Evenings at St Paul’s College can be busy and full of action! But if you look closely, after Formal Dinners, around Palladian performances, and amidst Rawson and Rosebowl competitions, Evensong, guest speakers, wonderful events such as Victoriana and the Formal, there are, on average, also around 12 College tutorials taking place each night!
It has been a wonderful year for St Paul’s as a teaching College. Over 1300 tutorials took place this year, of which 85% were in our undergraduate community and 15% took place for our graduates or were mixed undergraduate and graduate tutorials. This year’s Freshers were a particularly diverse cohort in their degree selection and so we had tutorials on varied subjects from animal science and ancient history to nursing clinical skills and software engineering, in addition to our usual offering of law, arts, commerce, engineering and medicine. The tutorial programme offers help not only in tackling university subjects but a way to learn with fellow Paulines and deepen friendships. One student reported: ‘The interactive learning approach that Paul’s tutors offer was instrumental in aiding my learning and exam skills. [Our tutor] provided clear explanations along with visual aids, which were crucial in understanding complex concepts and terms. ….Studying with these tutors has turned into more than just lessons—it’s become friendships. As we tackle tough subjects together, the shared experiences create a bond that goes beyond the class. The switch from tutor to friend shows how supportive and friendly the Pauline tutorial program is.”
This year saw some new initiatives in the tutorial programme. The new engineering tutorial programme provided each first-year student a dedicated mentor for their stream and to guide them as they begin to accrue hours towards their professional engineering practicals. We also had a dedicated clinical skills programme for our nursing and allied health students and GAMSAT preparation tutorials. As one of our students reported: “College tutorials were incredibly valuable for reinforcing content and deepening my understanding of a subject. The array of tutorials offered also included topics outside of university courses, such as GAMSAT preparation, aiding my preparation for graduate medicine entry.”
In Graduate House, under the guidance of our Assistant Senior Tutor for Medicine, Meheer Zaveri, our medical tutorial programme continued to support all 1st and 2nd year MD students. Meheer said of his time as Assistant Senior Tutor: “In my role as Assistant Senior Tutor (Medicine), I had the unique privilege of overseeing the development of the medical students at Graduate House and managing the tutorial programme. Every week, senior medical students imparted their knowledge and wisdom onto the first and second year students. The consistently remarkable medical knowledge and clinical proficiency of the younger medical students in the house never ceased to amaze me, and I’m incredibly proud to say that I helped, in part, to form their experience at St Paul’s College. Having met some of the aspiring medical students currently progressing through undergraduate degrees, and those pursuing allied health degrees, I have a profound optimism for the future of medicine and health in this esteemed institution.”
We are particularly thankful to Assistant Senior Tutors Riley Jones and Meheer Zaveri for all their support in making the programme, with so many moving parts, run smoothly and leading the team of tutors this year. Both Riley and Meheer are valedicting in 2023 – Riley onto internships and his final years of his Bachelor of Advanced Computing/Bachelor of Science degree, and (now Dr!) Meheer onto a Junior Doctor position at St George’s. We wish them both all the best and thank them for their service.
The numbers of tutorials may grow, the subjects may change, tutors graduate, new tutors join the team, and each year there are new Paulines to encourage and mentor in our tutorial programme. But some things don’t change – the heart of our tutorial programme remains the over 60 talented people – current Paulines, alumni, and friends of the College – who gave their time to teach, mentor, and guide our students. We are a teaching College!
Photo: Assistant Senior Tutor, Mr Riley Jones, and Senior Tutor, Mrs Katie Newcombe
