I’m certain if most people knew what maths was all about it would be everyone’s favourite subject. Playing with shapes, spotting patterns, playing games and thinking up cunning strategies, solving puzzles - who wouldn’t love doing these activities? It may be a far cry from sums in a textbook, but they’re all core maths skills.

 

I trained as a teacher at Homerton College, Cambridge, and taught maths and science in a middle school in Suffolk, but I first remember teaching maths to my neighbour in class when I was about seven. I spent a while running a business, but I’ve also taught in Belize and Oxford, and I love working with small groups best of all. That’s when we can get really into a topic, and I get to listen to my students rather than them listening to me. If we get a really good question that diverts us from our original topic, great!

 

I still love getting into a good maths puzzle, and I’ve been saving up some of the best ones I’ve found, for us to take to pieces in class and find out how they work...