Tutoring

Deep Dive Into
1-on-1 Tuition

Everything you need to know about how sessions work, the content that can be covered and how to book your first lesson!

Meet The Tutor

Tutor profile

Expert English Tutor

Laura M.

About Me

Hi! I'm Laura, an experienced English tutor with a passion for helping students achieve their dream grades. I hold a 2:1 BA (Hons) in English Literature from the University of Warwick (2020) and have over six years of tutoring experience.

I work with students from Year 7 to Year 13 and also tutor for 11+ and 13+ common entrance, with a 100% success rate so far. I tutor full-time, have published revision guides for Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and Jekyll and Hyde, and share GCSE tips on TikTok at @smashgcseenglish.

Teaching Style

My approach is discussion-led, encouraging students to build and defend their own interpretations while developing exam-ready structure and precision.

Every session is tailored to the individual, whether we are analysing texts, refining exam technique, or building high-scoring essay paragraphs with clear, practical feedback.

reviews

Feedback from parents and students

"Laura helped my son move a grade from 7 to 8 at GCSE level. We really appreciate her teaching style and dedication and wish we started lessons with her much earlier!"

— Avi

"Miss Laura is a responsible and experienced tutor who has helped my son and daughter to achieve outstanding results in their IGCSE English papers, First Language English and English Literature in year 2023 and year 2025. We truly appreciate Laura's high standard of guidance and coaching students to leap in their journey of learning English."

— Wei

"I would highly recommend Laura as an excellent tutor. Laura is a kind, patient friendly tutor who connects well with students and puts them at ease, as she tutors. Laura tutored both my daughters English GCSE (one with autistism) and despite them learning differently, Laura took them both from 3/4s to 7's in a relatively short period. Laura makes learning very easy and enjoyable."

— Gráinne

"Laura did a fantastic job in supporting my son to a great result in his English GCSE! Highly recommend her."

— Jennifer

"Laura was a brilliant tutor for my son working toward his GCSE. Well planned sessions that targeted the areas he needed to focus on and kept him engaged. I highly recommend Laura."

— Jennifer

"Laura has been an absolute star teaching our son year 9 English during Lockdown elective home education - enthusiastic, organised, reliable and with good communication to parents and student. Thanks very much!"

— Claire

"Laura has been tutoring me for the past couple of months and I have found our lessons very helpful. She explains things clearly and is friendly, patient and supportive. I am in Year 10 and am not very confident in English, but I have already learnt a lot from our lessons in a short time and am looking forward to future lessons."

— Reshaan

"Laura has been tutoring my two daughters for yr7 and yr9 entry to secondary school and has helped them both enormously. She has patiently helped build their confidence and given them invaluable advice on how to approach the questions and techniques to help guide them through the papers. My eldest daughter has taken her exam and was able to use Laura’s hints and tips throughout, she found them extremely useful. We are very grateful to Laura for her time and effort, thank you!"

— Susan

"Laura was incredibly helpful and patient and never criticised me when I was wrong or struggled on a specific question. She went though my past papers and gave me throrough help and many options for improvements, as well as guiding me through on how to answer past papers, (breaking each question down untill I understood them). I would highly recommend her. Thank you for all of your time and effort Laura!"

— Frances

"Fantastic tutor. In the short time we had laura she helped my daughter so much, it got my daughters grade to where we needed it to be and it also help with her confidence on how to tackle other exams."

— Laura

"Laura has been helping my daughter with English Language particularly with creative writing and she has helped her immensely in a very short time and there has been a great improvement in Holly’s work. Laura goes through each exercise with Holly thoroughly and breaks it down which simplifies it for her to make it easier for her to comprehend which she has found very useful. She is very patient, understanding & explains things very well. I would recommend her highly."

— Bridget

"Very helpful my son enjoys her lesson . She always up to date with the latest strategies in teaching"

— Hadeel

"Both our girls are finding the lessons extremely helpful. Not only does Laura provide tips and tricks on how to improve creative writing but she tempers this with plenty of positive praise and encouragement in a tone that works very well with children. Thank you Laura."

— Michelle

"We've had a great few lessons with Laura so far. She is very component, focussed and always provides valuable feedback after the lesson. Very impressed."

— Ghazalah

"Laura is very patient and creative in teaching my daughter. She prepares well for each lesson. My daughter enjoyed the lessons very much!"

— Anita

"Amazing Tutor! very thorough and explains everything so clearly. Really helped with A level English Lit exam preparation."

— Natalie

"Laura is an amazing tutor. I was preparing for my final English Lit A-Level exam 2 days before I had to sit it, I felt like I had good ideas but I didn't know how to get them onto paper. Laura helped me build a tight structure with good essay practice, she helped me so much. Thanks Laura :)"

— Sarvjit

"Laura is wonderful Very easy going and patient and very caring and passionate"

— Sarah

"Excellent tutor"

— Merle

"Laura is a brilliant tutor. She is so kind and built a great rapport with our eight year old. His creative writing and English really came on with her help and he loved learning with her. She definitely contributed to him getting into his new school. I wish we could have carried on lessons but his commute makes it difficult."

— Alexandra

"We are truly grateful for the time, care, and thought Laura puts into each English Literature lesson. Her teaching strategies are well structured and carefully tailored to support young learners. Laura’s lessons are always well-planned and purposeful, with clear objectives and engaging activities that not only understand the text but also develop deeper thinking skills. She creates a warm and supportive learning environment where my daughter feels confident to ask questions, explore new ideas, and grow as a reader."

— Victoria

"My daughter has improved her scores considerably with Laura."

— Tracy

"Laura has been an outstanding English tutor for my daughter in the run up to her GCSEs, providing her with excellent skills and improving her confidence. She is a warm, polite and engaging tutor and I would highly recommend her."

