Information About Tom - Tom -
(7 reviews)

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This is how 2 referees rated Tom:

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Subjects Taught

English	Price Guide
Secondary	$150.00
NCEA Level 1	$150.00
NCEA Levels 2-3	$150.00

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Personal Description:

I am an experienced teacher and specialist tutor living in London with a PhD in English Literature and Continental philosophy from the University of Glasgow. Informed by over a decade's experience in the secondary and undergraduate classroom, my tutoring practice stimulates student independence and confidence when encountering challenging texts. I work with students studying KS3 Literacy, GCSE English Language and Literature, A Level Literature, and undergraduate English, Literary Theory and Philosophy. I also work with students confronting the challenges of 11+ and 13+ examinations and GCSE and ALevel students engaged in homeschooling.

Tutoring Experience:

I have tutored online and in person since 2012 in 11+ examinations, KS3 literacy, and GCSE/A Level examinations in English Language and English Literature across the full range of exam boards. From September 2017 to June 2024 I worked in London as a secondary teacher of English Literature and Language, RSE and Citizenship from KS3 to GCSE, with an 100% pass-rate at 7 (or A) and above.

Between 2011 and 2016 I worked as a teacher of undergraduate English Literature and Literary Theory at the University of Glasgow (2012-2016), teaching over 300 students overall across a wide range of undergraduate modules. This work included course design and delivery, marking, feedback and administration, and the development of bespoke lectures and workshops in poetry. More recently, I worked as an associate lecturer in Creative Writing and Literary Theory at the University of Essex (2017-18). In 2015 I was nominated for a University of Glasgow Student Representative Council Student Teaching Award in the category 'Best Postgraduate who Tutors'.

I'm also a specialist in editing, proof-reading and academic writing more broadly. I was a regional editor of The International Journal of Badiou Studies for a number of years and I recently co-edited a special issue of the Journal of British and Irish Innovative Poetry. My book of philosophy, 'Badiou, Poem and Subject', is published by Bloomsbury (January, 2020). I continue to review prospective philosophy manuscripts for Bloomsbury. I am also a published poet with five published collections and numerous publications across a range of independent journals and magazines including Granta.

Tutoring Approach:

My tutoring practise is about building relationships: it's hugely important to me that I offer a non-institutional, supportive and lively space in which I can respond not only to a student's individual challenges and ambitions but also to what they find most stimulating and pleasurable in their work. I deliver bespoke tutorials designed to foster enthusiasm, confidence and pleasure-seeking in reading and writing; but I also prepare those of my students sitting exams to be canny, to 'play the game' with expertise. In person, I work with a wide range of resources tailored to the needs of individual students, whether they're preparing for their GCSE or A Level English exams, struggling to read poetry for the first time or experiencing problems in their undergraduate coursework. But I'm also a strong advocate for online learning: my online tutorials are lively and collaborative, using Google docs to create vibrant shared documents full of live feedback.

I have a huge amount of experience in exam preparation across the full range of exam boards. I also offer structured tutorial series to help students become acquainted with the nuances of 11+ and 13+ examinations, including elite comprehension and creative writing coaching.

KS3, GCSE and A-level students will benefit from encountering in my classes approaches and methodologies used in the study of philosophy, literature and creative writing at undergraduate level.

Tutor Resources: (free to download)

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Native Language: English
Availability: Weekends / Weekdays (all times)
References Available: Yes (✔ On File)

Qualifications:

WPF (2019) - Foundation Certificate in Counselling Skills (Professional) (✘ Not On File)
University of Glasgow (2016) - Doctorate in Continental Philosophy and Poetics (Doctorate) (✘ Not On File)
University of Glasgow (2010) - MLitt Modernities: Literature, Theory and Culture (Masters) (✘ Not On File)
University of Glasgow (2009) - MA (Hons) Philosophy (Masters) (✘ Not On File)

Tom's Feedback

Total Amount Of Feedback:	7
Total Positive Feedback:	7 Av. 5.00/5.00

From Matt (5/5): Tom has done a wonderful job, quickly working out what our son needed to work on and how to engage him with it. He has genuinely enjoyed his sessions with Tom and it’s really boosted his confidence, amazing progress in just a few weeks! Tom has also been very communicative and flexible. Cannot recommend him highly enough.

