It took a bit of time trying to decide what to call this site!  I wanted it to capture, in some way, my approach to and philosopy of tutoring; hence the words, "for all" and "accessible".

I do believe, whenever and however possible, that the support tutoring provides should be widely available. Inevitably, cost is a key factor, but I would hope it is not necessarily the deciding factor. As such, I am more than happy to discuss how circumstance and opportunity can come together, and would like to think you would consider this before deciding that tutoring is not a viable, affordable option for your child.  Education is a right and not a privilege, and I would be more than happy to discuss ways forward with you.

This ''accessibility" also, critically, means finding the way of making English make sense to the individual young person. It's not just the academic knowledge of their work that is needed, but also the knowledge of exam technique: grasping what they are being tested on, what they need to be looking for, what they need to be doing and how they need to be doing it; deciphering questions and having to hand, simple essay structures; overcoming the fear factor; building (or re-building) self-belief. Noone is good at every subject. At school, I loathed Maths and the Sciences with a passion! And part of this 'getting a handle' on the subject is having fun with it. English is not rocket science, but there are large parts of it which demand a bit of flair, energy, empathy and imagination. Teenagers, particularly, need to be in the right place and with the right person to find and express these elements if they are not 'natural' English students. We are not necessarily asking them to be masters of the subject, or even impassioned about reading and writing, but I believe we have a responsibility to give them the best chance possible, in the conditions as conducive as possible to their individual learning and improvement. To this end, I would urge you to listen to Sir Ken Robinson's interview on Radio 4's 'The Educators':

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04d4nvv

It is not with rose-coloured glasses that I firmly believe that with the right environment and atmosphere, with the right approach and with the right person, anyone can improve, can learn, can grow in confidence. It comes from experience, results and educational research. We are natural learners, whatever our area of expertise, but when things get tough, when the stress of exams is building, when we are not comfortable in the subject area, it is more important than ever to have clear direction, unflinching support and strong, simple tools with which to get the job done.

I do hope you find this site of use. It can't answer all your questions, but aims to give you a flavour of my passion for English and for tutoring, and my commitment to supporting young people in realising their potential.

Please do contact me with any questions or queries you may have. If I can help, I should be delighted to do so.

Amanda