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GCSE English tutoring
Twelve of our tutors teach English, and one of them has marked AQA papers. Knowing where examiners award marks, and where they quietly withhold them, is worth more in the final term than any amount of extra reading.
Language and Literature, both papers each, live one to one on Zoom. Lessons are £30 and the first 30 minutes are free.
No card details for the trial. Change tutor at any time, at no cost.
Most students need one paper more than the other. Tell us which and we will match a tutor to that, rather than splitting an hour four ways.
4.9
34 reviews on Google and Bark
Google reviews
Parent reviews
Pricing
Teaching UK students since 2020.
The real problem
Because there is no content to learn. A student can reread a novel five times and still write a Grade 4 answer, since the marks go on how the argument is built rather than what the student knows. That is teachable, and it is what these lessons do.
Plenty of students can retell the plot of An Inspector Calls in detail and still lose half the marks. The examiner is looking for a line of argument, evidence chosen to support it, and something said about the writer's method. Retelling scores almost nothing.
Unseen poetry and the Language reading papers put a text in front of a student they have never met. No amount of revision covers that. What works is a repeatable method for attacking a text cold, practised until it stops feeling like a gamble.
Nearly half of English Language is the student's own writing, marked on structure, vocabulary, sentence variety and accuracy. Most students have never been shown what a Grade 8 descriptive piece actually does differently. It is one of the fastest sections to move.
English specialists
One of twelve English tutors, matched to the papers your child is struggling with and the exam board the school uses. Between them the team includes a former AQA examiner, a PGDE English teacher with fifteen years in the subject, and specialists in poetry, Shakespeare and creative writing.
Language and Literature
Has marked the papers, which changes what she teaches. Knowing where examiners award marks and where they quietly withhold them is worth more in the final term than any amount of extra content.
Best for final term exam technique
English Language, KS3 and GCSE
Fifteen years teaching English, including leading a department, plus a postgraduate diploma in the subject on top of a linguistics degree. Reading comprehension, grammar and vocabulary are where her students tend to gain most.
Best for comprehension, grammar and written accuracy
English Literature
Focuses on the parts of Literature that reward structure over instinct: poetry comparison, the Shakespeare extract question, and how to build an argument that actually goes somewhere across five paragraphs.
Best for poetry, Shakespeare and essay structure
Language and Literature
Covers both English papers, with particular strength in creative writing, which is the section students most often write off as unteachable. It is not, and the mark scheme rewards specific things that can be practised.
Best for creative writing and Language Paper 1
English and Religious Studies
Came out of her own exams with top grades and now teaches the skill that carries both English and Religious Studies: building an evaluative argument rather than describing. Named by families in reviews for her enthusiasm.
Best for students who describe when they should be arguing
Language and Literature
Four years of tutoring English and a settled view that the goal is not to make a student love the subject, only to make them competent and unafraid of it. Works to whatever grade the student is actually aiming at.
Best for students who dislike English and need it passed
Language and Literature
More than three hundred hours of English tutoring with over thirty five students. Works heavily through past paper questions, which is what tends to shift a Language grade in the final term.
Best for daytime lessons and past paper practice
Language and Literature
Teaches English through discussion and creative work rather than drills, which suits students who have gone quiet in class. Has covered lessons in schools as well as tutoring privately.
Best for students who have lost confidence speaking up
English and Religious Studies
Works on giving students confidence in their own voice so they can put a thoughtful argument on paper rather than the answer they think is wanted. Has taught in a school as well as privately.
Best for extended answers and independent argument
What families say
Fair question. Below are reviews from families whose children we taught English, quoted as written and linked back to where they were posted. Most of our published reviews are Maths and Science, so there are two here rather than ten.
"I took a chance in selecting RS Remote Tutoring, to help my daughter who was struggling with GCSE math and English and I'm so happy I made that choice. The tutors are reliable and professional. They also were very relatable to my 15 year old."
"They are really helpful and the tutor Harleen teaches with enthusiasm. She helps you a lot with the content. Overall the service is amazing!!"
The four papers
Most students sit two English GCSEs and four papers in total. Lessons start with whichever paper is losing the most marks rather than working through all four evenly, because they are rarely equally weak.
Fiction reading and descriptive or narrative writing.
Non-fiction reading and writing to present a viewpoint.
Shakespeare and the 19th century novel.
Modern text, poetry anthology and unseen poetry.
Set texts vary by school and board. Send us the titles your child is studying when you enquire and we will match a tutor who already teaches them rather than one reading the book alongside your child.
