Joe

Hello, I have 25 years experience of teaching English in top independent schools like Tonbridge and Eton College as well as examining for boards like OCR and AQA. I was Head of English at Eton for 5 years and I have a string publications and prizes for my academic and creative work. I studied at St Catherine`s College, Oxford University, where I was the Clothworker Scholar and gained a First Class degree. I am a member of the Tutors` Association and the English Association.

None of these bells and whistles matter so much as the simple fact that I am a born teacher with a love of building a rapport with students, especially one-to-one. I take particular pride in nurturing the ability to write compellingly. In terms of exam results I can claim to be the most successful Head of Department during my time at Eton. But, ironically, if all you are interested in is passing exams, you are unlikely to a top grade, especially at A-level.

I specialise in Sixth Form teaching: A-level, IB and Pre-U. I do a lot of Oxbridge work (mock interviews and ELAT) and I also help undergraduates, especially if they want a second opinion on a dissertation. I will do a bit of scholarship coaching and I am always delighted to teach outside exam specifications altogether (which I do at a substantial discount). I tend to avoid GCSE but my arm has been twisted in the past.

I have fantastic teaching notes on all major novelists, playwrights and poets, from Chaucer to Shakespeare (I wrote for the Continuum series, Shakespeare in Education), from Milton to Romantics (I won the Keats-Shelley Memorial Prize in 2001) and Modernists (my MA dissertation was on Wallace Stevens) and most novelists since 1800 (I have delivered the Trollope Society`s annual lecture). I tailor and update these for all my students. I also happily set and mark assignments if you want to study between lessons.

I have been a Headmaster (Hampton Court House School) but I have come to the view that independent education needs re-modelling. I left Eton this summer at the age of 50 to start a new school project. Tutoring is the first step on our journey.

Availability: I usually tutor in 90 minute slots: weekdays, between lunchtime and 8pm or 9pm; Saturdays, between 9am and 2pm. I sometimes make special arrangements to teach outside these hours. I don`t want to take on a total of more than 10 tutees at any one time, so I may not have availability.

Students usually come to our excellent office location in Hammersmith. I will travel, but charge 50% extra for travel time.

The marking of written work, the provision of notes and responses to any correspondence from students between tutorials, is included in the fee.

Willing to travel: 5 miles

Experience: I have taught English for 25 years at top schools including Eton College where I was Head of English for 5 years.

I have examined both GCSE and A-level. I have also taught Pre-U for six years and tutored IB.

I am a published author, poet and performed playwright with a particular knack for unlocking poetry and putting students at ease with new or unseen texts.