P.C.
You’re a superstar teacher! S got a Year 10 mock paper back today. He was really pleased. Just shy of a grade 7!
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Summer Sessions – Get to Grips with the Papers
This programme of 4 x 60 minute sessions is designed to give students a head start in the run-up to the new term. It serves as a taster of what is to come for Year 10 students and represents a valuable bit of revision for Year 11 and Years 12-13 resit students. This short programme always takes place Tuesday-Friday of the last week in August every year.
What's included?
- Format and structure of AQA Language Papers 1 & 2
- Exam hacks and timing strategies
- Annotated exemplar answers
- Live teaching on Zoom + full recordings that can be returned to
- PDF presentations and exemplars for independent revision
Cost:
- £80 all in, payable in advance.
Enquire to book your place...
Problem: Students often communicate to me that they don’t have a complete understanding of the Language papers: “There are so many questions and I don’t understand completely how to access the mark scheme or how to approach the individual question.” I also have students asking if I can “just focus on the exam papers and exactly what I need to do.”
Answer: Provide AQA GCSE English students with a clear route through each and every one of the exam questions for AQA English Language Papers 1 & 2 with no waffle and clear, easy-to-understand approaches that extend from Grade 4, all the way to top Grade 9.
Every day from 5-6pm Tuesday to Friday in the last week of August I hold a short-course summer school where I do a ‘deep dive’ lesson on the exam questions, with access to clear resources, explanations and exemplars. The lessons are recorded on Vimeo so that students can revisit the session as many times as they wish before mocks and big exams. I also email all the resources after each lesson. This means students can attend live or access via the Vimeo link later.
Each session is an hour long from 5-6pm and is delivered as a masterclass, so students’ cameras and mics are off. This approach suits many students and I have had superb feedback from all students attending my masterclass courses in the past.
The cost of the course is £80. That includes all the lessons, a recording of each masterclass and all the high quality resources used in the sessions. At £20 per hour, this represents excellent value for money.
DO NOT WORRY if your young person cannot make all 4 sessions, as all of the sessions are recorded and can be returned to as many times as your son/daughter needs in the approach to the exams. Remember, if they cannot make a particular session, they can watch it later at their own convenience.
This course is aimed at all AQA English GCSE students going into Years 10-11 and includes retake Post-16 students in Years 12 and 13.
What people say...
Parental Review – Sept 25 (LF)
Highly recommend Claire! She helped my son break down the AQA GCSE English Language into something logical that he could navigate. Claire has a calm and clear approach to her sessions, which helped George cut through all the noise and notes from school! He achieved a grade 8, which says it all!
J.W. Review of the AQA GCSE English Programme
I already knew of Claire professionally and was aware of her outstanding teaching and commitment to students. After a disastrous mock result and losing all confidence, we signed up our son to the programme on the understanding he would be committed, (I had no doubt the programme would be tailored and meet the needs of the GCSE.) It has been brilliant. He has been engaged of his own accord, the resources are downloadable for further revision and recap, and he has received beneficial feedback. I was a bit worried he would struggle with his sporting commitments, work and homework, but he has been able to attend sessions, work through the programme, and this has been vital to his GCSE preparations. Thoroughly recommend.
D.T. Review of the AQA GCSE English Programme
Claire has been absolutely wonderful tutoring our daughter and helping her understand what is required for her GCSE English exams. K always looked forward to her lessons with Claire as she was so approachable, and she was always on a high after her lesson as she just understood it so much better than in the classroom environment at school. K particularly liked her lessons at home and not having to leave the house to go for tutoring. Furthermore, Claire always marked her work and gave feedback straight away. She also kept in touch with us on our daughter’s progress and also let us know when she was getting a bit lazy!! We highly recommend Claire, and we are so grateful she was recommended to us. K went from disliking English to enjoying it, which is all down to Claire. Thank you Claire.
