Mr East English Tuition

When I'm not tutoring, I love spending time pottering in my small but lovely garden.

This year has been a first for me as I've tried growing teasels. I'm rather proud of them. They've grown into these monstrous, prehistoric beasts that wouldn't look out of place in Jurassic Park. I've grown four of them. They're taking over the garden but I love them.

As you may know, I'm also a keen birdwatcher. One of the reasons I wanted to grow teasels is that goldfinches apparently love the seeds. They are such beautiful birds and their collective noun is 'a charm' which I also love.

Here's hoping a charm of goldfinches visit soon 🤞

Thanks for reading.

Phil 👍 📚

Each week, students in my small GCSE English Language groups bring along a word they think could be useful in either creative or non-fiction writing. We discuss the definitions and then, for homework, students have to use each other's words in sentences of their own.

Alongside regular reading, retrieval practice and plenty of writing, it's one of the ways I encourage students to develop a wider vocabulary.

The more words students know and understand, the more confident they become as readers and writers. It also reduces the chances of coming across unfamiliar vocabulary in their GCSE English Language exams.

This week's winning word from my Tuesday 4pm group was 'pensive'.

A simple activity but one that builds vocabulary week by week over the course of the year.

Thanks for reading.

Phil 👍 📚

I'm so grateful to the families who have left reviews for me. You can read them in full on my page.

Thanks for reading.
Phil 👍📚

I'm sure many students will be breathing a huge sigh of relief now that the GCSE exam season for summer 2026 is finally over.

I'd like to say thank you once again to all the families who have trusted me with tutoring their daughters and sons this year. It has been a pleasure to support them and see them grow in confidence over the course of the academic year.

Now it's time to recharge and enjoy the longest summer holiday of their lives.

I've been so impressed by the work ethic, resilience and attitude of the young people I work with. They have faced a long examination period and shown real determination throughout. They deserve a break and so do their families!

Here's to a summer of relaxation, new experiences and looking forward to the next challenge ahead.

Thanks for reading.
Phil 👍 📚

It's been quite the theatrical London weekend.

Two shows yesterday and another matinee today.

What have I seen? 🤔🎭

The long GCSE exam journey is almost over for year 11.

If I’m not mistaken, Monday morning’s physics paper marks the final exam for many students. It has been a very long period of examinations, as I’m sure many families will agree. Many of the students I’ve tutored have sat over 20 exams in total, with one student sitting as many as 23.

I hope the final weekend of revision goes well and that, after Monday’s exam, year 11 students can take a well-deserved break and enjoy the long summer ahead.

I know it will be a relief for families as well as students.

You’re very nearly there, year 11. Just one final push.

Thanks for reading.
Phil 👍 📚

Happy Friday!

It's been a pleasure meeting new students for trial sessions this week and seeing current students continue to grow in confidence.

Here's to a weekend with less rain and more reading🤞

Phil 👍📚

I'm looking forward to meeting five new students this afternoon for trial sessions in my GCSE English Language groups.

The students who attended my Monday trial session have now joined the group which means I can get to know them before the summer holidays and we can hit the ground running when the new academic year starts in September. I'm hoping the students attending this afternoon will find the session just as engaging and useful.

As with Monday's session, I'll be focusing on helping students understand the format and focus of the two AQA GCSE English Language papers. One of the challenges of teaching English is striking the balance between rigorous exam preparation and maintaining students' interest and enjoyment of the subject.

We'll be working with a non-fiction article about space travel this afternoon, written by Tim Peake after his time aboard the International Space Station. Language analysis will be an important part of the session but I'll also be encouraging students to think about their own views. Would they want to spend time on the International Space Station if they had the opportunity? I'm not sure I would. Even in my younger years, I don't know if I would have had the courage. The photographs of our beautiful planet from space, however, are incredible.

I now have a limited number of spaces remaining for the 2026–27 academic year.

GCSE English Language:
• Wednesday 5.30pm – 1 space remaining
• All other GCSE English Language groups are now fully booked, although a waiting list is open.

GCSE English Literature (Thursday groups):
• 4.00pm – 1 space remaining
• 5.30pm – 3 spaces remaining.

These groups are suitable for students studying AQA GCSE English Language and AQA GCSE English Literature (Macbeth, A Christmas Carol, An Inspector Calls and the Power and Conflict poetry cluster).

For students starting year 9 in September, there are also two spaces remaining in my 'Preparing for GCSE English' group on Tuesdays at 5.30pm.

If you're local to Sutton Coldfield and would like to find out more, you can request my Q&A document here: https://forms.gle/mD5K3qdx5YKzbQd8A

Thanks for reading.

Phil 👍 📚

This afternoon's 4pm session went really well.

We focused on semantic fields, building on learning from last week's first session of the half-term.

I'm encouraging students to look for patterns in writing rather than simply spotting individual methods. A semantic field is a group of words linked by a shared meaning or idea. Writers often use semantic fields to help create atmosphere, reinforce key ideas and shape the reader's response.

This afternoon we worked together to build a semantic field of damage and decay. I was really impressed with some of the students' vocabulary suggestions: crumbling, peeling, rotten, cracked, stained, fractured and corroded.

As with all my sessions, we finished with some timed writing and a homework task designed to build on the skills we've been developing.

This group of students are putting themselves in a really strong position ahead of year 11 after the summer.

Thanks for reading.

Phil 👍📚