Kilmeston Tutors & Kilmeston Tuition

Personal Description:
I am Japanese and a trained language teacher located in Bearwood, Bournemouth. I've been teaching all different levels at Bournemouth University as well as private individuals. Online lessons available.

Teaching Experience:
I have experiences in teaching languages for more than 20 years. So far, all my students who took JLPT exam (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) have been successful.

Tutoring Approach:
I appreciate the complexities in learning a new language and my lessons are always fun and enjoyable. I also teach Japanese culture, custom & manners.

Example Style of Courses:
Private Lessons
Group Lessons
Various Levels - Beginner, Intermediate & Advance
JLPT Exam Course
Travel Japanese
Business Japanese
Brush up Courses
Short Term
Long Term
Weekdays & Weekends
Day Time & Evenings
Face to face lessons
Online lessons

Fees:
Private Lessons - £35 per hour
Group Lessons - negotiable

The style of courses can be flexible and designed to suit your needs.
Teaching materials are included/provided.
Translation service is also available and the rate is negotiable.
References are available on request.

Subjects

Personal Description:
I am a teacher of French, Italian and Spanish in St Ninian's High School, within East Renfrewshire. I graduated from the University of Strathclyde with a joint Honours degree in French and Italian (language and studies). I also have a Masters in Marketing which I also obtained from the University of Strathclyde. I spent a year abroad in Lyon, France, during my fourth year of university, where I worked as an English Language Assistant in two high schools. I am extremely patient and understanding and have extensive experience tutoring both young children and teenagers, in all three languages, as well as helping with reading and literacy skills. I am passionate about working with and helping others and find it to be a most rewarding experience and I would love to pass on my knowledge and skills, in my specialist subjects, in order to help develop the skills of the tutees I will be working with. I am a very driven, confident and enthusiastic individual and I give 100% to everything I am involved with, and I am passionate about achieving results and helping others to do so also.

Teaching Experience:
I am a qualified French & Italian teacher in secondary education with 13 years experience delivering BGE, National and Higher courses. During my fourth year of University, I worked in two high schools in Lyon, France as an English language assistant, teaching children, teenagers and young adults, from the age of nine to twenty three. I was responsible for helping them with all aspects of the language, and developing their reading, writing, listening and verbal skills by preparing and working on a number of different activities. I also taught them about British culture, history and lifestyles so as to help develop their knowledge of Britain, particularly Scotland, in general. I ensured that I worked differently with different individuals, depending on their style of learning and I took a different approach accordingly. I aimed to make my style of teaching both informative and fun so that they enjoyed learning and I believe this is something I am always successful in as many tutees I have worked with have commented on my positive and helpful way of teaching.

I have tutored many pupils, both in French and Italian, with a great focus on exam preparation and the skills that they needed to do well on class tests, with a great success rate.

Tutoring Approach:
I take a different approach to my tutoring depending on the individual I am working with. On my first session with my tutee I will find out the areas that they are experiencing the most difficulty in, and what their strengths and weaknesses are, as this will help me to develop an effective and helpful way of teaching. I prepare various worksheets, practice tests and activities which are interactive and will allow for valuable learning. I will ask the tutee what their preferred way of learning is and look at ways in which they successfully learn in other subjects and try to incorporate this in to my way of teaching. I encourage tutees to ask questions wherever necessary and to state if they wish me to try a different approach. I believe communication is the key to successful learning and I pride myself on my friendly and approachable nature and my ability to achieve results in my tuition. On the whole, I am aware that my way of teaching has to be of benefit to the tutee so I will tailor my approach to suit their wants and needs.

Subjects

Personal Description:
I have an excellent rapport with young people, with 30 years experience as a Scout Leader.

Teaching Experience:
The last 16 years I have been girls and boys in Maths, Physics, Biology and Chemistry with exam achievements far exceeding expectations.
I previously worked for BT and was involved in training engineers and managers in utilisation of management information.

Tutoring Approach:
I have the ability to be able to explain complex things in a simple way.
Tutoring sessions are customised to the individual student's needs, with revision strategies to maximise exam performance.
I am very good at motivating students, being enthusiastic and making the subject fun and exciting.
The pace is customised to stretch the young people while keeping within their comprehension zone.

Subjects

Personal Description:
I studied at the University of London - the London School of Economics and Birkbeck College. I am a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a Member of the Royal Historical Society. I am now a professional full time private tutor and I have an exemplary track record, with over 200 five star reviews on various tutoring websites, of coaching students to success across a range of ability: entrance to Oxbridge and the Russell Group universities and 13+ and 16 + entrance for the top UK private schools. Or for students who merely need to improve their grades somewhat, restore confidence after a mock exam or recover their composure and achieve good UCAS predictions. My overall knowledge and experience of the UK and international education system is next to second to none.
I am a specialist in UK and international A-Level / Level 3 qualifications such as AQA, EDEXCEL, OCR, EDUQAS, CIE, iAL, IB and pre-U. I also support all GCSE and iGCSE syllabuses and Middle Years IB. I was a Head of Geography and then a senior manager at a successful Sixth Form College in London. I am currently a Senior Examiner and Moderator for Edexcel in Geography and EPQ Diploma Dissertation and have been an examiner for Geology. I was also an Examiner for Geography for AQA, CIE (OCR) and the WJEC. I am an author of GCSE / A-Level books and resources and a keen historian, specialising in 20th Century history.
I tutor online to provide support for a wide range of students, particularly 11/13+/scholarship, Year 10/11 GCSE and Year 12/13 A-level students. I can also provide fully planned sessions to support remote learning or missed teaching for all students in Years 7-13, whether or not they are facing examinations imminently.

