About JZMaths

Hello! I'm Joe Zhou, a full-time maths tutor with over twenty years of experience. I read Mathematics at Imperial College London, graduating with a first-class degree and ranking first in my final year. I've taught students from 11+ through to university mathematics, though these days I mainly focus on A-Level Maths, Further Maths and TMUA preparation.

I left a job in finance because I loved teaching maths. Helping students understand a difficult idea, see why a method works and gain confidence in their own reasoning remains the most rewarding part of my work. I also enjoy coding, which is how teaching maths eventually led me to building this website!

How JZMaths began

I began writing my own TMUA papers and logic course when one of my students needed more suitable preparation material. It was something I had long wanted to do; having a particular student in mind finally got me started.

For years, I had relied on the excellent free resources from MadasMaths and Tyler Tutoring. Dr Trifon Madas was a dear personal friend, and his generosity in sharing his work freely was an important influence. Publishing my own material felt like a natural way to follow his and Jackie Tyler's example and contribute something of my own.

Not everybody can afford private tuition. I wanted students working independently to benefit from the questions, explanations and approaches I had developed through teaching.

What began as a collection of papers and worksheets grew into a simulator, with tools for reviewing mistakes and following progress. Students' suggestions, mistake reports and encouraging messages have helped shape the site along the way. It is especially rewarding to know that the work is helping students I will never have the opportunity to teach personally.

What you'll find here

JZMaths offers original TMUA mock papers, a full logic course with worksheets, and additional topic explanations and tests.

The exam simulator lets you attempt papers under timed computer-based conditions, review worked solutions and revisit mistakes. For ordinary simulator attempts, you can pause and resume when needed. A free account saves your attempts and lets you follow your progress, with question difficulty ratings and mastery estimates informed by students' performance.

My aim is to help students understand the mathematics behind their answers and become more confident, independent and curious learners. I hope that understanding stays with them well beyond the exam.

I am also very grateful to R2Drew2 for producing walkthroughs of all ten of my original mock papers, and to Jackie for her advice, proofreading and permission to include her papers in the simulator.

Working with Jackie Tyler

Jackie and I are now developing PLUS, bringing together carefully written papers, clear explanations and guidance for TMUA preparation. Our first release, PLUS beta, introduces our new Exam Sets.

Our aim is comprehensive preparation that is affordable and transparently priced, with free PLUS access for students eligible for free school meals. Income from PLUS will help us devote more time to developing resources and running the site, including continuing to create free material.

Everything we have previously made publicly available for free will remain free forever.

You can read more about our collaboration and why we are building PLUS.

Get in touch

I continue to develop JZMaths alongside my teaching. See the news page for new resources and updates.

Suggestions, requests and mistake reports are always welcome. Feel free to email me at jzmaths@hotmail.com.

— Joe