Case Study #1 - English Tuition in Farnham, Surrey

Farnham, Surrey

This year, I tutored a Year 11 student from Farnham who, in her own words, “just wasn’t an English person anymore.” She was bright, funny and full of ideas. She even used to write poetry in the past, something she wished she could but English lessons at school had become something she endured, not enjoyed. It was that classic case where the student was gifted at Maths and Science, but just couldn't get into the right thinking patterns for English. She felt like she couldn’t “get it right" which consequently meant the joy of reading had been replaced by the pressure of grades. Her parents wanted her to improve academically, but more than that, they wanted her confidence back.

• We played with creative writing prompts set in places she knew - the best place being her garden where we walked around, zoomed in for specific details, focused on the senses and understood that getting it right isn't the goal here. As she lived close to Farnham park, she started doing practice this on her own.

• We built her essay skills quietly in the background, using her own writing to learn about structure and analysis.

One week she brought me a poem she’d written, which had been her first in about 5 years. From that moment, the pressure lifted — she wasn’t “doing English,” she was using English.

By GCSE time in June, she was more confident. Something had clicked.

Sometimes, the real win isn’t just the grade — it’s seeing a student walk into a lesson with a smile, knowing they’ve found their voice.