Michelle

I am a PGCE-qualified English language, literature and ESOL teacher and English language and literature specialist with eleven years of teaching experience. I have a B.A. (Hons.) degree in English Language and Literature for which I won a 2:1, and am also a registered examiner with OCR, CIE (Cambridge International Examinations) and the IB (International Baccalaureate).

I have an enhanced, current DBS clearance.

I decided to stop working in schools four years ago in order to concentrate full-time on my tutoring business which I now do full-time. I live in Leighton Buzzard, South Beds., and I am 36 years old, married and have a daughter.

I specialise in teaching English Language and Literature at GCSE, A-Level and university level. I offer no other subjects-firstly because English is my interest and passion, and, secondly, because keeping abreast of all the texts and wider reading required at KS4 (GCSE) and especially KS5 (A-Level) is a full time job in itself. I spend hours reading a week, but, thankfully, I have always been a `reader` and, thus, I enjoy it and will always find the study of literature a fascinating joy.

I also teach ESOL either casually, or towards a formally-recognised qualification.


My sessions run from Mondays to Thursdays starting at either 1710, 1815, 1920 or 2025.

I also offer day time sessions from Mondays to Thursdays.

For online sessions, I teach via Skype/Zoom and Google Docs.

I can also teach either pairs or trios of students (GCSE: two students=£60 (£30 each)/three students-£75 (£25 each).

Willing to travel: Home Only

Experience: This summer, I had a 100% A-Level A*-C pass rate with seven students, and a 100% 4-9 pass rate with my ten GCSE students; some of these students came to me with failing grades and ended up not just with passes, but with top grades, e.g. GCSE student started in Jan. with 3`s in Lang./Lit. and scored a Lang. 8 and Lit. 7 in August. Two A-Level students started in April with B`s and ended up with A*`s and making their first choice uni`s.


I love English language and literature, and see absolutely no reason why learning these disciplines should be boring, even in the context of exam preparation. Reading and writing are not subjects to me; they are a necessary, vital and hugely enjoyable part of everyday life.

The first session with your son or daughter is an assessment session which allows me to ascertain where they currently stand with regards to reading and writing ability. English skills are not something that can be mastered in one session, and for this reason, I revisit and revise skills that are lacking session to session. I also set weekly homework which is marked-with feedback-in time for the next session and provide detailed monthly feedback emails to parents on the student`s progression.

If support with school/college coursework or homework is needed, we will focus on that in sessions too. I provide all learning resources apart from stationery.

Tutoring takes place in a dedicated room in my house, in which the only other people resident are my husband who is a chemistry teacher at Aylesbury High School (and, thus, DBS cleared too) and my baby daughter.

I offer sessions of duration of an hour minumum, increasing in half-hourly hour increments for anything up to three hours (i.e. a session of an hour and a half could be catered for).

I can either be your child`s primary English teacher, or serve as an adjunct to the English teaching they are currently receiving in school, college or home-schooling.

I have very high standards for myself and my students, whatever their current capability and achievement level might be. I take preparation for public examinations very seriously-particularly with regards to GCSE English Language which is a core qualification. I am accustomed to supporting those students who are retaking this exam for the second or third time.

Many of my previous students have had a SEN (special educational need)-particularly dyslexia (including severe dyslexia) and working memory problems-and I incorporate learning aids into my sessions with these students to support them as fully as I can (e.g. mnemonics).

I am experienced in teaching English Language and English Literature for all boards (AQA, OCR, WJEC, Edexcel, CIE, IB), all tiers (e.g. Core/Extended) and specs (i.e. Spec A or Spec B) at GCSE, iGCSE, AS (for those schools/colleges which opt in) and A-Level.

I am also very familiar with preparing ESOL learners for the IELTS, TOEFL,Trinity and the CAE.

I have a keen sense of differentiation which means that whether it is moving students from a `D` to a `C` grade (or `3` to `4` for GCSE`s), or pushing a student from an `A` to an `A* (7-8/9: GCSE)`, I can break down to the student exactly what it is they need to do in order to cross the relevant grade boundary because of my knowledge of assessment objectives and the subtle nuances required for a student to make changes and move from one level to the next. An intimidating examination essay question that a student is convinced he/she has no hope of answering can be approached systematically, with guidance from myself, so that a student can always gain some marks at least.

I believe that thorough knowledge of assessment criteria is a must-both for myself and my student. Unless a student knows what is required of them to win an `A*` or a `C`, how will they get it? My preparing students for exams is focused on these assessment criteria which, because of my constant reiteration of it, is internalised by students who begin to understand how to structure essay paragraphs with regards to the required AO elements.

With regards to all English qualifications, I believe two key skills-often neglected-is effective planning and self-editing when writing any kind of text-be it creative (narrative/descri ptive-writing) or analytical (essay-writing). I have a wealth of resources, created by myself, which assist my students in honing these vital elements of the writing process.

Another skill that students also quite often need support with is analysis, particularly when writing `Explanation`/`Analysis` sentences in PEEL paragraphs. Improving this can lead to a significant jump in marks (for AO2).

I care deeply about all my students and do my utmost, through a caring, gentle approach and a sense of humour, to ensure that as soon as possible, students are relaxed in my company, they know that I am on their side and they trust me enough to feel comfortable to ask me what they might feel are `stupid` questions.

Don`t worry if your son or daughter seems reluctant about tutoring. I have had many a student come through my front door dragging their feet and sulking at first-and they have all come around within a session or two!

N.B. If your student is Yr 9/10/11 and not following a dual pathway whereby they will be taking GCSE Lit. or Lang. at the end of Yr 10, I strongly recommend sessions of an hour and a half or two hours-because the syllabi for Lit. are now so content-heavy.

For A-Level students, I recommend sessions of an hour and a half minumum, as this allows the student and I time to consider essay questions, for example, in far more depth. Just planning an essay, at the early stages, can take up to an hour, when taking into account the need to (depending on exam board) refer to context, literary criticism and, perhaps, genre.

For iGCSE or A-Level students who need support with coursework/independent projects, I have much experience assisting students with these as well.

DBS Check: Yes