Teaching Experience:
I have been teaching Geography, Geology and Environmental Science at GCSE / A-Level standard for over 30 years and previously taught English and History outside the UK. I also teach GCSE History privately. I have over 32 years' experience of private tuition and have worked for the same period as an examiner variously for Edexcel, WJEC, OCR, CIE and AQA. Having amassed over 22,000 resources, I can support almost any scenario - SEN; enforced Gap Year / re-take / improving grades; re-starting after ill health; moving school; moving country; home study; post-lockdown support. I have also organised Easter revision classes and conferences and also ran a widening-participation programme for A-Level Geography.
I can also offer support for physical geography, geology and earth science up to undergraduate courses and assist with dissertations at undergraduate or Masters level, by negotiation. I can also assist with the International Baccalaureate (IB) course for Standard or Higher Level ESS, History and Geography and pre-U. I am a specialist in supporting the NEA (coursework) for EDX, AQA, WJEC and OCR specifications and coursework for GCSE History.

Tutoring Approach:
I currently work with UK and international students and their families from multiple countries, across all time zones! About 70% are UK based and the remainder in the EU, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas.
I have helped students at all levels from Year 6 and 11+ preparation through to Masters Level. I believe in a student-centred approach, which can be tailored by arrangement. I like to develop a mixture of skills, concepts and knowledge. By building conceptual skills and subject-based knowledge and case studies, a student is better prepared for the pressure of the examination. But, good subject and syllabus-focus is essential. My lessons can concentrate on exam practice (using a large bank of resources), case study revision, they can be skills-based (e.g., decision-making, data response) or focus on theory and concepts or a combination of all these. Teaching and learning programmes can be organised to suit personal needs. Some students want intensive 'power lessons', others just want extra exam question practice, some just want someone knowledgeable to bounce ideas off! I can offer integrated packages for GCSE History and Geography together. I can also provide fully planned sessions to support remote learning or missed teaching for all students in Years 7-13, whether or not they are facing exams this year.

Subjects

Personal Description:
I am a second year Economics Student at Lancaster University achieving a 2:1 in my first year.

Currently I have picked modules only involving mathematics ranging from maths for economics, econometrics and game theory and a minor pure mathematics module. So I am presently fully capable of handling up to A-Level Core and Statistical mathematics.

Teaching Experience:
I have no professional experience as a teacher however i have some experience teaching my peers throughout GCSE, A-Level and Degree Level.
For instance I have taught friends and peers parts of Edexcel Mathematics up to A-Level.
As well as this i have also received private tuition myself during A-Level from my college and so have a good perspective from this on teaching maths to students.

Tutoring Approach:
Being a student, i am very flexible and aim to try to cater to your timetables if possible.

Subjects

Personal Description:
Hello,

I'm Alison, English Language tutor with UK tutors.

Studying at Cambridge University, the Open University and UWE I have qualified in English, linguistics and French to degree and postgrad. levels, I have coached my tutees from ungraded to grades B or C. I aim to make learning fun, inspire confidence and fill in those gaps in your knowledge to help you gain a good grade. My teaching methods vary according to the way each tutee learns. Previous tutees have praised my teaching resources and found these useful.

I know most about the AQA examining board syllabus.

Trained to teach sixteens and over, I have PTLLs and CTLLS qualifications so I mainly coach sixth formers.

I'd be delighted to help you through your AS- and A-levels and give you that extra practice and help that your teachers do not have time for.

Teaching Experience:
I have experience of teaching over sixteens and have successfully coached sixth formers for their AS- and A-levels. Pupils for Oxbridge entrance have also come to me.

Tutoring Approach:
I like to be clear about exactly what is to be taught and learnt from the first tutorial and sometimes draw up an individual learning plan.
It is good to be methodical, give plenty of practice with homework if you wish and to assess and check learning. I use a variety of teaching methods including lectures, worksheets, essays, close one-to-one help, asking and answering any questions and filling in gaps in your knowledge. I consolidate learning to give you the confidence you need to take an exam. Practice makes perfect so plenty of exercises until you know what you need to know.
I aim to make learning fun as well as getting you to work hard.

Subjects

Personal Description:
I am a specialist English tutor. I am an expert in this subject, and have successfully taught up to Undergraduate level. I also teach Science up to GCSE level.

