Whether it's OSCEs, medical exams, medical school application and even interviews and personal statements. I can provide the help and guidance as a final year med student at Barts and The London Medic

Learn more about Rafe

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

  I chose to study medicine due to my interests in science particularly connected to the human body. Medicine forces you to become a better version of yourself by being reflective of your skills, knowledge and interaction with different people. A major aspect of medicine is to teach the people around you and the people below you in knowledge. This happens in university and in the hospitals which is what inspired me to go into tutoring. Tutoring helps me develop my skills in explaining and reasoning as you have to understand the whole concepts and be able to break them down into bite-size chunks for your students to learn.

• 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 teach GCSE/IGCSE maths and all the sciences. I can teach AQA and OCR as they are very similar exam boards. I also use a resource which provides the notes and questions for each exam board. In terms of A-Level, I teach chemistry and biology AQA. I prefer teaching A-Levels as they have a lot more detail in each topic. The details should not be overlooked as they build your understanding around a concept.

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

  My mum and my 11+ tutor. My mum would teach me all the time in any subject of life. My mum taught me everything I know in terms of how to look after myself and made sure I knew how to take care of my own responsibilities in life. My 11+ tutor had a major impact in terms of teaching as she was always supportive and didn't put unnecessary stress on me. When things got tough she gave me a choice of whether to carry on with my 11+ or find something else to do and she explained the pros and cons of each decision.

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

  Patience - especially when a student takes time to learn and understand a topic,
  Good listener - being able to listen and understand the weaknesses and problems a student is facing
  Empathetic - The student may not be able to do homework or attend lessons regularly. So, try to understand their position and motivation for the subject.
  Enthusiasm - making the subject interesting and applying it to the real world allows the student to think and ponder on a topic. Also, it could be a potential interest for a student that they may pursue in the future as a career.

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

  I remember when doing A-Levels we had a teacher who loved maths. She lived and breathed maths and she loved to teach it. Our teacher bestowed on us a valuable lesson which is to try different things and learn different things. How would you ever find an interest in a particular career or job if you don't try and learn a bit of it first? This is where she discussed her life and how she fell in love with maths during GCSEs and this carried on throughout her life. This is one of the main points in life where I chose to do medicine based on my interests in human biology and pathology due to this teacher.

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

  Difficulties were finding a resource where both the notes, questions and tests were found in a single resource when I was doing GCSE and A-Levels. Also having someone guide you through the process of GCSE and A-Levels would have been comforting as the unknown can be a bit stressful. Finally, I wish I had someone who understands GCSE and A-Level and supports me through tough times. When things get tough it can be easy to think that you're going to fail or not make it out to the other side of GCSE or A-Level. However, having someone who's already been through the process of GCSEs and A-Levels and then gives you advice or reassurance is comforting for a student.

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

  Teaching in general is my passion at the moment. Out of all the jobs I've had, tutoring has been my longest. I've been tutoring for nearly 3 years now and I've enjoyed every bit of it. One of the aspects I've encountered is that you can always think differently about a topic and still be able to understand it. The challenging part of tutoring is always trying to explain a topic that a student doesn't understand from the get-go. However, once a student understands it is rewarding for both them and I.

• What makes you a Superprof (besides answering this interview questions)?

  I want to go above and beyond for my students. Whether that's providing the best resources or being able to help students with their work outside the lesson. I encourage my students to message me and ask for help or ask any questions they have regarding their subjects, how to plan revision or if they want to pursue a career in medicine.