English tuition · KS1 to A-level · Reading
English tuition in Reading, taught by an AQA Examiner
Learn to Excel teaches English in Reading from KS1 through to A-level. Our English lead, Mrs Anindita Chatterjee, is a current AQA Examiner for English. She marks the papers other students sit, so she knows exactly what an examiner is looking for when she teaches your child. We cover the AQA, OCR, Edexcel, WJEC Eduqas, IGCSE and IB exam boards, in small groups and one-to-one, in person at our Reading centre and online.
Taught by someone who marks the papers
Mrs Chatterjee has ten years' experience teaching English and is a current AQA Examiner for English. She is also a tutor with Hampshire County Council. An examiner sees hundreds of real scripts each series and knows precisely where marks are won and lost. That is a different kind of knowledge to reading a mark scheme secondhand, and it shapes how she prepares every student.
Support for children who learn differently
Mrs Chatterjee specialises in autism awareness and in supporting children with additional needs, including ADHD and dyslexia. She is also a paediatric first-aider. Families with a child who needs English taught in a way that suits how they process language get a tutor who already works this way, not a general tutor adapting on the fly.
Concept-first teaching, not drill-and-repeat
Our approach builds understanding of a text or a technique before repetition of it. A student who only drills past questions can answer a familiar prompt but freezes on an unfamiliar one. Concept-first teaching aims to build a reader and writer who can respond to a new text with confidence, rather than pattern-match to a memorised structure. This runs through every stage, from KS1 comprehension to A-level literature and language.
Every exam board, KS1 to A-level
GCSE English students in Reading sit AQA, OCR, Edexcel or WJEC Eduqas, depending on their school. We prepare students for all four boards. We also teach the IGCSE and IB syllabuses used by some local schools. A-level students continue on the same board-specific footing through to their final exams.
Read more on our GCSE tuition page.
English for the 11-plus
English forms part of the 11-plus at both Kendrick School and Reading School. Kendrick's test has no creative writing component, so we put that preparation time into comprehension and the reasoning papers instead.
Read more on our 11-plus tuition page.
Small groups and one-to-one, in person and online
Small group sessions suit a student who benefits from working alongside peers at a similar level. One-to-one sessions suit a student who needs the pace or focus adjusted specifically to them. Both formats run in person at our Reading centre and online for families who prefer to join remotely. Parents choose the format that fits their child and their week.
Meet the rest of the team on our tutors page.