Chakshu Chopra · MEng Mechanical Engineering, Imperial College London

Enhanced DBS ✓ 100% online RAEng Engineering Leaders Scholar BP Future Talent Scholar

My story

Why I tutor, and why it works.

Tutoring wasn't a gap year plan or a side hustle I fell into. I started in July 2022, before my final year of A-Levels, because I already knew exactly which topics from GCSE and the years before had tripped me up, and how little of that struggle actually needed to happen. Since then it's grown into something I take as seriously as my degree: every lesson plan is built around one student, not a generic syllabus script.

I should say plainly: I just genuinely enjoy this. There's a specific satisfaction in taking something that looks like a wall of symbols and turning it into a handful of small, obvious steps, and I like the back-and-forth of actually working through a problem with someone rather than just handing over the answer. Outside paid tutoring, I've put in more than 20 hours volunteering as an anonymous tutor on a peer-support app, for no pay and nothing to put on a CV, simply because I like the moment a concept finally clicks for someone. Ask any of my students and they'll probably tell you I get a little too pleased with myself when a method finally lands.

At school I achieved A* Mathematics, A* Further Mathematics, A* Physics and A Chemistry at Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet. I'm now in my second year of Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College London, with First Class results in both years so far; and in 2026 I was selected as both a Royal Academy of Engineering Engineering Leaders Scholar and a BP Future Talent Scholar, two national, competitively selected awards.

What actually connects the engineering and the tutoring is the same instinct: don't accept a formula until you understand where it came from. I bring that habit into every lesson; it's slower on the first pass and much faster on every one after.

Alongside subject tuition, I also offer general mentoring: university applications, personal statements, subject and career guidance, and interview or scholarship prep. More on that here →

How I actually think

A stubborn streak, put to good use.

If you want proof that I don't give up on a problem just because the first fix doesn't work: back in 2020, my robotics team kept snapping the drive shafts on our competition robot. The obvious fix, thicker metal, made the whole thing too heavy to move. So I spent weeks redesigning a stabiliser that folded flat into the frame, keeping us within the size limit while finally balancing the weight properly. That robot went on to qualify for the World Championships in Kentucky.

It's the same mindset I bring to a stuck student. The first two things you try might not work, and that's completely normal; you keep adjusting the approach until something actually holds.

Beyond the classroom

Where the rest of this comes from.

VEX Robotics

Structural design and driving for a team that qualified for the World Championships in Kentucky, and secured its own sponsorship funding along the way.

UK Space Design

UK Space Design Competition

Four years competing at regional and national stages, including coordinating the structural team on a modular lunar outpost design.

Cambridge STEM Smart

Ongoing mentoring and assignments with the University of Cambridge, including a residential at Trinity College tackling advanced mechanics problems.

CCF

Combined Cadet Force

Three years developing fieldcraft, first aid and self-discipline, on top of the academic side of things.

UKMT

UKMT & Maclaurin Olympiad

Five years in the UK Mathematics Trust challenges, progressing to the Maclaurin Olympiad and mentoring younger students through it at school.

LAMDA

LAMDA Public Speaking

Grade 8 Distinction; the communication skills I now use every week explaining a tricky concept clearly.

Credentials

Recognised nationally, twice over.

RAEng

RAEng Engineering Leaders Scholar

Selected through the Royal Academy of Engineering's national competitive process (2026): training and mentoring for future leaders of the profession, culminating in a residential event in Manchester.

BP Future Talent Scholar

Awarded a national BP scholarship (2026), including a residential Discovery Week with senior engineers: technical exposure, interview practice and career development.

GEEP

GEEP Graduate & Ambassador

Graduate of the Royal Academy of Engineering's Graduate Engineering Engagement Programme; now a volunteer Student Ambassador supporting the next cohort.

A life outside one straight line

What's been running, and when.

These aren't one thing after another; several have overlapped. Here's roughly how it's actually laid out.

'16

'17

'18

'19

'20

'21

'22

'23

'24

'25

'26

'27

'28

GCSEs

QE Boys

A-Levels