GCSE English

Two GCSEs, one weekly lesson, and a plan built around the papers your child will actually sit

GCSE English is usually two qualifications, not one. English Language tests unseen reading and the writing tasks that carry half the marks. English Literature tests set texts: a Shakespeare play, a 19th-century novel, a modern text and a poetry anthology, plus unseen poetry. Schools often enter pupils for both, sometimes with different exam boards, and the skills do not transfer automatically from one to the other. A pupil who can quote Macbeth under pressure may still lose marks on a Paper 2 viewpoint question because the response has no clear line of argument.

Sound Footing Tuition teaches pupils from 7 to 18, and this page covers the GCSE years specifically. Lessons are one-to-one, either online or at home, with DBS-checked qualified tutors. That means the hour is spent on your child's paper, your child's set texts and the exact wording of the mark scheme their board uses, whether that is AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Eduqas or WJEC. Nothing is taught in a class of twenty and hoped for later.

Parents get a written progress report, so you are not relying on a teenager's account of how it went. The aim is straightforward: fewer surprises in May, and a pupil who knows what each question is asking before they start writing.

Who this suits, and who it does not

Most families come to us in Year 10 or the autumn of Year 11. Some come earlier, in Year 9, when there is room to fix handwriting speed, paragraph structure and reading habits before the pressure arrives. Both are sensible.

It tends to suit pupils who are stuck at a grade 4 or 5 and need to cross into 6 and 7, and pupils already at 7 who want 8 or 9 on the writing sections. It suits the child who understands the text in class discussion but freezes on a timed essay. It also suits pupils whose accuracy drags the rest down: spelling, punctuation and grammar marks are easy to give away and slow to win back without direct teaching.

It is less suitable if you are looking for a group revision session, a holiday crammer or someone to produce essays that your child then submits as their own. We do not write coursework or controlled assessment. We also do not teach undergraduates, and we do not replace school attendance; the lesson works best when school and tutor are pulling in the same direction.

How a GCSE English course runs, step by step

1. A first conversation about the exam, not the sales pitch

Tell us the exam board, the set texts, the tier if there is one, and the last set of mock grades. Bring the teacher's written feedback if you have it, because it often names the exact weakness more precisely than a grade does. Fees are on request, and asking does not commit you to anything.

2. A baseline piece of work

Before teaching begins, the tutor reads a real piece of your child's writing: a past paper question done under timed conditions, or a shorter task if a full paper feels heavy. One 40-mark answer tells an experienced tutor a great deal about structure, quotation use, analysis depth and technical accuracy. We mark it against the board's criteria, not against general impressions.

3. A written plan you can see

The plan lists which papers and texts come first, which question types get the most time and roughly how many sessions each block needs. If the Literature poetry anthology clashes with the mock timetable, we shuffle the order. Plans change, and we would rather change one in November than pretend it was right.

4. Weekly one-to-one lessons

A typical hour mixes three things: reading a short extract together and pulling it apart aloud, writing a timed paragraph or two, then marking that writing in the room while it is still fresh. Online lessons use a shared document so your child can see corrections as they happen. Home lessons work the same way at the kitchen table, and the tutor brings everything needed.

5. Work between lessons, kept realistic

Expect 20 to 30 minutes of homework, not two hours. Reading a scene, planning an answer, learning six quotations, rewriting one paragraph properly. Small tasks that get done beat big tasks that get ignored, and the tutor will adjust if the school week is already full.

6. Progress reports and the run-up to exams

Parents receive a written progress report at agreed points in the course, setting out what has improved and what still needs work. From February or March of Year 11, lessons usually shift towards full timed papers and question-by-question timing, because pacing is where many pupils lose more marks than they do on knowledge.

What your child needs to bring

• The set texts their school is teaching, in the edition the school uses, so page references match.
• Anything the school has issued: knowledge organisers, quotation sheets, mark schemes, mock papers with teacher comments.
• A notebook kept only for English, plus past papers if the school supplies them. We can point you to the board's published papers if not.
• For home lessons, a table and reasonable light. For online lessons, a laptop and a connection steady enough for video.
• Their mock timetable, so we can plan around it rather than into it.

What shapes the timing and the cost

Four things move a quote more than anything else. The first is when you start: a course that begins in Year 9 spreads the same work over far more weeks than one that begins in the January of Year 11. The second is frequency. Weekly lessons are standard; some families add a second session in the final term, others pause in the school holidays and resume in September.

The third is Literature. A pupil sitting both Language and Literature with four set texts needs more teaching time than one sitting Language alone, and the number of texts is worth mentioning on the first call. The fourth is delivery. Online lessons carry no travel, which is part of why they usually work out cheaper across a full course than home visits, and they are also easier to fit around a Tuesday orchestra rehearsal or a Saturday match. Home lessons are available when a pupil concentrates better in their own space.

Marking between lessons, the written progress report and the tutor's lesson notes come as part of the tuition rather than as separate extras. You are paying for taught time and for feedback on your child's writing; that feedback is the part that moves grades. Where a bundle makes sense, for example English with GCSE Maths or GCSE Science in the same week, ask about it when you book and we will tell you honestly whether it is worth it.

Questions parents ask

Can one tutor cover both Language and Literature?

Yes, and it is usually better that way. The reading analysis skills overlap, and one tutor sees the whole picture rather than half of it.

My child's school uses Eduqas. Does that matter?

No. We teach to the board the pupil is entered for, including the differences in question wording and paper structure between boards.

How much writing will actually be marked?

Every lesson produces something marked. Over a term that adds up to a large pile of paragraphs, plans and timed answers, each one commented on against the criteria the examiner will use.

Is online as good as face to face for English?

For reading and writing work, it holds up well. Two reasons: the shared document shows changes line by line, and the tutor's notes stay with you afterwards rather than disappearing at the end of the hour.

When should we start?

Early enough that the last month before exams is spent on practice rather than on first explanations. Call +44 161 6306222 or email [email protected] and we will tell you what a realistic plan looks like from where your child is now.