A person in a London maths teacher job has racked up more than 1.2 million hits on YouTube.

What's even more surprising is that he has not been planking, twerking or Harlem shaking and instead has simply been teaching maths.

In 2011, London teacher Colin Hegarty decided that online video tutorials could provide his own pupils with the extra support they needed to really embrace some of the trickier mathematical concepts.

He told TES: "I believe that all students can achieve in maths as long as two conditions are met: students believe that it is possible for them to achieve in maths; and students have that bit of extra support/guidance to help them through their maths journey, particularly at home." 

Mr Hegarty explained the YouTube videos were created to help with the second of these conditions and "level the playing field" between the students in his maths class who were being helped by private tutors and those who could not afford that extra support.

The initial problem was that the very people he wanted to reach out to couldn't actually afford a computer to watch the videos on. The teacher applied for funding from the Shine Trust charity and this helped him set up after-school iPad revision clubs.

Students could now stay at school to work through the specifically-designed maths tutorials and this helped the school achieve the best results in its history.

Furthermore, the videos became popular with students across the world.

"The videos enable students to work through their GCSE and A-level maths curricula with video support and interactive checklists, so that they can track their progress and make their home learning really targeted and beneficial," said Mr Hegarty.

He added his long-term goal is to create a thorough and free online resource that supports students through their entire maths education.

Do you have any inspirational stories of teachers going that extra mile for their pupils? Let us know of your good work.