A Level English lesson cover

The Privilege of Teaching A Level

Teaching A Level English Literature and A Level English Language and Literature was always the highlight of my teaching timetable – I love the engagement and enthusiasm of an A level class, and I equally love the chance to teach the more challenging texts of the A Level curriculum. This is the part of the job that I was genuinely saddened to leave behind. Teaching A Level is a privilege, and my A Level classes were the best part of my teaching career.

Most teachers who teach A Level want to do so, and embrace the planning, marking and academic rigour it involves. This can mean that when staff are absent, particularly for a long period of time or leave midway through the year, it is difficult to fill that gap. Supply teachers are usually not equipped to take on A level classes which means the onus falls on the rest of the department, who have usually already got full timetables, or the senior leadership team who have other priorities.

No school wants to let down their students by not giving them the best staff to teach them, especially A Level students.

How can I help?

Living in the Chelmsford area where the schools are in close proximity, I am able to offer A Level cover for absent English teachers at short notice.

Having taught A Level for over 25 years, I am well-resourced and familiar with most texts on the A Level curriculums and can teach myself any that I have not taught quite quickly. Most recently, I have taught the Edexcel English Literature (9ETO) and the OCR English Language and Literature (H474) specifications.

Where supply teachers will expect work to be set for them to deliver and will walk away at the end of the lesson, I will thoroughly plan all lessons (in line with your department schemes of learning, if required), set and mark essays, write any reports or references needed, and even attend parents evening if you need me to.

My A Level Teaching

I have taught students of all abilities at A Level English Literature and A Level English Language and Literature and have a 100% pass rate. I like students to feel comfortable in their A Level English lessons and able to express their thoughts and opinions so that the atmosphere is lively and friendly but still focused. I have always told students that they cannot be wrong in what they say about a text as long as they can use evidence to justify their opinion, and I believe this has given my students the space to develop their own critical and evaluative voices.

It has always been my preference to read all texts with the class so that they understand the whole text and can ask questions at any stage – in an ideal world, all students could be relied upon to read set texts on their own but, in my experience, many will not and this means they will not have the detailed knowledge and understanding they need to achieve well. Gaps in knowledge can really reduce students’ chances of reaching their potential and I believe this method closes those gaps.

What my students say about me

“interactive and immersive lessons”

“everything is broken down into chunks that are easy to understand”

“kind and approachable”

“focuses on the points you particularly need help with”

“good analysis ideas”

“ I found her ambition to want to see me succeed helped encourage me to want to do well for myself”

“lessons are delivered in a way that are easy to understand, as well as challenging our ideas about the text”

“goes through the texts in a lot of detail”

“kind and always listens”

“very engaging and takes a care for each and every student, ensuring feedback is as detailed as possible"

“she explains things really well and takes time going through the course so that you really understand it”

“such a positive and friendly teacher with an incredible passions for her subject, which shines through her words and smile.”

Testimonials

What A Level Parents and Students Have to Say

"I thought Catherine was a great tutor, she was able to make studying English a lot easier and more enjoyable. She has a lovely space to study in and made me feel more confident about approaching my English literature exams. Catherine is a colleague of my mum which is how we were able to ask her for English tutoring.”

Lola, aged 18 A Level English Literature fortnightly for two terms during Year 13. D>C

"I had some tutoring with Catherine in Year 12 when I started doing A Level English Literature. Although I loved all the books we were doing in class, I wasn’t getting good grades in my essays. Catherine showed me how to structure and plan A Level essays and we did lots of practice ones to build up my confidence. My teacher said my work had really improved. I didn’t carry on with the tuition in Year 13 as I didn’t have time but my grades were better as I kept writing my essays the way Catherine showed me.”

Molly, aged 18 A Level English Literature

"Catherine is a good friend and colleague, so when my daughter needed some additional help for her English Literature A Level, Catherine was the obvious choice. My daughter enjoyed her sessions with Catherine and always came back with a new sense of confidence. Her essay writing skills developed, and she increased her grade in just a few sessions. I would highly recommend Catherine as a tutor for both GCSE and A Level. Having worked with Catherine for several years, I know that students find her approachable and friendly and have always enjoyed her lessons.”

Sally, parent of LolaA Level Tuition

"My daughter was doing really well in English Literature, but her marks were lower (a 6) in English Language. When Emma started having tuition in Year 11, Catherine quickly saw that it was her creative writing skills which were pulling down her marks in Language, so she worked with her on these. Emma’s writing became far more detailed and imaginative as Catherine gave her the confidence to be original and it paid off as Emma got an 8 in English.”

Sarah, parent of EmmaA Level Tuition