Stephen

If you’re after sharper thinking, stronger writing, and GCSE results that don’t come with last-minute cramming and family WhatsApp meltdowns, you’re in the right place.

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Hi, I’m Stephen — a fully qualified English teacher, trained at the University of Oxford, with over 10 years’ tutoring experience here on TutorHunt, and 15+ years of teaching and one-to-one tutoring behind me.

Across 20,000+ hours of working with students of every ability (and attention span), my students consistently achieve top results — with over 91% securing a Grade 7 or higher in GCSE English Language and Literature.

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EXPERIENCE & APPROACH

When it comes to GCSE English, I believe in something radical: actually teaching students how to think, not just how to spot where the examiner hid the marks.

Over the past 15+ years, I’ve taught thousands of students across every exam board and school type — from the quietly brilliant to the brilliantly distracted. Along the way, I picked up a First Class Honours Degree in English and History, full Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), and a teaching qualification from the University of Oxford (where surviving an Outstanding-rated PGCE involved slightly more caffeine and slightly fewer Latin mottos than you’d expect).

Alongside tutoring, I’m a dedicated creator of online educational videos and study guides, with a growing range of GCSE English resources soon available for sale. Every strategy I teach is constantly refreshed through ongoing research, classroom testing, and a mild obsession with improving how students think, plan, and perform.

I’ve clocked over 20,000 hours of one-to-one tutoring and classroom teaching — long enough to know that real progress isn’t about tossing yet another workbook at a tired teenagers.


It’s about strategy.

That’s why every student I teach starts with a full diagnostic. We map strengths, flag weaknesses, and build a tailored, living scheme of work — one that grows with them, not one that sits laminated on a shelf.

Because no two students are alike:

Some revise with colour-coded spreadsheets.

Some lose three pens and the will to live before breakfast.

I’m ready for both.

Lessons are detailed, fast-moving, and practical. Theory is never left floating; it’s pinned down, tested, and turned into exam-ready writing.

Patience, humour, and high standards are non-negotiable.


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THE FIRST LESSON - FREE TRIAL

The first lesson is a full, one-hour diagnostic — free of charge, free of pressure, and free of awkward silences (unless you bring them yourself).

We’ll run through light reading, writing, and comprehension exercises — no electrodes, no surprise quizzes — just a sharp, friendly assessment of where your child’s strengths lie and where the real gains can be made.

Parents are welcome to sit in, ask questions, take notes, or simply witness the ancient and noble art of getting teenagers to think aloud.

At the end of the hour, we’ll both know whether it’s a good fit.
If it is, we’ll build a smart, focused plan.

If it isn’t, no hard feelings — just a handshake, a head start on understanding what your child needs next, and no invoices in sight.

Because good teaching isn’t about sales pitches.

It’s about real connections — and real progress.



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READY TO GET STARTED?

If you’re ready for sharper English, stronger grades, and revision sessions that don’t end in muttered threats against Shakespeare, I’m ready too.

Book your free trial lesson today.
No contracts. No pressure. No sales patter.

Just one hour of honest teaching — and the beginning of results that actually show.

(And if you’re wondering: yes, I really do get teenagers to think aloud. Without bribery. Without interpretive dance.)

Availability: A rare opening:

A larger-than-usual cohort of Grade 11 students are heading off to conquer A-Levels, freeing up 3 new slots for late May starts.

If you’d like one of them, now’s the time to get in touch. Before someone else’s revision panic gets there first.

Willing to travel: Home Only

Experience: ______________________________________________-
THE LONG TERM GAME

Getting a great grade in English isn’t just about knowing Macbeth’s body count or how many semicolons Orwell could sneak into a sentence.

It’s about mastering the skills behind every exam question — and every clear thought a student will ever have.

Over time, we’ll build those skills methodically:


LEARNING CONTENT:

We’ll break down set texts, poetry anthologies, and unseen materials into manageable, exam-ready insight.

Your child will assemble a high-grade arsenal: the best-analysed quotations, sharp revision notes, and flexible essay plans.


MASTERING SKILLSETS:

Literary analysis, structural techniques, poetic devices, transactional writing, creative writing — not memorised tricks, but real understanding that survives past exam day.


BUILDING REVISION HABITS:

No highlighter marathons. No heroic all-nighters.

We build study routines based on research-backed techniques — planning, condensing, and recalling information in ways that stick (and don’t involve last-minute existential crises).


INDEPENDENT THINKING:

Students learn to assess their own work, break down tricky questions, and turn Assessment Objectives from mysterious buzzwords into clear, beatable targets.


Because English isn’t just an exam.

It’s the practice of thinking clearly — and thinking clearly tends to come in handy.



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RESULTS

Over 91% of my students have achieved a Grade 7 or higher at GCSE — and not because they started that way.

I’ve helped the quietly brilliant reach Grade 9, the bright-but-bored find momentum, and the panicked-at-Christmas catch up without needing divine intervention.

My teaching has been trusted by engineers, university lecturers, and veteran teachers for their own children’s English GCSE journeys — the sort of people who know the difference between ‘good enough’ and ‘the real thing.’

Success isn’t luck, natural flair, or clever slogans.

It’s method, patience, and a carefully sharpened plan — plus a teacher who’s done more than just read the mark schemes.

(Although yes, I’ve read those too. Enthusiastically. With strong tea.)

DBS Check: Yes