01
Mathematics
Building the foundations
Undergraduate study established the mathematical foundations for later postgraduate work, research and teaching.
About
Mathematics, teaching
and the path between them
I am Dhairya R Shah, a Teacher of Mathematics and applied mathematician based in Poole, Dorset.
My professional path has moved from studying and researching Mathematics, through tutoring and educational support, into sustained classroom teaching. Those strands now sit together: I teach Mathematics while retaining the subject curiosity and analytical habits that first drew me to the discipline.
Professional journey
How I arrived in the classroom
Teaching did not develop separately from my mathematical education. It grew out of it.
02
Applied Mathematics
Studying mathematics more deeply
I completed an MSc in Applied Mathematics with Distinction at Imperial College London, developing further interests in analysis, mathematical modelling and mathematical physics.
03
Education
Learning to explain Mathematics to others
University-level teaching, tutoring and SEND support gave me experience of communicating Mathematics to learners with different levels of prior knowledge and confidence.
04
Classroom teaching
Becoming a qualified Mathematics teacher
I completed QTS and PGCE through a salaried school-based SCITT route and now teach Mathematics full time at The Cornerstone Academy in Poole.
Teacher and mathematician
Two parts of the same professional identity
I do not see being a mathematician and being a teacher as competing identities. Advanced study gives me a wider view of where mathematical ideas come from, how they connect and where they lead.
Classroom teaching requires something complementary: making those ideas accessible, carefully sequenced and meaningful for pupils. Deeper subject knowledge matters most when it improves the quality of what pupils experience.
Good Mathematics teaching should help pupils see both how something works and, when appropriate, why it works.
What matters to me
Professional values
Clarity
Precise explanation, notation and expectations make Mathematics more accessible.
Intellectual honesty
Explanations should preserve the genuine mathematical idea rather than reduce understanding to rules that merely appear to work.
High expectations
Appropriate support should help pupils access worthwhile Mathematics rather than lower the destination.
Reflection
Teaching develops through evidence from pupils, professional feedback and a willingness to refine practice.
Beyond the classroom
Mathematics remains part of my wider work
Alongside teaching, I retain active interests in applied mathematics, mathematical physics and research. My previous work includes postgraduate research in electrowetting, numerical and analytical Mathematics, and university-level Mathematics education.
These interests form part of the same broader professional life: teaching Mathematics, understanding Mathematics and continuing to learn Mathematics.