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Nicola Burkinshaw
Sep 25, 2024
Excelling at English: Just Write More!
I quite often encounter students who are achieving low or simply average grades and have no idea how they should change their writing to...
Nicola Burkinshaw
Sep 13, 2024
Excelling in English: Read the Book!
I have a lot of English Literature A Level students this year which is always an absolute joy. It is an excuse to return to old...
Nicola Burkinshaw
Jul 19, 2024
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:...
Nicola Burkinshaw
Feb 26, 2024
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...
Nicola Burkinshaw
Feb 14, 2024
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...
Nicola Burkinshaw
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...
Nicola Burkinshaw
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...
Nicola Burkinshaw
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...
Nicola Burkinshaw
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...
Nicola Burkinshaw
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...
Nicola Burkinshaw
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...
Nicola Burkinshaw
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...
Nicola Burkinshaw
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...
Nicola Burkinshaw
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,...
Nicola Burkinshaw
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...
Nicola Burkinshaw
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...
Nicola Burkinshaw
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...
Nicola Burkinshaw
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...
Nicola Burkinshaw
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...
Nicola Burkinshaw
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...
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.
07914554522
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