Tutoring
I have been teaching for over a decade and offer private tuition for all levels up to undergraduate. I'm currently completing a PhD at Oxford University in maths and tutor a masters level course there. I am also an Oxford University admissions assessor. I mark Oxford and Imperial College's MAT (Maths Admissions Test) and interview the candidates applying to read mathematics at Oxford. Teaching is something I absolutely love and feel very lucky to have the time to continue it alongside my research.
My basic services include support for KS2/3, GCSE, AS and A-Level. This includes the international baccalaureate and the 11+. I also tutor science (general) up to GSCE level.
In particular I offer the following additional support:
STEP and MAT paper preparation for university entry. I'm an official MAT paper marker.
Personal statement proof reading and interview advice.
University interview practice.
Support for adult/corporate learners.
Please contact me at patrick.hough@maths.ox.ac.uk for more details and to arrange a free consultation for you or your child. I am based both in Oxford, UK but also give sessions online.
'Patrick tutored both my children and gave them the confidence to enjoy the subject. He was a thoughtful and talented teacher offering support, reassurance, and challenge. Liz and Ben went on to achieve an A* and an A respectively and I have no doubt that Patrick helped them to achieve these results. They looked forward to the maths sessions and I have no hesitation in recommending him for a tutoring post.' Anna
'Patrick gave great inspiration and a new found confidence to Alex's maths. The one-to-one time was invaluable and we couldn't recommend his experience enough, teaching seems to come naturally to Patrick' -Jo
Below are just a sprinkling of the greatest minds, orators and personal heroes of mine who animate the maths world.
Andrew Wiles
This picture is thought to be the only one capturing the moment that Prof. Wiles laid his chalk to rest after three days of lectures and, in very understated terms, suggested that the arguments he had presented did indeed constitute a proof of Fermat's Last Theorem.
Having come across the 350 year old problem at the age of 10 and pursued a solution, this result makes him arguably the most famous living mathematician. Fermat's Last Theorem states that one cannot find whole numbers x, y and z such that the following equations holds true for a whole number n greater than 2.
I am fortunate enough to occupy the office next to his!
Hannah Fry
Dr Fry brings us 'The Mathematics of Love' and 'The Indisputable Existence of Santa Claus'. Bold claims. Her research is on 'Mathematics of Cities' at the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis at UCL. Besides her study of human behaviour using maths, her exploits in public outreach and increasing accessibility of the subject are phenomenal.
Check out one of her TED talks here: http://www.hannahfry.co.uk/youtube/2014/12/26/the-mathematics-of-love-hannah-fry-at-tedxbinghamtonuniversity
Alan Turing
Perhaps more in the public consciousness since Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal of him in 'The Imitation Game', Turing has long been a hero of mine.
Often in mathematics great contributions go largely unnoticed outside of academia and there has hardly been a greater contribution and more unsung than that made by Turing.
In his life time he pioneered many completely new branches of maths and is perhaps best known for his success in breaking the Nazi communications during the second world war, thought to have shortened the course of the war by years.
Even up to his tragic death in 1954 he worked on the first computer blue print, the Manchester Mark 1, formalised the whole subject of artificial intelligence, and even wrote the first algorithm for a computer to play chess.