- Over 8000 hours experience
- Mentoring and tutoring for the last 10 years.
- 100% achievement record. All my students reach (or exceed) their targets.
- Successfully mentored students to gain 11+ scholarships.
- Track record of helping to improve by two or more grades.
- Successfully tutored students in the new syllabus to achieve Level 9.
- I have a wide range of highly specialist resources.
- Experienced in assisting students with SEN, including dyslexia and ASD.
- I am currently studying at the prestigious Institute of Education, London.
- I apply the Growth Mindset to unlock student potential.
- I use the latest research in pedagogy and child psychology to plan and deliver my lessons.
- I am mentored by world-class English teachers and have been graded Ofsted 'Outstanding'.

I help students engage with texts, learn how to extract meaning and improve their written communication. I work with students who are struggling to connect with the subject or just need an extra boost to reach their target.

I assess a student's strengths and weaknesses and create a bespoke tuition plan. We then work together to tackle their weakest areas and enable them to reach their goal. I have curated a wide range of engaging resources, and utilise different mediums to add interest to my lessons.

I strictly work with only a handful of families at a time, so I am able to give you focused support. Please contact me for availability.

If you have any questions, please get in touch.

Teaching Experience:
Testimonials

"Bushra is a devoted focused person who teaches with passion and great depth of knowledge. She cares about my son and really wants him to do well and achieve his full potential."

"You have opened my eyes."

"You are the best English tutor we have ever had."

"The lessons are over so quickly, I really enjoy English now."


Top Student Achievements 2016/2017

Student studying new GCSE syllabus achieved the highest grade possible, Level 9.

11+ student secured scholarship for London School for Boys and Merchant Taylor School.

Undergraduate student, after mentoring and tutoring, went from 3rd to 2.1

A-level student achieved grade `A` in coursework assignment after a few months mentoring.

GCSE student went from grade `D` to a final grade of `B` within 3 months.

Tutoring Approach:
I assess students strengths and areas for developments. I then create a bespoke tuition plan.

All lessons are tailored and resourced. I have an extensive range of resources, including model answers and examiner's guidance.

I believe in building students confidence and appreciation for the subject and coaching them to apply their knowledge effectively.

Subjects

Personal Description:
I am a qualified, experienced teacher with a passion for supporting people to fulfill their potential. I am originally from Newcastle Upon Tyne but have recently relocated to West Yorkshire. When I am not teaching I enjoy yoga and nature walks.

Teaching Experience:
I have 6 years of experience in primary education. I have worked across both key stages, with three years of my experience in Key Stage 2 and three years in Key Stage 1. I am currently a leader of phonics and have expertise in the teaching of reading. I also have a lot of experience supporting children in the key areas of maths and writing and have a wide range of resources available for these subjects.

Tutoring Approach:
I really enjoy building a rapport with my students to ensure they feel comfortable and secure. I always take the time to find out a student's current level of ability and confidence and then tailor my approach to suit this. I like to use a wide range of interactive resources. Rather than simply relying on worksheets I aim to include games, media, objects and speaking and listening activities in sessions to create variety and keep them stimulating. I believe that students learn better when they can have fun and relax and I feel my attitude and sense of humor allow me to facilitate this.

Subjects

Personal Description:
PLEASE SEE 'TUTORING EXPERIENCE' BELOW FOR THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTS OF THIS PAGE, THE RESULTS AND FEEDBACK

I am an Oxford graduate (English language and literature, first class), as well as a qualified English teacher, and have been tutoring since 2013. My specialism is A-level English literature.

Please get in touch for online English tuition, particularly if you are or your child is

• Preparing to take A-levels in 2026/27
• Doing coursework
• Working on the basis of continuous assessment, mocks, etc.
• Or planning to do / doing an English degree

I graduated from the University of Oxford with a double first in English language and literature, winning the prize for the best performance in English finals at Mansfield College, and the college essay prize. At school, I was awarded eleven GCSEs at A-star and three A-levels at A.

As well as tutoring, I have worked as a researcher, a copywriter, and a proofreader. I have also completed a PGCE in secondary English at the UCL Institute of Education, the highest-ranking college of education in the world ('QS World University Rankings'), during which I taught all age groups at two west London secondary schools, and received A's for my master's-level assignments. I am currently pursuing a PhD in English literature at the University of Buckingham.

As well as English tuition at any level, I can help you or your child with the following:

• Oxbridge entrance (the admissions process, practice interviews, the ELAT, etc.)
• Essay surgery - how to structure and write an essay
• How to revise - note-taking, organisation, making connections, committing to memory
• Grammar, punctuation, and style (a.k.a. 'usage and abusage')
• Speech-writing and public speaking
• Proofreading and redrafting essays
• Suggested reading and resources, including access to my library of 'TES' resources
• Creative writing
• How to annotate, analyse (and enjoy) English literature - sometimes known as 'close reading' or 'practical criticism'
• If you'd specifically like written feedback on your writing - more like a correspondence course - then I can also provide that.

In my spare time I enjoy cycling, writing, and photography.

