James Ellery

James teaches physics up to A-level, and every lesson begins with ten minutes on a question the pupil has brought from school. It might be a homework problem nobody explained properly, a practical write-up, or a diagram from a textbook that made no sense. Those ten minutes do a lot of work. They show James exactly where the confusion sits, and they mean the pupil arrives at the rest of the lesson already listened to.

From there the session moves into mechanics, electricity, waves, materials or fields, depending on where the pupil is in the course. James is careful with the maths that physics depends on: rearranging equations, reading graphs, handling uncertainties and keeping units consistent. He teaches pupils to sketch first and calculate second, because a quick free-body diagram prevents most of the errors that cost marks. A-level pupils get practice with longer structured questions and the practical skills that carry their own assessment weight.

His view is that physics is difficult mainly because it asks for two things at once, a clear model in the head and clean algebra on the page. Lessons work on both, and progress reports show parents which of the two is holding things back at any point.