Tutor HuntSubjectsEnglish Tutors

Jonathan

Jonathan
Jonathan
Tutor
Stratford-upon-avon, Warwickshire
Feedback Score:
+41
Member Since: 06/08/2013
Last Login: 19 minutes ago
Response Rate: 100%
Expected Response: < 1 hour

My Qualifications

BA
University of Cambridge
English
2:2  (1989)

Verification Status

Tutors ID Verified
 Enhanced DBS Verified
How references rated Jonathan
Professionalism
Reliability
Trustworthy

Rates summary: £37.00 to £42.00 per hour
PrimaryKS3GCSEA-LevelAdult Learner
Acting----£37
English--£37£42-

Information about Jonathan

Born in 1967 in London, I graduated from Cambridge in the 1980s with a degree in English literature. While living in London, I tutored extensively for GCSE and A-level and was a member of several tuitions agencies, including Oxford and Cambridge Tutors. I have been tutoring English GCSE and A-level in Stratford-upon-Avon since September 2013. While at Cambridge, I acted in many productions and read scores of plays and scri pts, which is probably why I just missed my 2.1! However, I have continued to study and teach for most of my adult life, bringing energy and an engagement to the lessons which are meant to keep even the most difficult pupils engaged. I am highly experienced in both English AQA as well as IGCSE.

Many students, particularly at A-level, become worried when they realise that English isn`t the soft subect they thought it was going to be! I provide lessons which are intellectually rigorous yet also enjoyable, giving students the confidence and tools to break down difficult texts, while also helping them with useful tips on essay writing and exam technique. Many pupils have told me how enjoyable and helpful they have found my classes: GCSE pupils of mine have jumped from being `C` students to getting an`A` in their exams, and their parents were good enough to tell me it was mainly my doing. I can provide their contact details if required.

";Dear Mr , I am writing to tell you that Zack received an A in his English Literature and a B in his English Language, which was a huge improvement on his mocks. Thank you for all your work: it has paid off.";
- Ken Shirley, August 2016

";We couldn`t believe it when our daughter got an A star in her GCSE English literature. Thank you for all your help.";
-Sylvia, Stratford-upon-Avon, 2016

Availability: 7 days a week, including school holidays.

Willing to travel: 2 miles

Experience: I have been tutoring in Stratford-upon-Avon since 2013. Before that, I tutored extensively while living in London. Led workshops on Shakespeare and Chaucer for theatre-in-education for A-level, as well as after-show discussions on Arthur Miller while working for Birmingham Rep.

DBS Check: Yes

Contact this Tutor

Availability

 MoTuWeThFrSaSu
Morning
Afternoon
After School
Evening

Feedback For Jonathan (41)

We have a total of 47 review(s) for Jonathan.

Edgar (Mr)
29/03/2024

5/5 Rating

Jonathan is an excellent English Literature tutor, his knowledge and passion for the subject are evident and I couldn`t recommend him enough. He has helped my son move from grade 3 to grade 7 in English Literature, with dedication and patience. As a parent and a part-time tutor in a different subject myself I know what to look for in a tutor and Jonathan has it all. I wish I could find a maths tutor like Jonathan! Highly recommended.


Tommy (Mr)
03/03/2024

5/5 Rating

Jonathan is patient and enthusiasm. He also always responds very quickly.


Alise (Mrs)
21/02/2024

5/5 Rating

It is an honor and a big fortune to have a tutor like Jonathan.Jonathan, in my opinion, is the ideal representation of what a literature instructor ought to be: has a deep knowledge of his subject, goes above and beyond the school`s curriculum, tells many interesting facts about authors and history of creation of each literary masterpiece, works fast, is oriented toward the result, and is courteous. My son is not a native speaker and struggles with IGCSE literature, but Jonathan covered the main aspects of two big novels within only two lessons and provided a constructive feedback for 2 essays. Dear Jonathan, thank you very much for your contribution to the education of my son!!!


Angela (Mrs)
21/02/2024

5/5 Rating

My son has only had 3 lessons with Jonathan but he has already gained a great understanding of Shakespeare. Jonathan`s enthusiasm for the subject shines through and his teaching style has worked wonders so far.


Kapil (Mr)
06/02/2024

3/5 Rating

hi


Rupal (Mrs)
03/02/2024

5/5 Rating

We only had a few lessons with Jonathan, but he was amazing! My son really liked his lessons and learnt alot from them.


