Connecting students with  tutors

Nexus: a connection, a link. In the case of a start-up business established by four ex-Takapuna Grammar students, it’s about connecting NCEA or International Baccalaureate students with tutors – or vice versa. It’s a concept that has outstripped the expectations of its creators and helped an impressive number of students since its inception 18 months ago. It is available to students across New Zealand, and ultimately, its founders hope, throughout Asia and Oceania.  Christine Young talks to the company’s founders.

Nexus, an online one-one tutoring service, was the brainchild of Maddie Yamaguchi. She had done some tutoring of secondary school students, casually and with tutoring companies, but she wanted to do more; she dreamed of a tutoring company that focused not just on academic help, but also on mentoring and supporting students.

For a year and a half, she vacillated between thinking ‘I can do it; no, I can’t do it’, and knew she lacked the skills to set it up on her own. In late 2021, she texted three other high achieving ex-Takapuna Grammar School (TGS) students, all by then, like her, studying at the University of Auckland. They were keen, and over an intensive six-month period of brainstorming, planning and meetings they fleshed out Maddie’s concept, and launched Nexus in March 2022.

The Nexus founders are a close-knit team of four, with complementary tutoring and business skills.

Maddie is Nexus' chief operating officer and customer service manager. She was born in Japan but her father was not a fan of the Japanese education system, and the family moved first to Christchurch and later to Auckland, where Maddie opted to go to TGS to do International Baccalaureate (IB). She is now studying psychology. In her 'free' time, she enjoys singing and songwriting, and pursues an interest in personal growth. She also volunteers on Anxiety NZ’s helpline. “The intensive training I received there and the experience I have gained has really helped me shape the well-being and looking-after-students aspect of the company, which is a major focus for us.”

Aislin Wells has just completed a degree in physics and computer science and intends going on to post-graduate study. She lived in Hong Kong and Singapore as a child where she attended schools offering the IB primary years programme. She, like Maddie, moved to TGS specifically to do the IB programme offered in years 12 and 13. Between university studies and Nexus (where she is human resources manager, as well as undertaking tutoring) she’s a regular gym-goer, attends yoga classes – and is countering her scientific bent by “trying to be more creative”.

Will Dalzell is studying law and political science with a focus on human rights. He’s involved in United Nations Youth NZ which provides civics education outside the traditional classroom context. As part of this, he spent 10 months volunteering as the key coordinator of a conference that attracted 300 students. “Uni is my biggest commitment,” he says – before admitting that he’s also just been elected president of the Auckland University Law Students Society, a leadership role that involves working with the members of the executive, running social, well-being and other events for law students.

Will is Nexus’ social and marketing manager, looking after promotions, branding and social media content.

Leo Lin is administration and finance manager, and looks after technology aspects of the company. He joined the discussion with Channel Magazine about Nexus’ establishment from London, where he is on an exchange between Auckland University and leading UK university, University College London. He is studying biological sciences, and media, film and television. Leo’s journey to IB also started at primary school, which prompted him to go to TGS where he could complete his IB qualifications. “Outside studies,” says Leo, “I’m a dancer” – focusing on tap, ballroom and Latin at competitive level.  He’s not competing as much now, but before he went to London he taught tap and ballroom to students and adults. Given his unusual mix of university study subjects, he not surprisingly admits to spending quite a lot of time watching movies and television.

Though Nexus was formed because the founders saw a 'hole' in the market for IB tutoring, they offer tutoring in both IB and NCEA, with the focus on year 11-13 students but with students as young as year 9 also able to be supported. Younger students are generally working through the NCEA curriculum; many older students are working through IB. “We all did IB,” says Aislin, ”and we all had a similar experience – we were not able to find suitable IB tutoring in New Zealand.”

“IB is an international curriculum,” Will explains. “It goes into more detail on topics not covered in the NCEA curriculum, and there’s a lot more emphasis on the holistic side of things. A lot of elements of IB are unique.”

“The exams are quite different,” Maddie chips in. “The style of questions asked [is different]. It’s good for a student to have a tutor who’s gone through IB.”

In addition, adds Leo, IB exams are foreign to students, as they only have exams at the end of the programme. “They’re unsure, and need someone who understands the exam format and curriculum.”

This means, of course that all tutors (including the founders) must keep up with any changes as IB (and NCEA) changes. “The exam structure doesn’t evolve too quickly,” Leo notes. “It’s more the concepts. We have to navigate that.”

From the outset, Nexus experienced greater demand for tutoring than they’d expected, and had to gear up accordingly. There are now a number of tutors across the country working for Nexus, and the team is always on the lookout for more. But prospective tutors beware. “We have a scary interview process,” Maddie laughs, not entirely joking, to ensure they only hire tutors that fit the Nexus model.

Applications are called for online on a regular basis, and Aislin has sifted through around 150 written applications in the past 18 months to select prospective interviewees. The first criterion is high grades, demonstrating that tutors have in-depth subject knowledge. But the key is finding a good tutor, and one aligned with Nexus’ emphasis on a holistic and supportive approach.

They’ve had what Maddie politely describes as “interesting experiences” when candidates have apparently come to grief on the interview question that asks them to teach the interviewers – to demonstrate their tutoring skills. “Some people are great on paper,” explains Maddie, “but their explanations skip steps.”

Most students are referred to Nexus by parents, though some students approach them directly after word-of-mouth recommendations from peers. Some are driven and want tutoring to take their marks to the top level; others just want to pass. Nexus does its best to match the ambitions of students with the most appropriate tutor. “It depends what they want,” says Maddie. “Some tutors will really push them; others will support the passers.”

Regardless of student ambitions (or otherwise), say the team, they’d advise starting at the start of the year if you’re weak in a subject, or at the very least two months before mock exams.

“The earlier the better,” advises Leo, “because that allows the student and tutor to understand the goals to set, and time for the student to improve.”

“As tutors,” comments Aislin, “there is only so much we can do. We give suggestions as to how they can help themselves, for example where to find practice questions.“

”They need to put in the effort,” Leo agrees. “One hour [a week] of our time is not enough to get them through; they have to do their own work.”

With the emphasis on the whole student, perhaps the greatest impact is not the content taught, but the attitudes imparted, and the support given to students by tutors who are not far removed themselves from the pressures of secondary school exams. “Our tutors are lovely people who really care for our students,” Maddie says. The students and tutors are all part of “a unique generation” with a shared understanding of the Covid learning disruptions and the implications of that.

“There are lots of tutoring services,” adds Aislin. “We market ourselves as by students for students. All Nexus tutors are young – at uni or a recent graduate.  We understand their struggles.”