My first panic attack was inside a mathematics exam. It sounds so stupid, but literal numbers made my breath shallow, my heart pump and my hands shake. I remember looking through all the questions, trying to figure out which ones I could actually do, and throwing a half-arsed attempt at some of them. 

And you know that moment when you start calculating how many marks you lost instead of doing the actual questions? I just did that for the rest of the exam, convincing myself a 50% wasn’t too bad.

I didn’t get 50%. I got below.

From years 7 to 9, I honestly didn’t care much about my marks. I was that one kid who went to the library every recess and lunch to play Minecraft (I have too many hours in SkyBlock). When I went home, I hopped on Fortnite (it was a good game back then) without talking to my parents about school.

So imagine my face when after my first exams in year 11, I was ranked 1/158 for Math Advanced, 12/141 for Chemistry, and 8/105 for Physics at James Ruse? At the end of year 12, I got an ATAR of 99.70. What change did I make between years 9 and 11 which caused this drastic improvement?

It was all my teachers and my attitude towards learning. And if you’re reading this, then I can tell you already have the right attitude; you just need the right teacher.

MY CLASS

PERSONAL: I hate those corporate centres which act like tuition is a business. I’m not naming any names, but they treat you as a customer and not a student. My best teachers were ones that actually made you feel as if you were part of a family, not a class. That’s what I’ll be for you.

WHATEVER YOU NEED: This isn’t my lesson; it’s yours. I’m here to support you on your journey. Whatever questions you struggle with, whatever theory you need to learn, it’s all about you.

EFFICIENT: Because we are only focusing on you, there will be no time where you feel you’re not learning anything. And if you do feel like that, then tell me and I will change for you. You steer the direction of your learning, so make sure you drive towards the finish line.