Teaching Experience:
I have been tutoring since 2013, teaching English at all levels (including degree level), as well as A-level religious studies and classical civilisation. I have taught AQA, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC/Eduqas, and CAIE (Cambridge International), and am constantly familiarising myself with the new texts that my students are studying. I have experience helping students who have autism and ADHD. And I am interested in the role of generative AI and large language models in education, not to write students' essays for them, but as research assistants for students and teachers alike. It is of course important that students do not get the likes of ChatGPT to write their essays for them, among other reasons because they will not be able to do so in the exams. Tutoring is well placed to discourage this, since it has always been my practice to ask my students many questions about every essay they write.

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A student, June 2025: 'thank you very much for all the sessions! It has not only boosted my confidence in English literature but they really reminded me of how much I love the subject. It's always a pleasure to discuss nuance readings of the texts, and it has been a great help leading up to my exams.'

Charlotte, a parent, June 2025: 'Thank you so much for all your help and support for [L.]. We are so grateful for everything you have done with him and wish you all the best.'

Ann, a parent, June 2025: '[Z.] has thoroughly enjoyed her lessons with you and has gained so much from your guidance. We're very grateful for all the support you've given her.'

A parent, May 2025: 'Thank you so much again for everything you've done to help [G.] prepare for these exams - he has really enjoyed his sessions with you and he and we really appreciate your support'.

A parent, May 2025: '[N.] just received the below. It's an A* if the grade boundaries is same as last year. She couldn't have done it without your help. We really appreciate it.'

A parent, February 2025: '[S.] is really enjoying studying with you and has gained a lot of confidence in English. I truly appreciate the effort and dedication you put into teaching.'

A student, January 2025: 'thank you ever so much for your kindness and creative encouragement the past months. What is very special about you as a tutor is that you have never told me "what to write". Instead, you have asked me questions about my work that have led me to discover what I truly wish to write'.

Kate, a parent, December 2024: 'We're so pleased [G.] is enjoying his sessions and seems to be really motivated to read widely in between sessions, is making useful structured notes (which he didn't do before) and his confidence and awareness of what he needs to do when essay writing is really building. Thank you!!!'

Eleni, a parent, December 2024: 'I just wanted to let you know that [D.] received an offer […] today! She is super happy! […] I wanted to thank you again as [D.] found your sessions incredibly helpful and inceased her confidence during the exams process.'

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A-level results, August 2024:

'I wanted to write to say a huge thank you to you for all the help, support and inspiration you have given [E.] over the past year. You have not only given her the technical advice and support to help her make the most of her essays and exams, but more importantly you have helped her keep the love of the subject alive. I know a big part of the reason she is so excited to study English at university is because of how much she has enjoyed your conversations, and how you have helped her to consider texts in a way that the rather narrower scope of teaching at school does not allow. I am so very grateful to you and I really appreciate all the time and effort you put into her sessions - thank you so very much. […] You've been so great, and any other student/parent would be lucky to have access to your teaching.'

'I have just opened my results and am happy to confirm that I am off to Bristol this September with an A* in English! I just want to thank you again for making this possible.'

'I got an A in English, and will be going to Exeter, so mission accomplished. I wanted to thank you for all your help, not only for helping me to get what I needed, but for giving me back my confidence and enjoyment of the subject in the process.'

'Just to let you know [I.] got her results this morning and achieved an 'A' in English. We are over the moon […] Thank you again for all your help with the English, it's much appreciated.'

'thanks for your help this past academic year! Got two A*s in English and Philosophy'.

'I got a B and I was accepted into my firm university (Durham) which I am very happy! Thank you for all your help and support.'

'I was really happy to receive […] A in English Literature […] I secured a placed at my firm university. I will be studying English Literature at Durham University this September and I am very excited! Thank you so much for all of your support, I really appreciate it!'

'i got into Warwick with […] an A* in English!!!!! I am very happy :) Thank you for all your hard work, wisdom and wit over the last year or two'.

'Thank you so much for all your coaching and advice that you shared with [L.], it made such a difference to his confidence leading up to his exams. He is (as are we) delighted with his English result.'

'an A awarded in English […] so she is off to her first choice of Edinburgh University to study History of Art and English Literature.'

'Results day went well and I'm going to the university of Kent. Thank you so much again for all the time spent helping me to prepare for my exams it means a lot I'm very excited to continue my English literature journey.'

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A student, June 2024: 'Thank you so much for being the most amazing English teacher! It has been an immensely rewarding and interesting journey exploring so many books […] I have learnt so much from GCSEs to continuing with more amazing literatures in A-levels'

A student, June 2024: 'I […] wanted to say thank you for the tremendous help you have provided with the English content throughout the A level period. The resources that you provided for me were quite helpful in refining my knowledge in many areas of the syllabus so thank you very much.'

A student, May 2024: 'I've just received the results for my english coursework and wanted to thank you for all the help and feedback!!'

A parent, February 2024: 'your help has kept her love of the subject and her enthusiasm alive and I can't thank you enough for that.'

A parent, February 2024: 'You were such a huge help to [S.], we will always be very grateful to you.'

