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GCSE · English

GCSE English tuition, online and one to one.

Language, Literature, or the half of it your child cannot get a grip on. Tell us which, and we will find them a GCSE English tutor. Every tutor holds an enhanced DBS check, has been interviewed by our school staffing team, and teaches in a recorded session in your browser.

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  • Enhanced DBS checked
  • Interviewed by our school staffing team
  • Every session recorded

How your child gets a GCSE English tutor

  1. Tell us which half is the problem

    Reading and writing on the Language paper, or the set texts on the Literature paper. Say which, add the grade they are working at and the one they are aiming for if the school has given you either, and tell us the actual titles they are studying.

  2. We find the tutor

    We put your child's session to the tutors who teach GCSE English and are free at that time. You see the tutor's profile, including every clearance we hold for them, before you agree to anything.

  3. Pick a time, once or every week

    Book a single session, or the same slot weekly, fortnightly or monthly, and choose the start and finish time yourself. Nothing is charged when you book, and a session no tutor has confirmed is never charged for at all.

  4. They read it together, and you can watch it back

    Your child joins in the browser with nothing to install. The tutor can share their screen, so an extract or an essay is in front of both of them, and they annotate the same whiteboard as they go. Whatever is on the board at the end is saved to the session, and the lesson is recorded for you to watch.

Two GCSEs, not one

What GCSE English is made of

Three parts of the Language paper, and the kinds of text Literature sets, whoever sets them. Read down it and you will usually know which one your child means.

  • Reading, on the Language paper

    Reading an unseen passage closely: what it says, what the writer is doing with words and structure to make it land, and how two texts on the same subject differ. Summarising and comparing rather than retelling.

  • Writing, on the Language paper

    Producing a clear, organised piece to a brief, whether that is describing, narrating or arguing a case. Marks go on structure and on deliberate choices, not on length.

  • Spelling, punctuation, grammar and vocabulary

    Accuracy carries its own marks on the Language paper, so a strong answer can still score below what it read like. Sentence variety, and punctuation used on purpose rather than by habit.

  • A Shakespeare play

    Every GCSE English Literature course sets one. Working from an extract out to the whole play, on character, language and the ideas the play is arguing about. Tell us which play and it goes to the tutor.

  • The long texts

    A nineteenth-century novel is required, and a modern play or novel is set alongside it, so there are two long books to hold at once: plot, characters, context and quotations that can be recalled under exam conditions.

  • Poetry, including unseen poetry

    A set collection to learn and compare, plus a poem your child will not have seen before. The unseen question is the one that cannot be revised for by memorising, which is why it is worth practising with somebody.

An English tutor is still an adult alone with your child.

Tuition means somebody your family has never met spending an hour a week with your child, unsupervised. That is the problem this platform was built around, and it is why the vetting is not a page in the small print.

Read our full safeguarding policy

  • Enhanced DBS, every tutor

    Every tutor on the platform holds an enhanced DBS check. We do not make exceptions and we do not allow grace periods.

  • Interviewed before they teach

    Our school staffing team interviews every tutor before they take a single session. They are the same people who vet and place staff in UK schools.

  • Every session recorded

    Sessions are recorded and retained for safeguarding review, so there is always a record of what happened in a lesson. You can watch your own child's sessions back from your account. The tutor cannot.

  • Continuously monitored

    Vetting is not a one-off. If a tutor's clearance lapses they come off the platform automatically, and they cannot teach again until it is back in place and verified by us.

  • Nothing happens off the platform

    Every session runs in our own video room in the browser, and personal contact details are never exchanged between a tutor and a family.

GCSE English questions parents ask us

Is it English Language or English Literature we need help with?
In England these are usually two separate GCSEs sat by the same child. Language is the unseen reading and the writing tasks. Literature is the set texts: a Shakespeare play, a nineteenth-century novel, modern prose or drama, and poetry. A child can be comfortable in one and struggling in the other, so it is worth working out which before you ask for help. If you are not sure, say what actually happens when they sit down to work and let the tutor place it.
How do you find a GCSE English tutor for my child?
You tell us the subject, the level, where your child is now and what they are working towards, and we put the session to the tutors who teach GCSE English and are free at that time. You see the tutor's profile and the clearances we hold for them, and nothing is booked until you agree to it.
My child can write but cannot analyse a poem. Can a tutor work on only that?
Yes. You say what your child is finding hard and where they need to get to once, when you tell us about them, and their tutor reads it before every session. If the whole of the problem is the unseen poem, that is what the hour is for.
Do you provide the set texts or any materials?
No, and we do not send anything out. Your child works from the texts and the notes their school has set. What the platform gives you is a tutor who can share their screen, so an extract or your child's own essay is in front of both of them, and a whiteboard they annotate together. Whatever is on the board at the end is saved to the session.
What happens in a GCSE English session?
Your child joins in the browser, with nothing to download or install. The tutor can share their screen and both of them work on the same whiteboard, which updates as they write. You choose the start and finish time when you book, so the length of the session is yours to set.
Are sessions recorded, and who can see them?
Every session is recorded and retained for safeguarding review. You can watch your own child's sessions back from your account once they have finished. Our safeguarding team can review them. Tutors cannot watch them, including of sessions they taught, and no other family can see yours.
What if we need to cancel a session?
Cancel at least 24 hours before the start time and you receive a full refund. With less than 24 hours' notice a partial charge may apply, because the tutor has held the time for you. If the tutor cancels, you are refunded in full and can request another time.
Are sessions online only?
Yes. All tutoring is online for now, and every session runs in our own video room in the browser. Sessions never take place off the platform, and personal contact details are not exchanged between a tutor and a family.

More questions answered

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