From Katrina (5/5): Hi Tom! Thank you so much for your patience and time over these past few months! Tom has been an excellent tutor who has been patient, knowledgeable, and incredibly kind and helpful in helping me prepare for my A-level Literature exams. He has been very accommodating and flexible on the odd occasion that a day/time change was needed, and has gone above and beyond with providing feedback and insight on essays. I am most grateful and could not recommend highly enough.

From Manya (5/5): Tom has been a great tutor for my 9 year old son getting ready for 11+ and entry exams.
My son has been thoroughly enjoying the lessons and has shown positive progress as a result.

From Ofelia (5/5): I enlisted Tom’s help for my son’s 13+ exam preparation a few months ago.

I cannot recommend Tom highly enough as an English tutor. His dedication, patience, and exceptional teaching skills have had a great impact on my son’s academic journey so far. Thanks to Tom’s guidance, my son successfully passed the rigorous entrance exams for a prestigious senior school (Whitgift School), which tested both poetry analysis and English comprehension and I hope we will see more positive outcomes soon. My son said that without Tom’s help he wouldn’t have been able to tackle the exam English paper with such ease and we received excellent feedback on his English test during the academic interview.

Tom’s teaching approach stood out from the start. He tailored his lessons to suit my son’s learning style, ensuring that each session was both engaging and effective. He carefully selected materials that challenged my son while building his confidence, and he was great at teaching English techniques in a way that resonated with him.

What I appreciated most was Tom’s style and patience. He took the time to understand areas where my son needed help most with and provided targeted support to improve them. Whether it was dissecting tricky poems or navigating intricate comprehension passages, Tom’s encouragement and clear explanations were pivotal in helping my son grasp the skills needed to excel.

Tom is also extremely organized and professional. He always came prepared with a clear lesson plan, used a variety of teaching tools, and adapted his methods as needed to keep lessons dynamic and interesting.
Beyond academics, he fostered a genuine love for English in my son, which is something I am truly grateful for. I found my son carrying on writing after lessons with a smile on his face and really enjoying himself. Needless to say he has always been very accommodating when we had to cancel lessons and flexible when we needed to extra lessons.

In short, Tom’s expertise and commitment to his students’ success are unparalleled. He played a crucial role in my son’s achievements, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him to anyone seeking an outstanding English tutor.

From Tatiana (5/5): Tom is a highly qualified and experienced teacher, amazing tutor, who has a great manner with his students and very easy to communicate with. He is very knowledgable and helpful, always on time and his lessons are well structured and individually prepared. He knows what examination boards require for the pupil to achieve high grades. I would highly recommend. Thank you, Tom!

From Clare (5/5): It has been a revelation for my 12 year old to be tutored by Tom in English Literature. He is an exceptionally gifted teacher. He is qualified to teach at a much higher level than key stage 3 and the depth of his own relationship with the subject matter really shows. It is matched by his talent for allowing the student the time and space to arrive at their own understanding of the texts he teaches. His patience and understanding have been a tremendous benefit to my child and it has been wonderful for me to watch her confidence and her sense of herself grow as Tom has listened to her. I should mention that Tom knows his way around the exam system very well, and can teach tools for exam performance. However my opinion is that his true value is in his willingness also to set those types of goal aside, and model a true love of literature to his pupil.

From Tanya (5/5): Hi Tom, just wanted to thank you again for your help. Estelle felt her final exam on poetry and Never Let Me Go went well. She certainly approached each English exam with much more confidence than her mocks, which I am sure was down to having one to one help with you. We'll let you know the outcome in August. Have a great summer.

Tags: Northland Secondary English tutor, Northland NCEA Level 1 English tutor, Northland NCEA Levels 2-3 English tutor