Michael

I'm a writer with an interest in children's fiction. My debut novel Lottery Boy was published in the UK by Walker Books in 2015 and translated into several languages including Italian, French and Russian. I've also written articles and book reviews for magazines and the Guardian newspaper.

Tutoring Experience

I graduated from the Institute of Education in 1997 and taught for five years in London before moving to Winchester to teach part time. I have experience teaching both GCSE and A level English and Literature in schools and colleges.

Tutoring Approach

I encourage students to understand that the texts they're studying are open to their criticism; that all writing comes with a viewpoint that is not necessarily shared by the reader but with hard work can be comprehended and possibly even appreciated. However, I'm aware that the majority of students I teach are working towards passing an exam and I spend time focusing their textual analysis firmly on the type of questions they will be answering.
Further to this I would add that I learned to read and write when I was eight and I think this helps me to relate to children who struggle with comprehension of a text at both a literal and metaphorical level.