Tanya

I am a very well qualified and experienced Head of English, having taught for the last 25 years in a high achieving Roman Catholic Boys Secondary School. I also have an advanced Diploma in Counselling, a personal area of interest in terms of enabling pupils to reach their full potential in all aspects of their school life.

I am married with two grown up sons and a young grandson. In any spare time, I enjoy reading and going to the theatre or cinema.

Tutoring Experience

I have 25 years experience of teaching pupils at all levels of secondary education and I teach or tutor across the various exam boards at GCSE/A level, giving me a wealth of experience in preparing pupils for exams at these levels. I also currently teach both the English Language and the English Literature A levels, with pupils achieving excellent results above their expected target grades. My most recent (2025) cohort of A level students gained grades A* - C grades.

At GCSE, my students have consistently had excellent records of achievement and I lead a department whose students achieve results that are in the top ten percent in the country. This year (2025) saw the best results for the department (95% at grades 9-4 for English language and 94% for English Literature), and the majority of my own teaching group exceeded their targets by up to three additional grades.

The most recent students I have tutored for GCSE all achieved grades 8 or 9 in both English Language and Literature. A level tutees have performed equally well, gaining A grades in their coursework and exams, allowing them to go on to their first choice university. Those I tutor usually improve their target grades by at least one grade and usually two.
I am also a 6th form mentor, helping those in my group prepare for their university applications and writing their personal statements.

Tutoring Approach

I have an open and friendly approach and tailor the work to the needs of each pupil, aiming to make tutoring sessions enjoyable for the student so that it is not seen as a chore but something that they want to do. I believe that enhancing confidence in their own ability is very important if a student is to do well in the short term, for an exam, or in the long term with literacy skills.

I provide a range of helpful resources to enable students to maximise their potential and improve how they write when analysing texts so that their answers are more academic in style.