Munachiso (Miss)
23/01/2024

5/5 Rating

He made learning attractive and my daughter liked his teaching style.


Ashley (Mrs)
10/01/2024

5/5 Rating

My son has just started his gcse coursework & has always struggled in English . He’s now into his second term of tuition with Jonathan and what a difference this has made. Jonathan is engaging & has made the lessons enjoyable, it’s amazing to see the progress my son is making. Thank you Jonathan!


Jason (Mr)
30/12/2023

5/5 Rating

Our eldest daughter was struggling with GCSE English literature, analysing text and writing in an appropriate manor. Our daughter found the online concept a little strange at first but within a few sessions was more engaging. Jonathan worked with her to improve her analysis, structure and writing technique. We are pleased with the results as our daughter went from an GCSE English literature predicted grade 3 (D) to an actual result of 6 (B). We have no hesitation in recommending Jonathan to any pupil requiring assistance with GCSE English Literature.


Mikail (Mrs)
02/12/2023

5/5 Rating

Excellent tutor with sound knowledge and great teaching style. I would highly recommend him.


Caroline (Miss)
17/10/2023

5/5 Rating

Mr Jonathan is highly knowledgeable about Shakespeare. My daughter says she enjoys the lessons and finds the lessons very useful. I`ve listened to a couple of lessons and find the lessons have depth and content. Jonathan gives his honest opinion which can only help improve students knowledge.


Malgorzata (Mrs)
26/08/2023

5/5 Rating

Jonathan really helped my son with his IGCSE`s preparation. He is very knowledgeable, especially with English Literature. My son got 9 in English Literature GCSE`s , which I am sure was helped by the lessons he had with Jonathan.


Frank (Mr)
25/08/2023

5/5 Rating

We have an autistic son who not only struggles with English but has little or no interest in the subject. We picked Jonathan to provide tutoring for our son and we are glad that we did. Our son was struggling with the subject and under Jonathan`s guidance has achieved 4 grades above his pre-Mock examination GCSE targets. Thank you Jonathan.

Tutors Response :

So pleased to hear about Frankie’s excellent grades!


Raj (Mrs)
05/05/2023

5/5 Rating

We had a great session for GCSE English literature


Corina (Mrs)
12/03/2023

5/5 Rating

Johnathan is an excellent tutor, confident, with a `unique perspective, different from teachers` - as my son said. Assisting to the sessions, I could observe how truly passionate Johnathan is, bringing life to characters when citing. The sessions and discussions are never limited to one subject; analysing a novel`s characters, Johnathan is emphasising the morality and reasons behind characters` actions, which can be a resemblance of real life situations, that children can learn from. Furthermore, Johnathan has helped my son to navigate difficult vocabulary in the plays and novels discussed, which made it easier to understand and broadened my his knowledge. I would definitely recommend Johnathan!


Vijay (Mr)
18/12/2022

4/5 Rating

Obviously Jonathan has very good knowledge of the subject and he is able to pass an abundance of information to my daughter in short time. I was just wondering if he could set some homework to work on the subject for following lessons.


Sandra (Ms)
29/11/2022

2/5 Rating

I`m sure Jonathan would be a great English Literature tutor for the right person, unfortunately he just wasn`t a good fit for my son. This was partly because Jonathan made it clear he prefers to tutor English Literature when we were looking initially for an English Language tutor, and this wasn`t particularly clear on his profile details. In addition, my son learns best from engagement rather than just direct instruction but as mentioned, his manner will undoubtedly suit others.

Tutors Response :

Sometimes the chemistry simply isn’t there, and one size doesn’t fit all. I have had pupils who have stayed with me for literally years and jumped several grades as a result, but sometimes I can get a pupil who cancels after only one class - which is what happened here.


Roselyn (Miss)
28/11/2022

5/5 Rating

Mr Jonathan is very thorough. Before each lesson he asked me to revise my work. We go through all my topics. And he has patience. He always ensure that the lesson for the day is finished irrespective of the time. I love his lessons


Olaleye (Dr)
09/11/2022

5/5 Rating

Jonathan is a very professional, experienced and quality teacher. He has helped my daughter increase her confidence and belief in herself. I very much recommend him as an English tutor.


