Conall M

I am a Professional Mentor at Oppidan which means this is my full-time job! Outside of education, I am lover of all kinds of music who aspires to one day live off home-grown vegetables.

Education

University of Oxford - Music

Bio

Born and raised in Belfast, I came to Oxford for university and have been in England ever since. Working with young people is a huge passion of mine but outside of that, I’m super keen on all things music, especially orchestral music, and love any kind of live performance.

I mentor English, Maths, Reasoning and Interview at 11+ and all the core subjects up to GCSE with music, maths, and sciences as my specialities. I really enjoy working from a dynamic, holistic perspective, helping students to improve their confidence alongside their academics.

I’m definitely a people person so I enjoy spending time with friends and family as well as meeting new people. On top of this, I love trying something new – whether that be new food, new experiences, or even a new hobby. Alongside mentoring, I'm spending this year developing my skills as a camera operator, sound recordist and video editor.

Approach

Having been the welfare prefect at my secondary school, as well as both a welfare representative in my college and a university-wide peer supporter at Oxford, a wellbeing perspective runs through the core of my approach. I have always recognised the power of making someone feel good. Helping my mentees feel good about themselves and their learning is always my primary goal.

Having spent the last year as a teacher, I am well aware that, for students, classroom learning can so often feel like a one-size-fits-all approach. I realise how disenfranchising this can feel if that one-size doesn't feel like it fits you. I like to view my approach as the kind of antithesis to this - decidedly personal and exploratory. I aim to work together with my mentee to take a deep dive into themselves and their approach; the way they work, what makes them tick, what their goals are and how they might realise them.

What parents say

"My son found his session with Conall very helpful. We thought Conall was excellent and the various developmental games he played to get my son to engage were thoughtful. My son said his interview went well and he wasn’t nervous. He also said he wasn’t asked anything he hadn’t been asked before which is clearly helpful." Father of Year 6 student

"WOW! WOW! WOW! Conall was brilliant with my son and he adored his lessons with him. It was the perfect launch pad for Year 8. In fact, we will be back. Conall had a pre-chat with myself and incorporated what we discussed into the lesson plans and made it fun and engaging. My son wants desperately for Conall to go to his next school to teach so he can spend more time with him. Conall went beyond anything we asked for and tried new techniques to help ease some of my sons testing anxiety and build confidence with flash questioning. Inspired! We will most certainly be begging for more time with him. Conall gets a 10 out of 10!!!!" Mother of Year 8 Student, September 2023

"Conall has made a remarkable impact on Tom in such a short period of time." - Parent of Year 10 Student, April 2023

"Conall has been able to get through to Elliot in a way that others haven't been able to. This has left a real impression." Parent of Year 11 Student, January 2023