Graham - English tutor - Ilford
Graham - English tutor - Ilford

One of our best tutors. Quality profile, experience in their field, verified qualifications and a great response time. Graham will be happy to arrange your first English lesson.

Graham

One of our best tutors. Quality profile, experience in their field, verified qualifications and a great response time. Graham will be happy to arrange your first English lesson.

  • Rate R689
  • Response 2h
  • Students

    Number of students Graham has accompanied since joining Superprof

    50+

    Number of students Graham has accompanied since joining Superprof

Graham - English tutor - Ilford
  • 4.9 (43 reviews)

R689/h

Contact
  • English
  • Creative writing
  • English Literature
  • School Exam Preparation
  • Essay Writing

Oxford University MA in English Lang and Lit, plus a qualified teacher.

  • English
  • Creative writing
  • English Literature
  • School Exam Preparation
  • Essay Writing

Lesson location

Ambassador

One of our best tutors. Quality profile, experience in their field, verified qualifications and a great response time. Graham will be happy to arrange your first English lesson.

About Graham

Oxford University MA in English language and literature and a qualified teacher, I have taught in London schools for over 20 years. I tutor English at all levels at the pupil’s home or online. I have published two books of fiction and a memoir. BBC Radio also broadcast a short story I wrote. Whatever their level, wherever they are, students have the right to an excellent education, and I'm determined to provide just that. University : - University of Oxford - MA - University of Oxford - BA - University of Adelaide - Diploma in Education

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About the lesson

  • Primary
  • Secondary
  • Matric/GCSE
  • +4
  • levels :

    Primary

    Secondary

    Matric/GCSE

    AS Level

    A Level

    Adult education

    Undergraduate

  • English

Languages in which the lesson is available :

English

While I supply all the learning materials, I do not merely tick answers on worksheets. I pass on the knowledge, strategies and confidence which pupils need to deal independently with questions at school or college. I place special importance on reading and writing skills, but discussion of language and literature is at the heart of each lesson.

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Rates

Rate

  • R689

Package rates

  • 5h: R3446
  • 10h: R6891

online

  • R689/h

travel

  • + R3

Details

£29/hr primary, secondary, GCSE; £33/hr AS, A-level; £36/hr diploma, undergraduate, postgraduate; £5 for each additional student

Find out more about Graham

Find out more about Graham

  • When did you develop an interest in your chosen field and in private tutoring?

    I’ve been interested in English literature since I was very young. My mother used to chase me around the house reciting poetry! I’ve always been intrigued by words. I enjoy learning languages and, most of all, English. I’ve been tutoring this subject privately since 1999.
  • Tell us more about the subject you teach, the topics you like to discuss with students (and possibly those you like a little less).

    English is my speciality, both Language and Literature. I teach primary, KS3, GCSE and A-Level, as well as 11+. I either prepare for exam classes or focus on improvement in general English skills, as the client requires. I tutor all age groups, including adults, though the bulk of my work is currently at school level. I have experience of all UK exam boards, as well as access to a wide range of past papers. I don’t really have a favourite or least favourite topic. The aspect I like most is detailed analysis of a text, be it fiction or non-fiction, prose or poetry. To look closely at a word, at why a writer chose it and not another, at the style and technique – these are things I literally find exciting.
  • Did you have any role models; a teacher that inspired you?

    My English teachers all contributed in countless ways, but I owe most to those who encouraged me to think for myself. The one who inspired me most was in Year 11. He didn’t talk down to us; he spoke to each pupil as if he was talking to an equal – an equal in English. He also helped us write creatively. I wrote and wrote. He even read my poems out aloud to the class.

  • What do you think are the qualities required to be a good tutor?

    Students want someone who is patient, kind and encouraging. They want the lesson to be fun! This may simply mean a tutor who talks to them, not at them. It makes them feel valued. This is important – when pupils enjoy what they’re doing, they learn even faster.


  • Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

    When I was a student in Year 12, we did ‘The Tempest,’ Shakespeare’s final play. We had to write an essay about Prospero, a magician who forgives his enemies before putting his magic arts away forever (much as Shakespeare did himself when he finished this play!). I wrote that this forgiveness, although unexpected, was not out of character; that Prospero’s kindness to his daughter from the very start foreshadowed his kindness to his enemies at the end. The teacher planted several thick, red ticks on my page – I can still see them – then read out that paragraph in class next lesson. He said that, in all the books he’d read about Shakespeare, he had never come across that point before. In every student’s work, there is something of value. The teacher’s job to recognise it, develop it and celebrate it with them.
  • What were the difficulties or challenges you faced or are still facing in your subject?

    Every lesson presents a different challenge. The most important thing is to suit what you’re teaching to the needs, interests and ability of the pupil. None of this is easy. To succeed at all three is exhilarating. How do you get someone to engage with a piece of Shakespeare if they are reluctant to read anything, let alone something penned over four hundred years ago? Sometimes, you just need a bit of old Prospero’s magic.
  • Do you have a particular passion? Is it teaching in general or an element of the subject or something completely different?

    For me. the best thing about tutoring is the moment a student understands something for the first time. They may have struggled at school or on their own, but they understand now.
  • What makes you a Superprof (besides answering these interview questions)?

    I don’t waste words.
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