Kath, a parent, February 2024: 'We would both like to thank you for all your invaluable help, especially all the helpful feedback on the coursework essay. [S.] has definitely learnt a lot and grown in confidence, especially in her knowledge of Twelfth Night.'

A student, January 2024: 'I just wanted to let you know that I got an offer from Oxford! Thank you so much for checking over my personal statement and all the help that you have given me since GCSEs. I really enjoy our sessions every week, the discussions keep me constantly creative and thinking.'

A parent, January 2024: 'Thank you as always for all your continued help and support for [E.]. I know she gets a tremendous amount from your sessions and I'm very grateful.'

A student, January 2024: 'Just emailing to let you know I did get an offer from […] Cambridge yesterday so thank you so much for all your help! It is really appreciated and I'm really looking forward to starting my degree in October!'

A student, December 2023: 'So thank you so much again for all your help; your insights have been very useful and I have really enjoyed talking about literature with you.'

Tara, a parent, November 2023: 'you are really helping [R.], he is becoming much more confident. Thank you so much'.

Paula, a parent, November 2023: '[M.] is always delighted with your teaching. You are asking questions no one else does. My husband and I see her grow academically after every session with you.'

Liz, a parent, October 2023: 'Thank you so much for all the work you have done with, and the kindness you have shown, [E.] to date. She really enjoys her sessions with you, and you've helped keep her enthusiasm for English very much alive. I'm so grateful.'

Kim, a parent, August 2023: 'I cannot tell you how happy we all were and your help was clearly instrumental in that. Not sure if he told you but he got 12 points above an A* and it was his best A level result!'

A student, August 2023: 'I really enjoyed our lessons and think it has really helped prepare me for the Oxford style tutorials.'

A student, August 2023: 'wanted to let you know I ended up getting an A* in English, thanks so much for all the help!'

Mark, a parent, June 2023: 'Many thanks josh for your help this year. [E.] has said to me it has really helped, you started assisting her at a time when she felt behind her class mates for the whole of the first year, having switched to English half way through term one.'

Melanie, a parent, June 2023: 'Thank you so much for all your time and effort with [T.]'s English literature. She really enjoyed your sessions together and it really boosted her confidence and inspired her to think more deeply and critically about the texts. It also confirmed that she is happy and excited to study a literature based course at degree level.'

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A-level results, August/September 2022:

'[L.] came home from university yesterday to attend her school prize giving ceremony, and this morning as she was leaving she asked me to let you know that she won a special prize in English […] Until last night, she wasn't aware of any of her awards, apart from her scholarship, so it was all a lovely surprise. Furthermore, the essays she wrote in her A level English exams have somehow found their way into her teachers' hands; they told her, with beams of pride , that the three marks dropped overall were actually in her *non exam* assessment, so 30/30 in all questions across all papers under exam conditions, something she had never achieved before. She had admitted to me in the aftermath of the exams that when she was writing her English papers she had really enjoyed the process, her thoughts flowing pretty effortlessly on to the paper. But she had also worried this stream of ideas might not be fit with the mark schemes. […] she […] wanted you to know about her prize, as she thought you'd be pleased, and she also wanted to say thanks one last time for your inspirational teaching that led to it.'

'I got AAA* for my results much higher than my predicted! particularly for english'.

'[G.] got an A star in English. And is off to Oxford. […] Thanks so much for everything - you were honestly amazing and really helped her get there'.

'[L.] got 3 a stars and an A star as well in her EPQ. Her highest marks were in English Literature ( 197/200)'.

'I achieved 4A*s in my Alevels - one being in English Literature. My teachers also let me know that I got full marks in both the exam papers'.

'[T.] smashed English Literature, A* […] she is absolutely over the moon . Thank you so much for all the work you put in with her !'

'I got a D[distinction]2!!! […] I got full marks on my PI!'

'I got an A* in English!!! Thank you so much for all of your help I wouldn't have been able to do it without you!'

*

A student, January 2023: 'Just wanted to let you know I got an offer from Cambridge, thank you so so much for all your help.' And Kathryn: 'You were such a great help to [E.] in her preparation for the Cambridge application and interview and we were all delighted when she was offered a place this week. Thank you for all the support you gave her.'

Shaun, a parent, January 2023: '[E.] has found the sessions really very helpful (and has enjoyed them!)'

Guifang, a parent, December 2022: 'From what I hear from [S.], she really enjoys her discussions with you, it's really one of the highlights of her week.'

A student, November 2022: 'I'm extremely happy to tell you that I received an 8.3 for the literary review […] Thank you for explaining to me what a literary review is […] I remember whilst working on it I was so worried about my grade, but it appears I've survived.'

Deborah, a parent, September 2022: 'a huge thanks again to you for all your work with [S.]. I know he has been in touch to let you know that he got 9s in both English Language and Literature. He was over the moon - well beyond his best hopes, so thank you again for being instrumental in helping him attain those grades.'

Karen, a parent, August 2022: 'Both my girls really like your way of teaching and talking to them, they feel really listened to and respected for their opinions (as well as respecting yours obviously), so thank you :)'

Helen, a parent, July 2022: 'Thanks so much for all the help you gave [J.], he really benefitted from the sessions he had with you.'

