Billy
"Billy helped by encouraging our son to complete an additional practice essay every week for each subject. Our son appreciated the detailed and motivational feedback with every piece of writing."
Parent of English iGCSE student
English Language
English Literature
University Applications
Academic History
PGDE (Teach First) Secondary English (UCL IOE)
MA English: Issues in Modern Culture (UCL)
BA English First Class (Warwick)
About Me
I am a professional, qualified teacher of English specialising in GCSE and A-Level literature and language, in addition to university admissions support. I have extensive experience in supporting students achieve their full potential. My work in school leadership was centred on inclusive literacy education. My work as a tutor often involves support for students with a recent diagnosis of dyslexia, ADHD or autism. The focus of my PhD is researching collaborative methods to support students who struggle with reading in secondary schools.
Recent tuition
I have previously supported admissions as both a school leader and a private tutor. In my tutoring work, I have supported admissions to Leeds (English), Manchester (History), UCL (English), UCL (History), UCL (MA Psychodynamic Therapy), Rotterdam (MA Public Policy) and Oxbridge (English, Education). In school leadership, I have written KS5 curriculum for academic writing with a specific focus on personal statements. This curriculum supported pupils to enrich their personal statements with authentic and independent reading and research experiences. For this role I supported admissions for entry into Law, Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, English, History and Humanities.
Below is a snapshot of my recent tutoring experience:
English GCSE and SEN Support (Immanuel College, iGCSE English Edexcel)
I met this pupil after a dyslexia diagnosis when he was struggling to achieve his target grades in English at Immanuel College. He had scored 4 and 5 at the end of year 10 but wanted to achieve 7s or above in order to open doors to the most prestigious universities. This pupil was highly motivated. After intensive tuition including weekly feedback on at least one additional essay per week, he achieved 9 and 7 in Literature and Language.
GCSE Tuition
Last year, more than half the GCSE results I supported with achieved a level 9. Every pupil I worked with met their target grade and/or gained admission to their target institution.
English GCSEs, SEN support, Interview Preparation
I first met this pupil following a permanent exclusion from school in Year 10 and a later diagnosis of dyslexia. He was predicted to fail his English Language GCSE but achieved a 7 at the end of Year 11 followed by admission to BRIT School. I tutored this client for a year, at first working on English GCSEs and then working on interview preparation and drama for the BRIT school admissions process.
English University Admissions (Leeds) and A-Level tuition (OCR)
I tutored this pupil through her A-Level English and English interview preparation. After struggling with the transition from GCSE to A-Level, she went on to gain admission to Leeds University with an A in English Literature A-Level (her first choice).
History University Admissions (UCL), Academic Support (UG)
I tutored this pupil through English A-Level and university applications and then again as an academic proofreader and editor for his Undergraduate Dissertation. He scored an A* for A-Level and gained admission to UCL to study history. Through essay feedback and academic writing tutoring, he then went on to achieve a 2:1 in History at UCL after a period of time when he found the construction of academic arguments to be very challenging.
Academic Support (MA Psychodynamic Therapy UCL)
I met this client while she was in the process of making a career change. She needed support to return to postgraduate level study and boost confidence in writing and referencing at this level. She went on to achieve a Merit in an MA Psychodynamic therapy from UCL through essay feedback and academic writing tutoring.
Hobbies
I am a keen outdoor swimmer. I enjoy exploring new places on the coast. I also run a poetry group who meet every month to share new poetry. I find that creative writing keeps me up to date with current modes of reading. I find inspiration in contemporary poets and find that searching for new voices in poetry is something renews my interest in reading.
Testimonials
“After my son received a level 4 and level 5 in his mock exams, he went on to achieve level 7 and level 8 in his iGCSE English. Billy helped by encouraging our son to complete an additional practice essay every week for each subject. Our son appreciated the detailed and motivational feedback with every piece of writing.”
Parent of English iGCSE student
“During my A-Levels, university admissions process and degree in History at UCL, Billy supported my academic writing by providing detailed notes. I found the opportunities to discuss feedback really deepened my understanding and led to improvements in my grades.”
Academic writing support
