English Language and Literature Tutor Swindon

Paul Wakefield

I offer private tuition in English to students aged 11 to 18, catering for all levels of attainment and ability.

My tutoring provides expert and empathetic support, which is both tailored and targeted to your child’s needs. I seek to encourage your child, developing and enabling relevant skills, as well as identifying any educational issues which may hamper learning.

My overriding aim will be to build confidence where necessary; to help your child engage with the relevant literature texts and to improve further their learning of language.

Contact me to discuss how my English tutoring service can help your child.

English - the key subject

For most young people, English is probably their single most important school subject.

Good English skills not only support achievement in all other subjects, but are truly skills for life.

As an examination subject, English is regarded as indispensable by schools, universities and most employers.

Services Offered

English tutoring for:

  • GCSE and IB for Years 9,10 and 11
  • GCSE retakes for school and college students
  • A-Level

With many years’ experience in the Independent Sector, I offer specialised tutoring to 11 & 13+ ISEB Common Entrance and guidance to Public School Scholarship examinations.

In addition, I offer support with entry to selective schools, both senior and preparatory, including advice and guidance on bursaries, scholarship and procedure.

When starting with Paul, my son was averaging a grade 4.

Paul was fantastic with my son, patient, kind and fun. [Name removed] not only enjoyed his tutor sessions but importantly they provided him with exam skills and techniques, built [his] understanding of and ability to write about the GCSE texts and his overall confidence in English.

We were absolutely delighted, as was [name removed], that he achieved grade 7 in both his English Language and English Literature GCSEs. I’ve no doubt that this was not only due to [his] hard work but also to the support he received from Paul.

Paul tutored our son for his GCSE English Language exams. In addition to being very professional and knowledgeable about the subject, Paul was kind, calming, empathetic and helped to build our son's confidence.

Our son felt very comfortable with Paul and said that he got a lot more out of the sessions than he did during lessons at school. Paul picked up on his interests and suggested ways in which he might be able to incorporate that knowledge into the creative writing elements of the GCSE.

After each session Paul provided feedback to us and made suggestions about ways in which we could help and also directed us to on-line resources which would be useful.

We are very grateful to Paul for his kindness and support and would wholeheartedly recommend him.

Paul has tutored our son and supported him in preparing for his forthcoming English exams. Paul's approach has been very thorough and professional, he has worked with our son’s school to understand any weaknesses so that we are able to improve specific areas. He has worked hard with our son to increase his confidence with both his general reading, writing and overall comprehension. He makes each session fun and engaging, we would highly recommend Paul.

We are very fortunate to have you as a tutor for our daughter…so grateful for you going ‘above and beyond’ with all your help.

Thank you so much for your hard work, patience and understanding with [our daughter]. You’ve helped to rebuild her confidence…you have gone out of your way to support her.

We know how much she has loved working with you…we would without hesitation recommend you to anyone.

We have found Paul to be a reliable and dedicated tutor who has taken the time to build a good rapport with our family. Our son enjoys his tutoring sessions and Paul always gives us feedback on his progress.

My Background

I have extensive teaching experience in both maintained and independent schools, which has included preparing hundreds of students for examinations. As a former headteacher, I’m well-versed in application procedures for selective schools. I hold an enhanced DBS certificate.

Tutoring and the School

Whilst there is no doubt that British schools benefit from many dedicated English teachers, in the context of a busy classroom even the most talented may struggle to meet every student’s needs. Individual tutoring can bridge this gap, giving precise and targeted help; the type of specific input that really moves the learner forward.

It’s often said that an hour of one-to-one tuition is worth five hours of class teaching. Whether or not one agrees with that figure, it’s certain that good tutoring can complement and reinforce the work of the classroom teacher.

Further Information

I usually work with students within an approximate 30-minute radius of my home in Royal Wootton Bassett, including, but not exclusively, Swindon, Marlborough, Chippenham and Calne.

For all enquiries, please contact me by
[email protected] or 07811 811001