Melanie (Mrs)
02/11/2022

5/5 Rating

Jonathan has been tutoring my son for several weeks, supporting him towards his GCSE English exams. So far the sessions have been focused upon `Macbeth`, and Jonathan`s ability to explain and bring the text and characters to life has been very beneficial. He has a wealth of knowledge about Shakespeare, and his understanding about the potential exam questions and what the Examiners are looking for is an added bonus. Jonathan is friendly and engaging; I know my son is finding his sessions helpful. He has also been very flexible, switching our lesson times at short notice and he also offers online sessions. We are looking forward to moving on to the other texts on the syllabus and definitely plan to keep working with Jonathan up to the final GCSE exams in a few months time.


Taya (Mrs)
07/08/2022

5/5 Rating

We have had a few lessons with Jonathan over a couple of months where he has helped my son with his creative writing task for his coursework and understanding more about `Of Mice and Men` novella. He was very patient and gave a lot of valuable input to my son`s work.


adriana (Miss)
26/05/2022

5/5 Rating

Jonathan had been tutoring my daughter since August last year, throughout these months, I have seen a massive improvement not only in her vocabulary, but in her grades aswell! She has now sadly stopped lessons with Jonathan as she has finished her english GCSE. However, I definitely do recommend - as, during his lessons he tries to engage his students to keep them interested in the topic, and tries to get his pupils to enjoy the subject, rather than just get a good grade.


Lucy (Mrs)
10/05/2022

5/5 Rating

Jonathan is an excellent tutor, helped and gave my step-daughter confidence for her GCSE English exams. I would highly recommend Jonathan as tutor.


Sue (Mrs)
06/02/2022

5/5 Rating

Very supportive and flexible tutor.


John (Mr)
25/11/2021

5/5 Rating

We really enjoyed Jonathan`s GCSE English lessons on An Inspector Calls and he brought the text to life, punctuating the prose throughout with a series of observations and explanations of the surface content as well as the deeper meanings. He helped our daughter better understand the P.E.E. answer format and provided her with a battery of sentence starters and useful pointers on adding marks to exam questions. Jonathan has a real talent for this and we quickly moved well beyond what she was learning in the classroom. Our copy of the play is now filled with highlighting, underlinings and notes in the margin, inspired by his obvious passion for the subject matter.


Indra (Dr)
14/11/2021

5/5 Rating

Jonathan is a very dedicated teacher and we would highly recommend him.


Bertram (Mrs)
11/11/2021

5/5 Rating

Jonathan is a good techer. My son not only improved his English level from him, but also built up his self-confidence, which made my son`s English reading comprehension a big step forward.


Kaushik (Mr)
08/11/2021

5/5 Rating

Jonathan has been able to mentor my child the way I had expected, thanks a lot to his methods of teaching.


David (Mr)
12/08/2021

5/5 Rating

We would like thank Jonathan for everything he did for our son to help him achieve the results he needed for entry into the Sixth Form, going from Grade 4 to Grade 6. The lessons helped James not only with his English skills, he has also grown in confidence and became more motivated to achieve a good grade. Jonathan was always very professional and happily accommodated schedule changes to add a couple of extra sessions. We thoroughly recommend Jonathan for his skills and inspiration.


Amy (Ms)
21/07/2021

5/5 Rating

Jonathan was an excellent tutor. He was really helpful and professional. I really think his help made the difference in the grades my children had. Sadly covid made us stop back in March last year but I can only thank him for his committed and enthusiastic help.


Justin (Mr)
28/05/2021

5/5 Rating

Jonathan is a very talented tutor. My son had lost confidence in English language and literature, before Jonathan got involved. His approach to teaching is a refreshing, especially combined with his professionalism and focus. Highly recommended.


Teah (Miss)
12/01/2021

2/5 Rating

After two trial lessons, I believe Jonathan is possibly knowledgeable in his chosen subject/s, but his tutoring style did not resonate with my daughter. Naturally the dynamics has to feel right for one-to-one tutoring to be effective. As his is one of the most expensive lessons, I judged it harder as I needed to ensure I was getting value for money from day one. Of course this may not be the case with other students, who may click from the outset. I wish Jonathan all the best.

Tutors Response :

It is true that sometimes the “chemistry” isn’t there, and one style will certainly not fit all. I have had pupils who have jumped from a D to an A in their results, and others who have decided to call it a day after only one or two lessons. Sadly, this was one of the latter cases.


