Strong English skills underpin every other subject — from writing science reports to arguing a history essay. Our 1:1 English sessions develop reading comprehension, analytical writing, creative expression, and verbal communication in a balanced, progressive curriculum. Whether your child needs to catch up on foundational literacy or stretch toward advanced literary analysis, every session is tailored to their exact needs.
Reading with Depth
We move beyond surface-level comprehension to inference, authorial intent, and critical analysis — skills examiners reward at every level.
Writing Craft
From sentence-level choices to essay structure, students learn to write with clarity, voice, and purpose across creative and analytical genres.
Oracy & Vocabulary
Rich vocabulary and confident verbal expression are built into every session — because how students speak shapes how they think and write.
Curriculum by grade band
Every band builds on the last. Your tutor will place your child at exactly the right level.
- Phonics — letter-sound relationships, blending, and segmenting
- Sight words and high-frequency vocabulary
- Reading simple texts aloud with fluency and expression
- Listening comprehension — retelling stories and identifying characters
- Print concepts — directionality, punctuation recognition
- Emergent writing — forming letters, writing simple sentences
- Rhyme, rhythm, and pattern in language
- Reading with fluency and expression — phrasing and intonation
- Literal and inferential comprehension questions
- Story structure — beginning, middle, end, problem and solution
- Character analysis — feelings, motivations, and relationships
- Non-fiction reading — identifying main idea, key details, text features
- Spelling patterns, prefixes, and suffixes
- Paragraph writing — topic sentence, supporting details, conclusion
- Multi-paragraph essays — introduction, body, conclusion
- Narrative writing — plot, setting, character development, dialogue
- Persuasive writing — claims, evidence, counter-argument
- Comprehension strategies — summarising, questioning, visualising
- Vocabulary development — context clues, word relationships
- Grammar — complex sentences, punctuation, subject-verb agreement
- Researching and citing non-fiction sources
- Analytical essays — thesis statements, textual evidence, commentary
- Literary devices — metaphor, simile, symbolism, irony, imagery
- Poetry — structure, form, tone, and close reading
- Novel study — theme, character arc, narrative perspective
- Comparative writing — comparing texts, characters, or themes
- Argument and debate — structuring a position with evidence
- Grammar at sentence level — effect of punctuation choices on meaning
- Language analysis — writer's methods, effect on reader, AO2 responses
- Literature essays — AQA/Edexcel/Cambridge set texts
- Descriptive and narrative writing — crafting high-band responses
- Reading unseen texts — fiction and non-fiction extracts
- Comparison across texts — similarities, differences, context
- Exam technique — timing, planning, annotating questions
- Past paper practice with mark-scheme feedback
- Extended literary essays — independent interpretation and argumentation
- Contextual reading — historical, cultural, and biographical context
- Unseen prose and poetry analysis
- Comparative literature — cross-genre and cross-cultural texts
- Coursework and individual oral commentary (IB)
- Academic style, register, and referencing conventions
- University personal statement and entrance essay support
What your child will achieve
- Read with comprehension and critical insight across fiction, non-fiction, and poetry
- Write structured, purposeful essays with a clear thesis, evidence, and commentary
- Use literary and linguistic terminology accurately in written analysis
- Craft creative writing with a distinct voice, varied sentence structures, and deliberate choices
- Speak and listen with confidence in discussions and presentations
- Achieve target grades on school assessments, GCSEs, IGCSEs, and A-Levels
- Build a love of reading and language that lasts well beyond school
Frequently asked questions
Both — they are inseparable. Strong writers are strong readers, and vice versa. Sessions balance analytical reading (what the writer is doing and why) with writing practice (applying those same techniques). The ratio shifts based on your child's priorities and upcoming assessments.
Very common. Avid readers often have excellent instincts but haven't learned to make those instincts explicit and structured. Our tutors bridge this gap by teaching students to articulate what they notice as readers, then apply those observations to their own writing.
Yes. Share your child's set text list and exam board (AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Cambridge, IB) and your tutor will prepare sessions around those specific texts, using past questions and mark schemes from that board.
Yes, with some nuance. Our tutors can support EAL students who are already conversational in English and working toward academic proficiency. For students who are at early stages of English acquisition, contact us to discuss suitability and tutor matching.
Your tutor reads and annotates your child's writing each session, providing specific, actionable feedback rather than vague praise. Students learn to self-edit using a checklist of craft elements — sentence variety, precise vocabulary, structure — developed progressively across the curriculum.
Yes, but always in context. Rather than decontextualised grammar drills, we teach punctuation and grammar through its effect — why a semicolon is more powerful than a full stop in a particular sentence, how a well-placed dash creates tension. Grammar becomes a creative and analytical tool, not a set of rules to memorise.