Customer story · Independent tutor

How Aaron Greenwood gives every physics student a classroom of their own

Aaron Greenwood teaches GCSE and A-level physics online on Pencil Spaces. A former full-time teacher and an AQA examiner, he runs Get Better At Physics for students in the UK and abroad. Students learn in a Space with one link that never changes. The exam spec, past-paper questions and last week’s work are waiting on the board.

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GCSE physics · One-to-oneLive

Electricity · Exam question

A 6.0 V battery drives a current of 0.25 A through a lamp. Calculate the resistance of the lamp. [2 marks]

R = V ÷ I

R = 6.0 ÷ 0.25 = 24 Ω ✓

AGAaron

SStudent

Illustration: a one-to-one GCSE lesson on Pencil Spaces, with an exam question worked on the shared board.

Practice: Get Better At Physics
getbetteratphysics.co.uk ↗
Based in: The United Kingdom, teaching students in the UK and abroad
Teaches: GCSE, IGCSE, A-level, International A-level and IB Physics
Lessons: One-to-one, and small groups of up to four
Background: 11 years teaching full time; AQA GCSE Physics examiner since 2022

Aaron at a glance

Examiner-led physics, taught online.

How Aaron runs Get Better At Physics, in his own numbers.

11 years

Teaching full time before Aaron left the classroom in 2022 to tutor online.

Exam boards Aaron has taught, from AQA and Edexcel to Cambridge and the IB.

1 Space

For each one-to-one student, with the same link every week and only Aaron and the student inside.

Every lesson is taught live online, on Pencil Spaces.

Source: getbetteratphysics.co.uk, home, About and Tuition & Pricing pages, read October 28, 2026. These are Aaron’s own figures.

The short version

One student, one Space, every week.

The challenge

Physics needs more than a shared screen

Before Pencil Spaces, Aaron tried other tutoring platforms and found the whiteboard treated as an afterthought. Physics leans on the board: exact diagrams, ideas students need to see and exam questions to work through.

What Aaron built

A Space for every student

Each one-to-one student has their own Space with the same link every week. Aaron puts the exam spec, simulations and past-paper questions on the board, and the student’s work stays there.

What happened

A classroom on his price list

Aaron’s pricing page lists a personal Pencil Spaces classroom among what every student gets. Students come back to their Space between lessons, and his site carries a Pencil Spaces badge.

The practice

Specialist physics, matched to the exam.

Aaron Greenwood studied physics with astrophysics and cosmology at Lancaster University, then taught full time for 11 years. He left the classroom in 2022 to tutor online, and he has examined GCSE Physics for AQA since then.

Get Better At Physics teaches physics only, for GCSE, IGCSE, A-level, International A-level and IB students in the UK and around the world. Families choose one-to-one lessons or small groups of up to four, and every lesson runs for 60 minutes.

Lessons follow the student’s exam board and start from what they find hard. Most lessons aren’t tests: answers are worked out together, with plenty of past-paper practice. After each lesson, parents get a short WhatsApp voice note on what happened and what comes next.

Why the online classroom mattered

Physics asks a lot of an online classroom. Diagrams have to be exact, ideas like current and waves need to be seen, and exam technique comes with practice that carries on between lessons.

Aaron wanted the board at the center of every lesson, with everything he teaches with in one place. He found it in Pencil Spaces. On Capterra, he rates it 10 out of 10 for how likely he is to recommend it.

Inside a lesson

One hour, one board.

Here is what an hour with Aaron includes.

1
Open the same Space
The student joins from the link they use every week. Last lesson’s boards are where they left them.
2
Put the spec on the board
Aaron puts the exam board’s specification section on the board and ticks off what they’ve covered. Sometimes he highlights what comes next, too.
3
Show the idea
Aaron opens a simulation next to the notes, so the student can see the idea at work.
4
Work the exam question together
Past-paper questions from the student’s exam board go on the board, and Aaron and the student build the answer step by step.

The details Aaron relies on

Straight lines on a key

A hotkey draws straight lines, so ray diagrams, graphs and circuits stay clean.

Colors from a color wheel

Line and text colors from a color wheel, plus custom backgrounds, keep each board easy to read.

Websites on the board

The Web Viewer opens simulations and other sites right on the board, where Aaron and the student both use them.

Diagrams and stickies

Shapes, stickies and a resource library of common diagrams are ready when a question comes up mid-lesson.

Between lessons

Practice that carries on after the hour.

Aaron leaves each student’s Space open, so the work carries on after the call ends.

Open when Aaron isn’t there

Students can go into their Space on their own to revisit earlier boards and practice.

Reviewed together next time

Aaron goes over what they did at the next lesson, with no files or emails passed back and forth.

A question bank to practice with

Every student also gets free access to Aaron’s own Physics Question Bank of past-paper questions.

Recordings when they help

Aaron finds most students don’t rewatch one-to-one lessons, so he records them when a parent asks. Small-group lessons are recorded for catch-up.

In public

A classroom good enough to sell.

Aaron doesn’t hide the platform he teaches on. He lists it as part of what families pay for.

His pricing page lists a personal learning space in Pencil Spaces among what every student gets: the same link each week, with access for only Aaron and the student. The footer of his site carries a Pencil Spaces badge, too.

His students notice it too. One of them left Aaron a five-star review that named Pencil Spaces. The student praised working together in lessons and going back over the work afterward.

See Aaron’s pricing page ↗

“I have found that my working practice has become more fluid, interactive and effective using this platform.”

Aaron GreenwoodTutor, Get Better At Physics, in his Capterra review, June 2025

Watch him teach

Watch Aaron teach physics online.

