Jul 19

Summer: Blink and You'll Miss It

I have just picked up my son from his last day as a Year Seven student and, as ever at this time of year, I am hit by a mix of emotions:...

Feb 26

How to Have a Conversation

Why are we so keen to debate all the time? It’s an aggressive term really isn’t it? An act of drawing your line in the sand and...

Feb 14

Cultural Capital and Critical Thinking

There is a story doing the rounds at the moment about a young woman who is studying for 24 A Levels. There's lots of discussion around...

Mar 9, 2023

The Freeze... And how to move past it

As exams get closer, I'm spending less time talking about subject content and more time talking about exam technique. For GCSE students...

Feb 24, 2023

Stating the Bleeding Obvious

This post is probably the most ironic I have ever written. I haven't written a post for some months, partly because time has run away...

Sep 1, 2022

Poetic Form and How to Identify It

If you are studying poetry you will have come across discussion of rhyme and metre: perhaps you have carefully noted down a rhyme scheme...

May 4, 2022

How to Support Your Child with English Language GCSE

English Language GCSE is a test of your ability to communicate your ideas and your understanding of others when they communicate their...

Feb 23, 2022

Half-Term Reading: The British Empire

This half term I’m taking the opportunity to read as much as possible. When I’m working it can be a struggle to really get into a book...

Jan 11, 2022

Writing an Essay: Questioning the Question

When you receive an essay title it’s likely that it will include words and phrases such as: “to what extent”; “assess the validity of the...

Nov 7, 2021

Happy Bolshevik Revolution Day!

Today marks the 104th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. For those of you studying Russia at either GCSE or A Level you will be...

Aug 17, 2021

Are You Ready?

We're nearly at September which, for me, is more like the new year than January. It's the month where I embrace good intentions, plan...

Aug 8, 2021

Five Thoughts About Results Week

GCSE and A Level results are out this week and I know that there will be a lot of mixed feelings, worry and concern from students,...

Jul 13, 2021

Context in English Literature

When you’re reading a new book, poem or play it’s always worth having a think about context before you start. The amount of depth you go...

Jul 8, 2021

What We're Reading...

In 1948, The New Yorker magazine published a short story that would soon become a classic. The story was The Lottery: a atmospheric and...

Jul 3, 2021

Exam Anxiety

If you are doing some form of mock exam right now you're probably feeling a little bit stressed. A couple of things that might help a...

Jun 21, 2021

The Trouble With Social Media

The other day I did something I had promised myself I would stop doing: I got into a social media spat. The subject was not massively...

Jun 15, 2021

What We're Reading...

As my long-suffering students will tell you, one of the major themes of my tuition - whether it's English or History - is the importance...

Jun 13, 2021

That Awkward Subject...

I hate talking about money. I am horrendously British and get stammery and pink-faced whenever the subject comes up. But unfortunately...

Jun 5, 2021

Movin' On Up...

It's that time of year when, pandemic or not, teenagers finish one stage of their education, breathe a sigh of relief, then start...

May 22, 2021

Why it's time to forget about exams

It's a bittersweet time of year for us educationalists. On the one hand there's the faint tinge of sadness as we watch our young people...

Contact

I'm always happy to chat with parents or students about anything English or History related. Feel free to drop me an email, give me a call or fill in the form below. Or you can contact me on social media if you prefer.

nicola@englishandhistorytutor.com

07914554522