Jedh Curtis
From Struggling to 92 in Physics
My name is Jedh Curtis. Graduating from Oxford Falls Grammar in 2022, I received an ATAR of 98.85 and a 92 in Physics.
Before meeting Bob, I was literally a blank slate when it came to physics. I had been reading and completing questions from my textbook, writing loads of notes, and couldn’t understand why my hard work wasn’t translating to results. More importantly, I had lost all sense of confidence in my ability to do well in physics coming out of year 11 and began to think that maybe I just wasn’t suited to the subject. That’s when I met Bob!
I joined the Tutorgum gang a little late in the 1st term of yr12.
Bob’s teaching style and homework assignments suited me perfectly. I loved learning and replicating his methods for topics across each module, all far more intuitive and superior to any that the typical school textbooks taught me. I also really appreciated the lesson environment, learning alongside a number of enthusiastic, bright, and encouraging high achievers from a range of different schools.
Bob taught me a unique way of learning – to never rote-learn physics content, to leave all perfectionism at the door, to focus more on actually “BELIEVING, by way of proof” rather than simply accepting, and to find the logic and flow in everything. I loved all of Bob’s analogies and ‘flow chart style’ explanations for tricky concepts – they were always so funny and random, to the point where they were impossible to forget!
By the end of the 1st term, after consistently engaging in lessons, applying what Bob had taught me in weekly intensive homework sets, I had found my confidence!! No longer would I worry about something being too difficult to grasp – instead, I’d actually get excited to explore new content and push my boundaries.
In the weeks leading up to the HSC, we were all more than prepared, having completed loads of papers (containing many extension questions beyond the scope of the HSC to prepare for any extra hard Qs), with a real desire to do Bob and the 2022 physics gang proud. Sure enough, come HSC, we were confident and ready to prove that we knew our stuff!
As for all subjects, the key is to gain confidence: Confidence → Enjoyment → Success. I gained that and much more with Bob and the gang!