If you're wondering how to encourage your teenager to read this summer, read on. Many parents worry that once school finishes, reading disappears too. The good news is that building a reading habit is often less about pressure and more about creating the right environment. A great book can be the start of a lifelong reading habit. Having a child who reads is a bit like having a dog that sits quietly beside your chair in a café while you munch on a croissant. It gives parents

Wondering what to do after GCSE mock results? Mock grades can bring relief, disappointment or uncertainty, but they don't determine your child's final GCSE outcome. In this guide, Senior GCSE English Examiner Suzy Mersereau explains what mock results really mean, how to interpret teacher feedback and the practical steps parents can take to help their child make meaningful progress before the final exams.

Here's a common parental frustration: "My child works hard. They revise their quotes. They understand the book when we talk about it at home. So why aren't the grades moving?" Does this sound familiar? I get your frustration because from the outside, it looks like everything is in place. But here's the thing: GCSE English doesn't just reward effort or understanding. It rewards something far more specific: the ability to develop ideas clearly and precisely in writing, un

For over 20 years, I taught in traditional classrooms, so when I began offering small-group tuition, I honestly did not expect any surprises. After all, I knew groups. I had spent my career managing them, teaching them, and guiding them. But teaching small groups online through the Academy this term has surprised me in ways I did not expect, and in the best possible way. Before September, I had always described the main benefit of group tuition as cost. Parents split the tuto

Supporting a teenager through their GCSE English exams can feel daunting, especially if you’re not sure where to begin. The good news is...

GCSE English can feel overwhelming for many students — there’s Shakespeare, unseen poetry, essay writing, and those exam timings to...

Supporting your child through English revision can feel daunting—especially if you're unsure where to start. Whether they’re preparing...

The Power of Words: How Vocabulary Boosts Learning Ever noticed how some kids can explain their thoughts clearly while others struggle to...

Is your child doing fine in English… but something just doesn’t feel right? Maybe the grades are OK, the homework gets done – but you’re...

This morning, I sat GCSE English Language Paper 2. For those of you with children who’ve been through GCSE, this is the monster in the closet, the roller-coaster that goes upside down and inside out, the mountain with an endless glacier to cross. In English terms, this is Everest. But why? What makes this paper so dreaded and so… feared? I wanted to find out — and the best way to do this was to put myself through their experience.