Tara, a parent, June 2022: 'Thank you so much for all your help and patience - I think you have been brilliant for her confidence. She found English exams really very difficult before she started talking to you and it's amazing to see how much calmer (relatively speaking!) she has been going in to her A level English papers. Whatever the result, her sessions with you have definitely helped her to enjoy English again and I'm really grateful.'

A student, June 2022: 'This is incredibly insightful and thought provoking feedback. Thank you so much.'

Mei, a parent, June 2022: 'She found your lessons very helpful and always remarked to me how much you went the extra mile for her ; looking up and sending on links to whatever you'd been discussing. Much appreciated!'

Marguerite, a parent, June 2022: 'Thank you so much for all you've done for [T.] in the past year . […] you are a very talented teacher.'

Monica, a parent, June 2022: 'You have been an absolutely wonderful tutor to [L.], and how time has flown since she first met you! […] Many a time she has needed someone to talk to, not so much about AO1-5, but rather about the beauty and burden of literature and life. You have always been willing to do that, and she is richer for it.'

A student, June 2022: 'Thank you for teaching me for the last year; I have enjoyed our lessons and I feel I have grown as an English student, with thanks to your teaching.'

A student, April 2022: 'I received an 8 for my essay!! I want to thank you for your tutoring on Keats and Wordsworth- I wouldn't have gotten such a grade without it!! […] I learned tons because of you.'

Ngozi, a parent, March 2022: 'Thanks for everything that you're doing for [G.] - it has been very helpful.'

A student, February 2022: 'Really, thanks so much. Was such a good and efficient service. Your feedback looks really good and I'm going to implement it today. […] Thanks again for doing this on such short notice'.

Deborah, a parent, October 2021: '[S.] said you make it really fun - he said at school his energy goes down in English lessons and with you it goes up! So that is praise indeed from a teenage boy!'

A student, August 2021: 'I got the A grade ! I'm so pleased, thank you for all the help and the essays really paid off :).'

Monica, a parent, July 2021: 'As would be expected from his first class qualifications, Josh is extremely intelligent. However, in my opinion, he has a a very particular advantage over others of a similar academic background, namely his ability to exhibit an authentic interest in the ideas his students express. He is always kind and encouraging, but without sacrificing rigour; this approach has had a hugely positive impact on my daughter when speaking, writing and reading. Furthermore, Josh has introduced her to a range of authors, poets , films and philosophical thought, thus enriching her far beyond the school curriculum. In the future, my daughter will undoubtedly look back on her time with Josh with both fondness and gratitude. I have no hesitation in recommending Josh as a tutor'.

Guifang, a parent, July 2021: 'I have know Joshua for 2 months and He has been supporting my daughter excellently through her GCSE courses, helping her to achieve a 9 in predicted grades. From this, Joshua has always been very serious with the work, needless to say, always punctual and gives detailed homework feedback. I know him to be a wonderful tutor to my daughter.'

Susan, a parent, May 2021: '[T]hank you so much for all your help with [N.] […] [N.] found your lessons extremely helpful which enabled her to enjoy and understand English in a greater depth […] it was excellent tuition . Thank you'.

Jamal, a parent, May 2021: 'Thank you Josh for all your efforts, you have greatly assisted [S.] in better understanding English Literature as whole.'

Zahed, a parent, May 2021: 'We are grateful for all your help and support. We are in no doubt that [A.] has improved a lot in English Literature under your guidance.'

A student, May 2021: 'I just got my coursework back and got an A in it. Just thought i should let you know thanks you!'

Margaret, a parent, March 2021: 'Thanks for helping [M.] to improve her English understanding. She really enjoys her lessons and chats!'

Chris, a parent, March 2021: '[R.] is benefiting immensely from your lessons and is definitely getting more confident in expressing his thoughts in writing! Thank you.'

Amanda, a parent, December 2020: 'Josh has really helped join the dots, encouraged a depth of questioning and ways to interpret and compare ideas, extracting and bringing fresh meaning to narrative styles and creative use of language. Josh has been a great support and steered [R.]'s confidence to look more thoroughly and develop a greater understanding all round. Josh has a kind, approachable style and encouraged [R.] with debating aloud and suggestions for further reading which all continue to be an invaluable help and inspire greater confidence in approaching exams and further reading in future!'

A student, December 2020: 'He helps focus my understanding and makes sure i understand the topic we are learning before moving on. Josh will make sure to ask you questions throughout the process and is always ready for your ideas even if you think it's wrong. He will set homework but makes sure to switch it up each week to make it more interesting and gives his feedback to help me understand what i need to do to improve.'

Diana, a parent, September 2020: 'Josh worked with my daughter for her A Level in English Literature. He was outstanding with his ideas and expanding her critical thinking. He went above and beyond to develop her analytical skills and as a result helped her obtain an A*. He is an absolutely lovely, gentle but dynamic and reliable tutor who has a rare ability combine his academic achievement with a natural talent for teaching. A real gem and we cannot thank him enough.'

