PRIVATE TUTORING

Language, literature, creative writing and reading are what is meant by English in the school years. In the school system, however, they are all often gutted of value for students and they leave school hating books and anything Englishy, even if they attain the highest grade.

Since private tutoring is individual it is much easier to guide students to think and communicate in the most articulate and interesting way they can (another definition of ‘English’) and as a result, they always find themselves enjoying it more.

English GCSE examining boards want students to study how writers communicate ideas about the world and for students to form their own critical response to these. This can be a big ask for young people, but once they start to discuss ideas regularly, they quickly grow in ‘English’ confidence and high marks become achievable.

I hope that in doing what I can to help them achieve their best grades, I will also help them love good writing, books, stories, thinking and ideas (especially their own)

As well as GCSEs, I tutor for the English side of the 11+, Entrance Exams and Scholarships and creative writing for general interest, including for the Duke of Edinburgh award.

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I take great pleasure in helping your children and teenagers achieve their highest grades and also to communicate in a critical, creative and fluent manner (to read more on the value of vocabulary as a part of this, go here):

In person sessions are different for each student as they are matched to their academic aims, but they are skills based and include detailed discussion. I am based in Battle and also tutor in the Cranbrook area.

Online sessions comprise a similar approach to in person sessions with plenty of discussion and practice questions using a shared interactive whiteboard and screen share of documents.

I also offer a form of distance learning: weekly work is set and I give detailed written feedback or record an online session for easy watching when it suits. This is an effective option for Entrance Exams and allows flexibility for study.

For the Duke of Edinburgh Skills section I provide an online Creative Writing Correspondence Course: students write creatively in their own time using guided prompts and ideas, and then receive comprehensive and encouraging feedback. This is also a perfect way to support the large creative writing component of the English Language GCSE.

Creative Writing Courses in 6 and 12 week blocks are also always available for those not doing Duke of Edinburgh. More info here.

I help develop critical and conceptual thinking skills for both reading and writing, and we focus on what will gain marks and make them better writers; I identify strengths and weaknesses of each student and plan lessons and resources accordingly. In each lesson, different techniques are demonstrated, explained and practised. Written homework is reviewed between sessions and discussed during the lesson.

Although I cover all the exam paper content, extra practice in creative writing (25% of the Language mark), confidence in using quotes, together with some extra time on poetry, can really make a difference to the overall grade. A block of just six sessions gives an efficient grounding for higher grades in the Language and Literature papers, although for a more detailed approach, regular lessons are beneficial.

Students always ask lots of questions as that is one of the main benefits of one-to-one tuition and I will always encourage them to read in their free time — amazingly, they always do!