Find out more about Matilde

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

  I first became interested in mathematics when I started participating in Maths Olympiads in Portugal at the age of 12. I enjoyed that Olympiad problems were not just about applying methods, but about creativity, persistence, and finding your own way through a problem.
  
  I continued developing this interest throughout school and university, eventually studying Mathematics at Oxford. I started tutoring part-time during my undergraduate degree, initially helping with university admissions and sharing what I had learned from my own experience. Over time, this expanded into teaching a wider range of areas, from school mathematics to admissions preparation and problem-solving.

• 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 mainly teach mathematics at sixth form level, covering areas including A-level and IB Mathematics, Further Mathematics, Olympiad preparation, and university admissions exams such as TMUA and STEP.
  
  I probably enjoy pure mathematics the most, but one of the things I like about mathematics as a subject is the variety of ideas within it and the connections between different areas. I enjoy exploring how topics fit together and helping students see mathematics as a coherent subject rather than a collection of separate techniques. I especially enjoy mock interviews, as each session brings a new interesting problem and gives us the chance to focus on developing the reasoning and problem-solving skills that apply across many areas of mathematics.

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

  I was fortunate to have many excellent teachers throughout my education who encouraged my interest in mathematics and inspired me to pursue it further.
  
  For tutoring specifically, my Oxford tutors were probably my biggest influence. The undergraduate tutorial system is based around discussion, exploration, and working through problems together, and this has strongly shaped the way I teach. I aim to create a similar environment where students are actively involved in the learning process.

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

  I think one of the most important qualities is listening well. For each problem we approach, I want to meet the student where they are: understanding their initial ideas, their intuition, and the way they are thinking about the problem before guiding them further.
  
  It is very rare that a student is completely wrong about something. Even when an approach does not lead to the solution, there is usually something valuable in the insight behind it, and it's much easier to learn a topic if you're starting from your own ideas. A good tutor should build from that starting point, rather than simply replacing them with a different method.

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

  Because I went to school in Portugal, my syllabus was quite different from the UK one. During the Oxford admissions process, I often encountered problems that felt much harder than they were intended to be simply because I had not studied some of the material yet. For example, I found some calculus questions in my interviews very challenging despite them being designed as warm-up problems, while I performed particularly well on other questions where my Olympiad experience and different mathematical background were more relevant.
  
  This experience taught me that everyone has different mathematical strengths and weaknesses, whether because of previous experience or natural intuition. A challenge in one area does not define your potential; it is about finding the right balance between addressing weaknesses and building on your strengths.

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

  One of the challenges with mathematics is that it often takes time for ideas to become intuitive. A topic can feel difficult at first, even when you understand the individual steps, because the deeper connections have not yet developed.
  
  Learning to be patient and consistent when something does not come immediately is an important part of becoming better at mathematics. Progress often comes gradually, through repeated engagement and seeing ideas from different perspectives.

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

  My main passion, at whatever level I am teaching, is helping students develop a broader understanding of mathematics beyond just learning procedures and calculations. The deeper structure of mathematics is about mathematical statements and how they interact to form proofs and give us further mathematical truths to work with.
  
  I particularly enjoy helping students see this bigger picture and start approaching questions from this perspective. Watching a student move from “which method should I use?” to “what information does the question give me, and how can I explore it?” is one of the most rewarding parts of teaching.

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

  I am always keen to continue improving both my mathematical knowledge and my tutoring skills. I treat tutoring as something I can study in its own right: reflecting on lessons, thinking about how students learn, and refining my approach.
  
  I also really enjoy the mathematical side of tutoring, so I make sure to stay engaged with the subject itself. My aim is not just to help students solve individual problems, but to help them become more confident and independent mathematicians.