A parent, September 2020: 'Joshua is an excellent tutor with great communication skills . He is very patient , helpful , approachable and takes time to explain everything clearly to my daughter . Joshua has been able to breakdown and explain in full detail all aspects of the A Level content.'

A student, June 2020: 'it's been great being taught by you, I've learned so many critical thinking skills in such a short space of time.'

A parent, March 2020: 'I can't thank you enough for everything that you've done for her - you've been the best English teacher she's ever had and she has loved her time with you.'

*

During my teacher training, I taught all age groups at two west London secondary schools.

While at Oxford, I was part of an 'e-mentoring' scheme to help candidates from schools without a history of Oxbridge applications.

At Christ College, Brecon, I ran two series of seminars, for sixth-formers studying RS and English literature. In English we covered 'The Tempest', Gothic literature, Pat Barker's 'Regeneration', 'Jane Eyre', Wilfred Owen, and 'The Canterbury Tales'.

Tutoring Approach:
I try to combine three things that I want my students to do, which are three forms of thinking: speak about complex ideas, read high-quality material, and write essays for which they will receive detailed feedback. For obvious reasons, lessons are weighted to speaking, and homework to reading and writing.

Speaking

Pedagogy's holy grail is measuring progress, which is difficult in a classroom and impossible in a lecture. Happily, the tutorial system allows this to occur continuously and efficiently via dialogue. Can a student re-express an idea they have heard or read in their own words? If the answer is yes, they have probably understood the idea. Hence the constant questions!

As well as understanding the ideas of others, speaking is essential for students to develop their own. I love the quotation from the novelist E. M. Forster, 'How can I tell what I think till I see what I say?' We improve the quality of our ideas through the process of articulating them.

For my part, quite a lot of what I say is explaining what texts mean. This might sound obvious, but great works of literature are complex, so, to understand their meaning, one's own interpretation probably needs the support of others' prior interpretations.

I sometimes like to break the question of a text's meaning into two: What's it about? And what's it really about? Answering the first question is comprehension, a necessary first step. To answer the second question is to understand. In 'A Streetcar Named Desire', for example, Blanche goes to live with her sister in New Orleans. She expresses a strong dislike of her surroundings and is frequently associated with images of water. She declines mentally and is eventually taken away. So what's the play really about? Blanche is a Romantic idealist who is disappointed with her life but still tends to imagine things in their perfect form. The play is about the human soul conceiving of things being as good as they could be (as if cleansed by water), reaching for the conception, and failing to grasp it - shuttling back and forth, in other words, on the streetcar named desire.

One thing I frequently encourage is making the link between those oft-cited elements of a good essay, themes and quotations. These are not unrelated ingredients, they are the text itself viewed from different distances. A theme (the desire to be cleansed) is a wide shot, and a quotation ('the land of the sky blue water') is a close-up. So the student of English has to practise their ability to zoom in and out.

Another way I try to support my students' studies is by making connections between the texts they are reading, which in my experience doesn't happen that much at school. Particularly at A-level, there are often many fruitful connections between the half-dozen or so texts being studied: the Romantics were devoted to Shakespeare and Milton, the Gothic is an aspect of the Romantic, the Aesthetic Movement drew on particular strains of Romanticism, etc. When these connections get made with reference to particular writers, they are no longer just isms. They make the material deeper and easier to understand at the same time. Towards the end of their school careers, students of the humanities should be able to get the sense of taking part in 'the Great Conversation that began in the dawn of history and that continues to the present day' (Robert M. Hutchins).

Reading

I regularly give my students PDFs of high-quality secondary material pitched at their level or just above it. Explanatory notes, commentaries, and essays can help with understanding, particularly when it comes to context. (And all exam boards have assessment objectives relating to historical context.) To know that a text was written during a particular period and what characterised that period is to have a mental scaffold that does not limit movement but frees it. In studying the humanities we are studying human culture, and no one can do that without a bit of structure. It also helps when thinking about texts in relation to each other - when writing a comparative essay, for example. I like to think of honing in from context to text, e.g. Romanticism (late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries) > William Blake (1757-1827) > 'Songs of Innocence and of Experience' (1794) > 'The Tyger'. (What's 'The Tyger' about? There's a question!)

In my experience, knowledge acquisition operates according to the Matthew principle, named after a verse in the Gospel of Matthew: 'unto every one that hath shall be given'. In other words, the more you've got, the more you'll get. Every time you learn something about Romanticism, the greater will be your understanding of the poetry of William Blake. Your internal bookshelves expand - more connections, greater understanding. Reading secondary material is obviously 'extra', but it works to enhance students' understanding of set texts rather than crowd them out. Homer Simpson said, 'every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain', and we laugh because it's not true. You can't fill up a brain, so the cliché about people's (particularly young people's) limitless potential is true. Every time you learn something new, you enrich your contextual understanding of everything else you have ever learnt. '[E]very moment is a new and shocking / Valuation of all we have been', as T. S. Eliot put it in 'East Coker'.