— Charlotte

"Laura is a lovely and professional tutor and my girl Sherry learned a lot in English literature. I will definitely recommend Laura to other students. Thank you, Laura!"

— May

"Amazing tutor. Very clear in her explanations and after only 2 lessons my confidence in English has improved massively."

— Ruby

"Daughter says Laura is very kind, punctual and incredibly knowledgeable. From a parent's viewpoint, she engages really well, asks the students good questions and covers a lot of content. highly recommend!"

— Harriet

"Laura has been working with my daughter for 10 months now, supporting her in her GCSE year and providing one-to-one guidance with lessons and exam prep. The results have been astounding!"

— Jen

"A fantastic tutor, after only a few lessons, I have seen a huge improvement. My son will definitely continue the tutoring with Laura."

— Tracey

"My 17 year son is in his first year of a levels and has had two lessons so far studying English literature. He says she has really helped him with his essay technique and that the lessons have been really helpful."

— Dan

"Laura is a consistently helpful tutor. Attends to any questions you have and adapts the lessons around your specific needs. Would 100% recommend her!"

— Eshwar

"Had only three lessons till now. But I can see difference in my 7 year old, who is more confident now. The nature of my son is quite shy and English is not his first language."

— Roli

"Laura is a very responsible tutor who puts student's progress as priority. Besides the general program she cares about the areas that student needs more improvement then tailors the lesson accordingly. The tuition with Laura has always been great and efficient!"

— Jenny

"Amazing tutor, helped me to understand analyse texts as well as expand answers with depth."

— Kiran

"Laura has been fantastic for our son, who is just about to finish his English GCSE papers. He needed help with structuring his essays and understanding key texts in the months leading up to his exams. He was getting stuck, and worried, about how to approach questions and answer according to the exam board criteria. I don't know what we'd have done without Laura. As parents, Laura returned to us with regular feedback and provided links to further work and insights that would benefit our son. She helped build our son's ability and confidence, and he's been really positive about how he's performed in his English so far. Brilliant tutor and no hesitation recommending her."

— John

"Laura has been fantastic at helping my daughter with GCSE English preparation. She’s an excellent teacher with genuine care. Thank you Laura! We are very grateful for your help and expertise. 🙏"

— Jamie

"Laura has been an excellent tutor. Her lessons are structured and well planned. She tutored both my son and daughter. My son has recently attained outstanding result in his English Literature GCSE. My daughter is in Year 10, and she is progressing well. We are very grateful to Miss Laura."

— Wei

What Tutoring Looks Like
First
Lesson
The First Lesson

The first session starts with an informal chat about:

  • What you find tricky / areas you would like to work on
  • Mock results, predictions and teacher feedback
  • Key texts and any gaps in knowledge

Using this information, I create a tailored plan that targets the specific skills you need to develop.

Core
Concepts
Building Core Concepts

We work on developing a strong understanding of the following:

  • Literary techniques
  • Form and structure
  • Key themes and characterisation
  • Historical and social context
Essay
Structure
Precision Essay Structure

We work on exactly how to structure your responses, including:

  • How to structure a Literature essay
  • How to write a thesis statement
  • How to organise ideas and maintain a clear, consistent argument
  • How to embed quotations effectively
Analytical
Skills
Developing Analytical Skills

Spotting a technique is only the start — the marks come from your analysis, so we work on:

  • Breaking down words, phrases and techniques in depth
  • Moving from surface comments to conceptual analysis
  • Understanding the writer's intentions and their effect on readers
  • Writing critical, evaluative and alternative interpretations
Exam
Technique
Exam Technique

Many students don't fully understand what they need to do to actually get the marks. So we cover:

  • Which Assessment Objectives are tested in each question
  • The best structure to showcase the skills the examiner wants to see
  • Practice under timed conditions to build your confidence
  • Preparing you for unexpected questions and complex unseen extracts
  • Building a bank of sophisticated academic vocabulary that signals you as a higher-level student
Results Day
& Beyond
Results Day & Beyond

I'm here to help right up until you get your results. Whether things go to plan or not, I'm here to celebrate your successes — and if needed, I can help with:

  • Interpreting marks and understanding grade boundaries
  • Advice on whether to request a review of marking
  • Guidance on sixth form and college options

Outcomes

Case Studies

Student Snapshot

Student A — English Language Resit

This student came to me after sitting the exam in June and coming out with a 3. We worked through the AQA mark schemes together, identified exactly where marks were being dropped, and built lessons around fixing those specific problems rather than covering everything from scratch. Alongside the academic side, I helped the student secure the appropriate access arrangements, including increased extra time and typing access, and we worked to rebuild the student's confidence with writing in timed, exam conditions. The result was a jump from a 3 to a 6.

Booking

Book a Lesson

Book a one-off session for last-minute revision, intensive exam preparation, or a focused confidence boost before mocks.

One-off session

Book a 1-1 Online English Lesson

We can focus on the specific skills your child needs to improve — building a quote bank, learning how to embed quotations, understanding how to structure responses to each question, knowing where the marks actually are, developing in-depth analysis, and more.

On the booking form, add a short note (exam board + goals) so I can tailor the session to your specific goals.

Quick answers

How much are lessons?

One-off lessons are £55.

What’s the cancellation notice?

24 hours’ notice for cancellations or rescheduling.

Where do the lessons take place?

All lessons take place online via video call. You will receive a link to the online meeting after booking.

What if I want regular lessons?

Contact me with preferred days/times and I’ll confirm availability for regular weekly lessons.

Please note, I am often fully booked with a waiting list till the end of the summer exam period.