Parental Review August 2025 (RH)
My son really struggled with his English; 2 years ago it looked like he was not going to pass his GCSE at all and we were really worried. This is when Claire kindly agreed to support him. The one to one tutoring Claire gave him was online. I loved listening to her lessons. Claire is so enthusiastic, encouraging, kind and supportive. She also has a huge amount of knowledge and understanding around her subject. Over the next two years my son’s confidence grew. He started to enjoy English and believe in himself. I know this is because of how Claire made him feel; it was wonderful to watch. This summer our son passed his English GCSE. This was such an achievement and I believe it was only possible because of Claire’s patient and continued support. I cannot recommend her more highly. She has enabled our son to believe he can do it. He is now going to continue with his education and start his A-levels. I couldn’t ask for anymore.
BM – Year 11 student at a grammar school in the south-west who jumped four grades from his Christmas mock from a 4 to an 8.
‘I definitely feel much more confident about getting the grades I need after doing the ‘AQA GCSE Classmates Club’ with Claire.’
F.S.
I can’t praise our experience with The English Lab highly enough! My daughter struggled with English, and after she received a grade 4 in her mocks we decided to turn to Claire for help, with just months to go before the GCSE exams. Claire quickly identified my daughter’s strengths and areas for improvement, and tailored the tutoring sessions to her specific needs, focusing on strategies that would make the biggest impact on grades. Claire’s expertise, combined with her fun and informal teaching style kept my daughter motivated, improved her confidence, and made a world of difference in her GCSE results. Thanks to Claire’s guidance and encouragement, my daughter was able to achieve a grade 6 in her final exams – a significant improvement from her previous results. I wholeheartedly recommend The English Lab to any student seeking to improve or excel in English
Parental Review – L.L.
I would thoroughly recommend Claire as a tutor. Claire was a conscientious and thoughtful tutor who went the extra mile to make sure that my son was prepared for his English GCSE’s. He wouldn’t have achieved the grade he did without her support and knowledge.
J.S.
“Having had the honour of being taught by Claire and to have then later known her as a colleague I can absolutely vouch for her dedication to excellence and passion for the success of students in her care.”
J.J.
“Claire tutored both my children through Years 10 and 11, resulting in them achieving decent English GCSEs. As a parent I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Claire – not only as a tutor but as a person who actually takes an invested interest in her students. My children are adults now and still to this day are grateful and have fond memories of ‘Mrs Davidson’.”
T.W.
“I cannot recommend Claire (Mrs Davidson/Ms Smith) highly enough. I was fortunate enough to be taught by Claire for my GCSE English (years 10 & 11). I really struggled at school, English in particular (later diagnosed with Dyslexia) and struggled even more with authority. Far from the perfect student. Claire completely transformed my English learning experience. I enjoyed the books we read and even enjoyed writing about them afterwards. I was given an understanding of that which had previously alluded me. Claire’s passion, patience and strong personality make for an exceptional teacher. I am extremely grateful for her influence in my schooling as I was able to attain a Grade C in GCSE’s – which I appreciate isn’t the pinnacle of educational accolades, but for someone who was previously predicted E/F this was a great achievement and meant I was able to enter into my chosen career as an Aircraft Engineer in the RAF. Again, for this I am extremely grateful and would not hesitate to recommend her as a tutor”
H.W.
“Claire was my A Level English Teacher after I relocated to Plymouth from Liverpool with family. English and reading in general had always been a huge passion of mine, but the move and leaving best friends behind had been somewhat of a distraction and my heart was no longer in it. Claire not only reignited my passion for English which got me the A needed for Birmingham University, but also the highest exam mark that year in our local district. Her love for the subject is contagious. The way she presented each module was dynamic and thought provoking. Othello is still my favourite Shakesperean Play solely down to Claire’s presentation of it. In fact, it inspired me to write an essay on the play whilst at University for which I received a “First” class mark from a tutor notorious for never giving out “Firsts”. I couldn’t recommend Claire as a personal tutor more. My husband (who was also taught by Claire) and I still refer to her as “Superwoman” due to her outstanding level of talent, patience and professionalism. If you need assistance, inspiration or help getting back on track with English, Claire is 100% your lady!”