Hi! I’m Ishaan — and funny enough, Maths Extension 1 wasn’t always something I felt confident in.

In Year 11, right before a major exam block, I got sick and ended up missing several important lessons. By the time I returned, it felt like the whole class had moved ahead without me. Concepts that used to feel comfortable suddenly felt shaky, and I came close to missing out on qualifying for Extension 2 entirely. I remember being one of the only people in my class who hadn’t received an offer, just sitting there upset and alone watching everyone else get invited into Maths Extension 2, worrying that I’d lose out on an amazing opportunity to enrich myself. 

That was a wake-up call. I didn’t want to spend Year 12 constantly trying to catch up, so I changed the way I worked. Instead of relying on standard worksheets, I switched to trial past papers and HSC-style questions — the same style and structure I would actually face in exams. Slowly, things started to click again. I rebuilt the foundations I’d lost, sharpened my problem-solving, qualified for Extension 2 in my prelims, and eventually jumped 40+ ranks by the end of Year 12.

One thing I learned during my own improvement is that worksheets alone don’t prepare you for the style of real exams. So as a tutor, I plan to bring in trial papers and past HSC questions early on. This helps students get used to the wording, the marking style, and the types of patterns that appear again and again—long before exam season arrives.

I eventually realised that memorising steps only got me so far. The real improvement came when I started recognising the reasoning behind each technique — the logic that tied topics together. Once that clicked, exam questions felt less like unfamiliar problems and more like variations of the same idea. That kind of deeper understanding is something I aim to help students build, because it gives them confidence even in unseen or difficult questions.

Over time, I also learned that Extension 1 questions follow certain rhythms different to Maths Advanced. Even the hardest problems usually rely on a handful of familiar techniques — clever rearrangements, well-chosen identities, or subtle shortcuts. Recognising these patterns early helped me approach exams with far more confidence, because I knew what to look for even when the question looked complicated.

Because I know what it feels like to be behind, I want my lessons to be patient, friendly, and judgement-free. My focus will be on helping students feel comfortable asking questions, confident in their understanding, and calm when facing assessments. No stress, no embarrassment—just genuine progress.