Writing

Speaking and reading are in a concrete way preparation for writing. If you think and make notes while speaking and reading, by the time it comes to writing an essay, the question should not be about what to say, but how to arrange the things you want to say. So annotation is an important skill. It's a bit like getting 'in the zone' for a sportsperson - students must practise getting there and staying there. I model the annotation process something like this:

Read with a pencil in your hand. What makes you underline? Something fires in your brain, so that you have a response - you spot a developing theme, you're reminded of another book, you agree or disagree, there's a word you don't know and need to look up, you like the way a sentence sounds. It could be anything. Read until you've underlined twenty words or sentences. Work out the three or four connections between the things you have to say, and you've got a paragraph plan. Work out the main thing you have to say, and you have a thesis for your essay, which, as you aim your paragraphs at it, will accumulate force.

A lot of learning (and life) is about noticing connections, so getting into the habit of doing so is something like learning how to learn. If a student has developed this habit, they shouldn't really have to think 'What shall I write?' in front of a blank sheet of paper or screen. The content of the essay will be a sort of emanation of prior thinking.

When it comes to giving students feedback, I keep in mind one of the best incites I heard early in my PGCE: attend to your students' writing as you would a piece of literature. This way, the marking progress becomes analogous to the writing process. What are all the things that could make this essay better? And is there a connection between them, i.e. what's the main thing this student needs to focus on? (I usually give feedback using comments and 'track changes' in Microsoft Word.)

Why study English?

It has been said that 'If you can think, and speak, and write, you are absolutely deadly', and I think that's right. Learning how to construct and articulate good arguments is learning how to impose ideas on the world. To the extent that English is about feelings, it is about their articulation, and there is a great deal to learn about how feelings have been and can be articulated. Moreover, because English is the medium of instruction in all other subjects, command of it confers a freedom to range through the history of ideas and discriminate between reliable and unreliable, including online. Language is a prerequisite for thought - doing English properly is learning how to think better.

Subjects

Personal Description:
I am a businessman who teaches. Employed in the Media industry I have worked for some of the largest national Newspapers and Magazines in the UK. Launched my own media business and operated it successfully for many years before concentrating fully on y Teaching work.

Teaching Experience:
Worked for a wide variety of colleges and universities. In London I worked on the Global Business Module at University of Westminster and Regents University London. At LSST I delivered their Diploma in Business Studies course. At Uni West I was one of their A1 Assessors for the Harrow area. In the Bournemouth region I have worked at St Peters School, Southbourne teaching Y 11 and Y 12 their BTEC National Business Studies course . At Parkstone Grammer I worked with GCSE Y 9 and 10 delivering their Business Studies and Economics courses.

Tutoring Approach:
I apply the same principle to my teaching as when I ran my own business. Everything is results driven and I am hoping to make better business people out of my students who happen to pass their exams en route. There are few business problems I have not come across in my career and this allows me to show the real life application of the various busness theories.

Subjects

Personal Description:
hello,

I'm a student in the University of Greenwich.I'm doing my BA Hons business management degree and I'm in the last year. I always loved studying business studies and maths. O levels and A levels business studies is on my finger tips as I have a passion to do business in future. I'm very sharp at primary Mathematics loved Algebra in junior school. I'm looking for earning some extra money and I think this is the best way of doing earning it as I can spread knowledge help others and simultaneously earn some money as well.

thanks.

Teaching Experience:
I do not have a formal teaching experience, though i have tutored my younger brothers and substituted classes in my school. where teachers gave us the opportunity to teach a a group of junior students in school break clubs.

Tutoring Approach:
I focus on making my student understanding the concept and on his or her weakness. I create very friendly environment where students can be feel comfortable and share their problems regarding the subject.

Subjects

Personal Description:
I have a MA in Production Design for Film and Television from Kingston University and a BA Hons in Furniture Design and Applied Arts from Edinburgh College of Art. I have worked in the film and television industry since 2004. I lead large teams of specialist designers, art directors, junior assistants, crafts people and construction teams. And I collaborate closely with other experts within the industry including cinematographers, directors and screenwriters.

A production designer designs the worlds in which the TV Drama or film is set. That includes working with location people to choose locations in which to film - and building sets in studios. It can also involve working closely with SFX teams. The role juggles creative vision with practical project management. It's a collaborative media/ industry and relies heavily on communication skills- visual and verbal.

Teaching Experience:
I've tutored students looking to win a place in art schools/universities and specialist creative high schools. Students looking to better their results at A level, and I've taught larger classes of young adults in university and workshops. I help my four year old with his art and design too : )

Tutoring Approach:
My approach depends on the students needs and I am very flexible. I can work in a very focused way with the students brief on course curriculum. Or more loosely- developing verbal and practical skills for a portfolio for art school/media design or communication courses. I'm down to earth and structured in my approach.

If it's face to face tutoring, I may charge a small fee for travel time/costs dependent on how far away and dependent on whether the session is one or two hours long, etc. Please message me for further details, thanks.

Subjects