Oxford MSc & Warwick Maths Graduate with 5+ Years' Experience Teaching GCSE & A-Level Maths

Find out more about Danius Jean

• 1) When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

  Honestly, I've always been ridiculously curious - if something grabs my interest, I can go down a rabbit hole for hours until I really get it. That's how I ended up studying maths and stats at Warwick and then Oxford. Private tutoring came pretty naturally, as I started helping friends at university, then students started coming to me through word of mouth. I realised I actually enjoyed explaining things more than I expected, especially when someone has that "ohhh, now I get it" moment.

• 2) Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

  I teach a lot of subjects: maths, stats, data analysis, machine learning, and even French (I'm native). I love topics that feel logical but also have real-world meaning, like regression, hypothesis testing, decision trees, etc. What I enjoy most is when students ask why something works. That's when it gets fun. The stuff I like less? Probably anything overly abstract that doesn't connect to anything real (or biology) - I never managed to memorise the parts of a cell :)

• 3) Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

  I didn't have a single "life-changing" teacher, but I had a few along the way who were just really good at making hard things feel simple, especially in maths. What inspired me more was seeing students around me struggle, and realising I could explain it in a way that actually clicked for them.

• 4) What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

  Patience, curiosity, and the ability to explain the same thing in completely different ways. Also, reading the student's face and asking them what it is they don't understand - that's way more important than just knowing the content.

• 5) Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  When I was about 7 or 8, my mum came back from a parent-teacher meeting and told me the head teacher had said I was constantly looking at the clock during lessons. And it was true: I just wasn't a fan of school back then. I found it rigid and boring, especially when I couldn't see the point of what we were learning. But university was the complete opposite. Suddenly I had the freedom to explore what actually interested me, to dive deep into ideas, and to choose how I learned. That shift is probably why I teach the way I do now: I try to give students the same kind of flexibility and curiosity-driven learning that helped me thrive.

• 6) What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or still face in your subject?

  The biggest challenge is staying engaged when I don't find something interesting. If I'm not curious about it, I can't force myself. It's something I've had to work around, but it's also why I'm so good at explaining the stuff I do care about, because I have put real time into understanding it inside out.

• 7) Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

  Football and maths have always been my two main passions. I've always loved numbers, patterns, and logic, but I've also been obsessed with football since I was a kid. Over time, I found a way to bring the two together, especially through data analysis and tactical thinking. That's actually a big part of my life now outside tutoring: I run a football data consultancy where we help clubs make decisions using machine learning.

• 8) What makes you a Superprof (besides answering these interview questions :-P)?

  My students have told me I'm quite fun - I don't take things too seriously, and I'll often laugh with them when they get confused or go off track. I try to keep lessons relaxed and human, because learning works best when you're not stressed or feeling judged. That said, I also won't just give you the answer if you're not trying. I'll always push you to think for yourself, because that's where the real progress happens.