In August 2025 we filmed Aaron for The Masters of Tutoring, our free training series for tutors. Its six episodes, about half an hour in all, show how he teaches physics on Pencil Spaces.

Trailer: Teaching Physics Online, with Aaron Greenwood (1:24).

Simulations on the board

Teaching physics with an interactive simulation next to the notes. 8:58. Watch ↗

Organizing your workspace

How Aaron organizes his Space and boards for a lesson. 2:44. Watch ↗

Specific heat capacity with ChatGPT

A specific heat capacity lesson that brings ChatGPT onto the board. 4:45. Watch ↗

Teaching equations

Writing equations and calculations clearly, down to the pen thickness. 3:34. Watch ↗

PDFs and past papers

Bringing past papers and other PDFs onto the board. 5:33. Watch ↗

Templates

Reusing board templates, with a tour of his boards. 6:00. Watch ↗

Why he teaches here: Physics tutor, Aaron Greenwood, chooses to teach on Pencil Spaces (February 2025, 1:51). Also on our channel: his July 2024 review and a candid chat with Russell Greenhill.

Working together

Shaped by tutors like Aaron.

Aaron is one of the independent tutors whose feedback shapes what we build. Here is how that has looked.

January 2024
Tutoring roundtables
Aaron joins our Tutoring Roundtables, including discussions on the pedagogy of tutoring and on teaching the sciences at GCSE and beyond.
July 2024
On camera
Aaron records his first video review of Pencil Spaces, and a candid chat with Russell Greenhill of Greenhill Academics.
June 2025
A review in his own words
Aaron reviews Pencil Spaces on Capterra and rates it five out of five.
August 2025
The Masters of Tutoring
Our video team films six short episodes with Aaron. The series comes out that September, and Get Better At Physics shares it on LinkedIn.

For your own practice

Five ideas from Aaron’s lessons.

Give every student their own Space

One Space per student, with one link that never changes. Nobody hunts for a new link, and last week’s work is waiting.

Put the spec on the board

Show the exam board’s specification section, tick off what you’ve covered and highlight what’s next. Aaron shares his spec screenshots for free on his Tutor Resources page.

Bring simulations onto the board

Open a simulation in the Web Viewer next to your notes. You and the student use the same page, with no screen to share.

Build answers together

Keep most lessons for practice rather than tests. Work past-paper questions on the shared board and build the answer together.

Leave the Space open between lessons

Let students come back to practice on their own, then start the next lesson by going over what they did.

Questions

Aaron and Pencil Spaces, answered.

Who is Aaron Greenwood?

Aaron Greenwood is a UK physics tutor who runs Get Better At Physics. He taught full time for 11 years and has been an AQA GCSE Physics examiner since 2022. He teaches GCSE, IGCSE, A-level, International A-level and IB students online, one-to-one or in groups of up to four.

How does Aaron Greenwood use Pencil Spaces?

Aaron teaches every lesson in Pencil Spaces. Each one-to-one student has their own Space with the same link every week. He puts the exam specification, simulations and past-paper questions on the shared board and works through answers with the student. He leaves the Space open so they can practice between lessons.

Can students use their Space between lessons?

Yes. You can let students into their Space when you aren’t there. They can revisit earlier boards and practice on their own. Their work is still there at the next lesson, so nothing needs to be emailed back and forth.

Do students keep the same link every week?

Yes. Every Space has one link that stays the same. Aaron gives each one-to-one student their own Space, used only by him and that student. Every lesson starts in the same place, with last week’s boards still inside and ready to pick up.

Can you use physics simulations on the Pencil Spaces whiteboard?

Yes. The Web Viewer opens websites, including physics simulations, right on the board next to your notes. You and your student see and use the same page, so there’s no screen to share and no tab to switch to during the lesson.

How can an independent tutor get started with Pencil Spaces?

Start a free trial: every paid plan is free for 2 weeks, and you don’t need a credit card. Create a Space for a student, share its link and teach your next lesson there. Plans and prices are on the pricing page.

Teach one-to-one online

Give your students a Space of their own.

Set up a Space for your next student and teach there this week.

Try Pencil Spaces Get a demo

Free for 2 weeks on any paid plan. No credit card required.

How Aaron Greenwood gives every physics student a classroom of their own

Examiner-led physics, taught online.

One student, one Space, every week.

Physics needs more than a shared screen

A Space for every student

A classroom on his price list

Specialist physics, matched to the exam.

Why the online classroom mattered

One hour, one board.

Open the same Space

Put the spec on the board

Show the idea

Work the exam question together

The details Aaron relies on

Straight lines on a key

Colors from a color wheel

Websites on the board

Diagrams and stickies

Practice that carries on after the hour.

Open when Aaron isn’t there

Reviewed together next time

A question bank to practice with

Recordings when they help

A classroom good enough to sell.

Watch Aaron teach physics online.

Simulations on the board

Organizing your workspace

Specific heat capacity with ChatGPT

Teaching equations

PDFs and past papers

Templates

Shaped by tutors like Aaron.

Tutoring roundtables

On camera

A review in his own words

The Masters of Tutoring

Five ideas from Aaron’s lessons.

Give every student their own Space

Put the spec on the board

Bring simulations onto the board

Build answers together

Leave the Space open between lessons

Aaron and Pencil Spaces, answered.

Who is Aaron Greenwood?

How does Aaron Greenwood use Pencil Spaces?

Can students use their Space between lessons?

Do students keep the same link every week?

Can you use physics simulations on the Pencil Spaces whiteboard?

How can an independent tutor get started with Pencil Spaces?

Give your students a Space of their own.