Josh

Over the last nine years, I have procured extensive experience within education. This has predominantly been as a tutor, working in schools, with agencies and outreach services, and on a private basis. I have predominantly tutored English Literature, English Language, and History at GCSE, AS-Level, and A-Level across multiple exam boards, whilst I have also taught these subjects at KS3, with additional work in EFL and English Functional Skills. Furthermore, I have worked as a proofreader for student’s essays in these areas, alongside providing this service for companies and university students studying across humanities; whilst I have also developed a creating writing course.

This career utilises my educational background, having graduated from Southampton University in 2018 with a 2:1 in English Literature and History. Additionally, my outside interests revolve around culture, from attending quizzes with friends to reading a wide range of fiction and non-fiction books.

Tutoring Experience

My holistic experience across different branches of education has enabled me to utilise my skills and experience to help a student develop and fulfil their academic potential. I provide a consistent academic approach, developing a scheme of work that will help students attain their desired exam result through the areas they aim to heighten, from essay planning to revision processes. Through tailoring lessons around the student’s goals and needs, this provides an engaging and interactive approach to enhance their understanding. Furthermore, I am able to adapt to different working environments, from teaching lessons online to in-person; both on a one-to-one basis and in small groups.

With my areas of expertise largely pertaining to English Literature, English Language, and History at GCSE, AS-Level, and A-Level, I have a large degree of experience and understanding of the course content and examination schemes across different exam boards, including AQA and Edexcel. In addition, I have worked with students on their Extended Project Qualification (EPQ): owing to the specialised nature of this qualification, I am able to help students on a number of topics as I have a wide range of knowledge and external interests, from pop culture to current affairs. This has been conducted via private tuition on a full-time basis since 2018, understanding how to design a scheme of work tailored towards a student’s academic and personal needs to guide them towards improving their targeted areas to achieve their educational goal. Additionally, having proofread myriad academic works at GCSE, A-Level, and Undergraduate levels across the Humanities, I am able to provide in-depth feedback on a student’s writing, from their punctuation and grammar to their level of analysis; offering specific targets and follow-up tasks centred on noted areas of improvement.

From March 2023 to December 2024, I worked as an outreach tutor for students outside the school system, largely due to mental health or disciplinary reasons. These students ranged from the ages of 14 to 18, with each pupil receiving a tailored programme in accordance with their academic and personal needs, heightening my pastoral abilities through creating an environment where they were able to return to academic engagement. This resulted in many achieving academic progression, from achieving strong grades in their A-Levels to receive university offers to passing English Functional Skills exams. This translates to my work with private students, developing a greater understanding and empathy of what a student needs to attain their potential within their own lives and the academic system.

Furthermore, I worked as an English tutor at a secondary school in London from April 2021 to July 2022, where 80 per cent of the students have English as their second language. I tutored students – from the age of 12 to 16 - who were struggling in English or were classified as EFL, either on a one-to-one basis or within small groups; focusing on writing, grammar and punctuation, and comprehension skills. As a result, my students developed their knowledge and usage of English within their writing, gaining increased language and writing confidence alongside stronger exam results. My experience here was aided by obtaining a Level 5 TEFL Certificate, being able to utilise different modes of communication and teaching techniques to understand the needs of many of my students.

Tutoring Approach

My students have stemmed from a wide range of academic and personal backgrounds, adapting my lessons to accommodate any personal and learning needs. I have worked with students with a range of special educational needs, including ADHD, dyslexia, and dyspraxia; individuals who need mental health support; to high-achieving students who require support to achieve top academic grades.

This informs my tailored tutoring style, being an analytical, empathetic, and patient person who forms lesson plans around the academic needs and goals, personality, and learning style of the student. Through creating a relaxed learning environment, this enables a rapport to be developed, where an individual is encouraged to be an active participant within lessons by incorporating interactive and creative techniques. This is underlined by ensuring a clear line of communication, including adjusting terminology to match the student’s needs; working with parents, providing an accessible point of contact to give feedback, adapt to any changes they require, and answer any questions they may have; to communicating with line managers regarding any issues to sending progress updates.

In forming a consistent academic approach, this aims to develop a person’s skills incrementally through a carefully designed scheme of work towards a student’s end goal, aiming to reinforce and build upon learning blocks acquired. Additionally, by exploring content and techniques through the examination process, it enables students to develop their skills in a practical setting where they can track academic progress alongside working on targeted areas, from developing essay structures to understanding course content. Overall, this has seen my students obtain academic confidence and progression to achieve their goals, from securing sixth form and university places to accruing grade improvement.