English tuition from Reception through to & including GCSE.

Improve your child's understanding of English.

Reading, writing and speaking are clearly life skills which students need to access all other areas of their education and to communicate their ideas effectively in adult life. The National Curriculum states that 'English is both a subject in its own right... understanding the language provides access to the whole curriculum'. However, the learning of these skills can be both frustrating and stressful for children and their parents.

From booster sessions to improve literacy skills, reading and spelling through to the new 9-1 GCSE English and English Literature, tuition can help students to gain confidence, learn new skills and understand exam techniques. Academic challenges can be provided for those who do not find this in school, wish to make the transition to private education or to settle into the first year of secondary school when the all important tests take place to set pupils according to ability.

As a fully qualified English teacher Victoria has the specialism and knowledge to provide high-quality English tuition, whilst at the same time the enthusiasm and energy to make sessions enjoyable and rewarding.

English Primary

Acquiring literacy and reading skills is vital in the early years of your child's school life. Many children can find this challenging and frustrating, needing more individualised and higher focus lessons that aren't available in the demands of mainstream. Sessions will concentrate on one or more of the following areas to build skills and confidence: phonics (for reading and spelling), spelling, punctuation, grammar and vocabulary.

Following an initial assessment, lessons will be tailored to your child's requirements. A wide range of activities using information technology, working on paper or completing games will not only improve fluency but also ensure that your child is motivated.

Preparation for SATs which many children find stressful will enable them to perform better and achieve the success that they deserve. For those who wish to be entered for entrance exams, students will be taught how to write fluent, well structured essays and know how best to answer the exam paper. In addition, verbal and non-verbal reasoning can be taught, these being areas not taught within mainstream and so generally are unfamiliar.

The SATs exams were altered from 2016 onwards and now pupils are expected to rank or order events, complete short structured responses, as well as answering open-ended questions. In addition there is a grammar, punctuation and spelling test. This involves children identifying parts of sentences such as adjectives and modal verbs.

English Secondary

Many students find it hard to make that transition from primary to secondary, thus they can make little progress or even lose ground within their first year. But, this is a vital time when students are assessed and targets set that can affect the rest of their educational life.

By building upon their knowledge gained within primary school, sessions can ensure progress at such a crucial time. Undertaking an initial assessment of your child can identify gaps in knowledge or weaknesses, so that they have the skills to improve performance not only within English lessons but also across the whole curriculum. Challenging lessons can also be provided to boost performance to higher levels, should this be required.

Year Nine is another important year with options for their GCSE subjects to tests to determine how they have performed at Key Stage 3. Having the confidence and ability is crucial so that they can embark upon their GCSE years with confidence and success. Tuition will enable your child to not only acquire skills but also to know how to use them effectively.

English GCSE

Whilst it may seem that students have a full two years to complete their GCSEs, as they begin them within May of Year 11, this is not the case. The pace of the lessons is much faster and there is little time for developing knowledge and re-visiting areas that may be difficult to grasp. In addition the English 9-1 GCSE has become much more rigorous.

Individualised tutoring can help your child to get back on track, keep up and make expected progress or boost them to higher grades. Many students have found the new style exam this year much harder and it is expected that results will reflect this. Many, including parents are also struggling to understand the new grading system. As such teenagers can feel very disadvantaged resulting in under-performance as they lack confidence with the new styles of exams.

Tuition will equip students with the skills, knowledge and techniques that are required for high level responses in an examination situation. This is achieved by analysing on a question by question basis, as different questions target different exam board assessment objectives. The English Language exam also requires students to be able to write creatively, articulating their thoughts and ideas. Essay writing skills can be covered so that students write effectively and concisely.

Exam techniques, solidifying knowledge or explaining difficult concepts, can help your child to achieve a level four or five, standard or strong pass, or achieve their target grade, vitally important for their future careers. For others, focused booster sessions can progress them to make great preparation for this new style of exam. Above all tuition can help your child to become more confident and reassured, ensuring an improved performance on the day.

English Literature

Tuition sessions that target English literature will provide knowledge not only about the texts being studied, but also the techniques required to effectively answer exam questions. Many students struggle with learning the many poems required by the exam boards. Tuition can provide students with the skills necessary to both analyse and compare poems, as well as critically evaluating unseen poems as required by the syllabus. Different exam boards are catered for and the different texts that schools may study such as Shakespeare and Victorian and modern literature etc.

One to one teaching will enable areas of difficulty to be targeted, analytical writing skills boosted and gaps in student knowledge addressed in order to accelerate their progress.