Haleem (Mr)
13/12/2020

5/5 Rating

My son is struggling in English unlike other subjects where he is very good. My son has said he found Jonathan’s lessons very helpful.


Marina (Mrs)
08/12/2020

5/5 Rating

After the spring lockdown, my son lost almost all his motivation to study at school. And the result we saw very fast - in October he got 2 in Mock GCSE in English literature. English is not our native language and we didn`t know how we could help him. Fortunately, we found Jonathan here and from the very beginning, they started studying "Macbeth" (which is required at school right now)/ Jonathan builds the lesson in a professional way and explains to our son all nuances and details which are required in the GCSE. Now our son feels more confident and understands much more in English literature


Klara (Mrs)
02/12/2020

4/5 Rating

Great tutor.


Mary (Mr)
26/10/2020

4/5 Rating

My child is improving significantly and I credit Jonathan for his diligence and structured approach.


Kim (Miss)
07/09/2020

3/5 Rating

Jonathan helped consolidate some of my knowledge of The Great Gatsby and offered an interesting interpretation that to consider


Nathan (Mr)
19/02/2020

5/5 Rating

We have been very pleased. Our son had become disengaged from English with his grades going backwards at school. Since starting to see Jonathan he is coming away from his sessions enthused and already improving in assessments at school.


Dhugal (Mr)
10/11/2019

5/5 Rating

My son is feeling much better for his extra tuition from Jonathan


Linda (Mrs)
12/10/2019

5/5 Rating

My daughter seems to get along well with Jonathan and is finding him helpful with her English A level work. He is enthusiastic about his subject which goes a long way in capturing student’s attention


Alex (Mrs)
09/08/2019

5/5 Rating

This is Alex, after the first session I have never felt so passionate about English. I have never written so much or taken so much on board in such a short amount of time. Jonathan did such a brilliant job of advertising the subject in such an interesting way and spoke so passionately about it that it passed on to me. A whole week on I can still remember everything he said (not usual for me). He completely filled the gaps in my knowledge of Inspector Calls in the hour. For the first time I now look forward to an English lesson. I couldn’t ask for anything better!

Tutors Response :

Good to know, Alex. Looking forward to teaching you in the new term!
- Jonathan


Cindy (Mrs)
17/12/2018

5/5 Rating

Jonathan is very helpful and has a wealth of knowledge to contextualise the English literature text. His enthusiasm makes the sessions enjoyable.


Darren (Mr)
22/11/2018

4/5 Rating

Jonathan was reliable and accommodating. He tutored our daughter while re-sitting her English GCSE and improved her understanding of the writers perspective.


Catriona (Mrs)
23/08/2018

5/5 Rating

We approached Jonathan during our son`s year 11 when his school had essentially written him off for English and said he would be doing well if he got 4 or 5 despite him having started in top sets.
Jonathan worked with him weekly and today we got his results. An 8 in English Language and a 7 in English Literature.
Jonathan has a passion for English that clearly finds a way of infecting teenagers and we are pleased we invested in his time.


Samantha (Mrs)
08/03/2018

5/5 Rating

My son really enjoyed his lessons with Jonathan and managed to get an A in his english language GCSE exam.


Lisa (Mrs)
26/05/2017

5/5 Rating

My daughter has been attending some lessons for 1.5 hours at a time with Jonathan and her confidence has increased dramatically.
Our reasons for finding a tutor were two-fold, one to increase confidence and two to supplement teaching where the teachers did not have the extra time to spend on a one to one basis.
Clarity around some areas as well as having an experienced tutor have made an immense difference.
We will be continuing through the next 2 years as A Levels overtake GCSE`s
I would highly recommend Jonathan, it`s clear that his passion for the subject and keenness for students to learn is paramount. If it takes an extra few minutes to finish a lesson he takes that time, making the student feel valued

Tutors Response :

Dear Mrs Kay

Thank you so much for your kind feedback. I`m so pleased Grace has been finding the lessons useful.

Kind regards

Jonathan


Kathy (Ms)
21/03/2016

5/5 Rating

Mr Melia takes the tutoring very seriously & professionally, is extremely knowledgeable and has a very engaging approach. After only two sessions it is early days - but a great start.


Nearby Locations

MickletonStratford Upon AvonStratford-upon-avonMickleton English TutorsStratford-upon-avon English TutorsStratford Upon Avon English Tutors