Hello
Welcome to my website. I am an experienced private tutor in Brighton, who has been teaching English Language & Literature and Religious Studies since 2013, when I obtained my Post-Graduate Certificate in Education.
While I am a passionate tutor of each of these two subjects individually, moreover, I feel that my experience in each subject contributes something to the other. For example, my knowledge of Biblical and Greek mythological references from my study of world religions is often extremely useful when interpreting certain works by Shakespeare, the Romantic poets, or other non-contemporary writers. Similarly, the language and literary focus is incredibly helpful when teaching Religious Studies students new ways to improve their essay structure, or otherwise clarify their expression for maximum marks.
More recently, my ongoing post-graduate research, which centres on processes of written expression and creativity, and classroom dynamics, has contributed further ideas and innovations in educational resource production and teaching methods, which I find are further helping my students to overcome whatever past learning challenges they might have experienced and to regain confidence in their own potential.
English Language & Literature
Literacy is rooted in language, but literacy extends far beyond the capacity to read and write. It is the prism through which we engage with the wider world, construct identities and create meaning in all areas of daily life. It is culture, community, critique and creation all at once. This is what makes language and literature so fascinating to teach. It is also what can make the subject frustrating for those who do not feel they have so far found the keys to the treasure chest, or who are finding it challenging to achieve their full potential in such a multi-faceted subject.
Most of the students I work with are currently in British secondary schools or colleges working towards their GCSEs or A levels. While my overall approach centres around a few key principals - for example, emphasising real exam questions, comprehension of mark schemes and incorporating a wide range of cultural resources to fully develop students' sense of cultural context in relation to the play/poetry/novel which they are studying - programmes are otherwise completely personalised for each individual student, informed by their own particular strengths and challenges in relation to their course.
Religious Studies
I work with Religious Studies/Religious Education students at both GCSE and A level. My approach with this subject differs somewhat from my English Language & Literature teaching, in line with the fact that Religious Studies is more knowledge-focussed than the other subject. With this in mind, lessons typically start with a quick review of what was covered the previous occasion, in order to keep knowledge fresh in the mind. Memory and revision techniques are a key feature, with each new topic covered as part of a wider 'revise as we go' philosophy that improves knowledge encoding from the outset in order to enhance recall and minimise the revision load prior to exams in the summer term.
I emphasise real exam questions and comprehension of the mark scheme, with those two elements forming at least one part of every session, in order to keep the focus on exam requirements. A wide range of complementary cultural resources, such as videos, artworks, news articles, and other cultural materials also encourages open, reflective, curious and tolerant engagement with this fascinating subject, while at the same time enhancing connections and improving recall with core exam topics.
Nonethleless, the order in which topics are considered, the pace at which they are covered and the changing priorities in terms of focus, are completely informed by the student's own learning rythms.
Contact
I can be reached either by telephone, email, or through the online form, and am usually able to respond the same day
07931 256 776