Rishi Nandakumar

When tutoring, I build each session around the student rather than a fixed plan.
I start by checking what they already feel confident in and where they're experiencing difficulties, so we're working from a real basis rather than guesswork.

Throughout the lesson, I ask plenty of questions — not to test them, but to see how they're thinking. I make sure they feel comfortable asking me questions too, even ones they're worried sound silly; being curious is the hallmark of a great student. I think the best moments in one-on-one teaching come from mistakes, so I treat those as the useful bits rather than something to rush past.

I also try to get the student explaining ideas back to me in their own words, because that's usually when you can tell something has properly clicked. At the end of each session, I briefly recap what we covered so it doesn't slip away before next time.

Between sessions, I set small pieces of homework, nothing overwhelming, just enough to keep their brain ticking over so we aren't starting cold each time. At the end of every topic, I'd give them a short test under proper exam conditions, because there's a real difference between understanding something while sitting next to your tutor and recalling it alone with the clock running. It also flags any gaps before they become problems.

Finally, I'd stay in touch with parents through a quick WhatsApp message during the week or five minutes after a session, so everyone is pulling in the same direction.