Two separate GCSEs
They are two different qualifications with two different skill sets, and students are rarely equally weak in both. English Language is the one colleges and employers ask for, so it usually takes priority when time or budget is tight.
| Subject | What it tests | Common sticking point | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | Reading unseen texts, and the student's own writing | Writing sections, and analysing a text met for the first time | The Grade 4 or 5 that sixth forms, colleges and employers ask for |
| English Literature | Set texts, poetry, and argument built from evidence | Describing the plot instead of analysing the writer's method | Essay skills that carry into A-Level and most humanities subjects |
Say so when you enquire. In most cases English Language is the one to protect, because a Grade 4 in it is the entry requirement almost everywhere and a resit is compulsory for many students who miss it.
That said, the two share more than they look. Work on structuring an argument in Literature usually shows up in Language writing marks within a few weeks.
Most of our English tutors cover Language and Literature together, so a student does not need two tutors or two sets of lessons. It is the same £30 an hour whichever the lesson focuses on.
Specifications
Yours. We cover AQA, Pearson Edexcel, OCR, and WJEC with Eduqas. Board matters more in English than in most subjects, because the set texts, the poetry anthology and the mark scheme wording all differ.
Not sure which board the school uses? Send the set text titles or the specification code from the front of a past paper. In English the texts alone usually identify the board in seconds.
Inside a lesson
Sixty minutes live on Zoom with shared documents and a digital whiteboard. The student writes during the lesson and the tutor marks it there and then, sentence by sentence, rather than sending feedback days later.
Cost
£30 for a 60-minute one to one lesson, falling to £27.50 on a three-month term plan and £25 on an annual plan. Published UK averages for one to one tutoring sit at roughly £37 to £38 an hour, so our standard rate is below the typical market rate.
£30
per 60-minute lesson£27.50
per 60-minute lesson£25
per 60-minute lessonNo sign-up fee, no matching fee, and no premium for Literature over Language or for a more experienced tutor. The 30-minute trial is free and takes no card details.
Beyond GCSE
The same tutors teach either side of GCSE, so a student does not have to change person when they move up a year or come back for a resit.
Years 7 to 9. Reading comprehension, grammar and written accuracy rebuilt before GCSE texts arrive, which is far easier than repairing it in Year 11.
KS3 tutoringNovember and summer retakes, including the compulsory resit for students who missed a Grade 4. A different plan from repeating the year.
Resit tutoringThe alternative route for adults and apprentices who need a Level 2 English qualification for work or a college place rather than a GCSE grade.
Functional SkillsAvailable depending on tutor availability that term rather than guaranteed, so ask us before booking and we will tell you honestly.
A-Level tutoringCommon questions
Anything not answered here, message us and we will tell you straight. We usually reply within minutes.
Almost always, because twelve of our tutors teach English. Availability tightens from January and again before summer exams, and evening slots go first. Tell us the days and times you need when you enquire and we will confirm before anything is booked.
Yes, and most of our English tutors cover both, so your child does not need two tutors or two sets of lessons. Tell us which paper is losing the most marks and we will start there rather than splitting the hour evenly.
Send the titles when you enquire and we will match a tutor who already teaches them. Set texts vary by school and board, and there is a real difference between a tutor who knows a text and one reading it alongside your child.
Yes, and she is on this page. Having marked the papers changes what gets taught in the final term, because the difference between a Grade 6 and a Grade 8 answer is often a matter of what the mark scheme rewards rather than how much the student knows.
Someone reads your enquiry and matches on the papers your child is weakest in, the exam board, the set texts, current grade, target grade and the times you are free. You get one name and the reason for it, not a shortlist to compare.
Yes. Tell us the name when you enquire and we will check their availability. Most families let us suggest instead, because we can judge the match on the specific weakness better from the outside than a profile can show.
£30 for a 60-minute one to one lesson, £27.50 each on a three-month term plan and £25 each on a twelve-month annual plan. No sign-up fee, no matching fee, and no premium for Literature over Language.
Yes. Thirty minutes with the tutor we have matched, live on Zoom, with no card details taken and no obligation to book afterwards. If the match is wrong you owe us nothing and we will look again.
The tutor usually asks your child to write, then marks it with them there and then. Fifteen minutes of writing tells a tutor far more than any conversation about what is going wrong, because students rarely know themselves.
Yes, at a fixed weekly slot. Continuity matters more in English than almost anywhere, because a tutor who has read a student's writing for two months knows exactly which habits are costing marks.
Tell us and we will rematch at no cost. You do not lose lessons, restart a plan or pay a fee. With twelve English tutors there is genuine room to find somebody better suited.
Yes, and it is usually a short timed piece rather than a long essay. One paragraph written under exam conditions and marked properly is worth more than three written slowly at the kitchen table.
Free 30-minute trial
Tell us the year group, the set texts and which paper is going wrong. We will put forward one English tutor who fits and set up a free 30-minute session. No card details, no obligation.
Enquiries answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We usually reply within minutes, and WhatsApp is the fastest way to reach us.
