Charles

Graduating from Exeter University with a degree in English, I attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, before sustaining a back injury. After a brief period in the City, I then studied for a PGCE in English at the University of Oxford; I have since worked with academics from the department on a number of papers.

Training in a school serving one of the most deprived areas in the region, I went on to teach in some of the most highly regarded schools in the country, rapidly progressing to become Head of English at the RGS Guildford, whilst also studying for an MA in Education at UCL’s Institute of Education, which has for more than a decade been ranked as the top Education faculty in the world.

Then, as Head of English at Godolphin and Latymer, one of the most academically successful schools in both the country and world, I led my department to its best ever academic performance. I am now a full-time tutor, having tutored with consistent success for over 6 years.

My teaching process always begins with a diagnostic period, which is also the basis for establishing a safe and trusting lesson environment, through which a student can begin to be okay with the idea that tentatively failing is part of the journey - that I need to see them try and fail before we can begin to fix the foundations together. Excelling in the study of literature requires the systematic mastery of a whole range of interlinked skills - taken together, a solid grounding builds confidence, and progressively equips a student to thrive. 

That being said, I also firmly believe that progress in English is achieved by the student - it's not something I can just give them. Unlike many other subjects, which really just require the acquisition of increasingly complicated knowledge, English also requires students to master the arts of both critical reading and capable writing. Progress in English is therefore gradual, and requires persistent application over time to achieve. It's more similar to learning to paint than it is to memorising the features of an oxbow lake. 

As a teacher, I always avoid unhelpful teacher jargon and abstractions: for a student who doesn't know how to 'analyse an extract', telling them that they need to work on their analysis is no help at all. Instead, I systematically break down those abstractions into concrete steps, using processes and techniques that I have developed as part of my continuing practice.

I am a full-time professional tutor, and also a school governor. In my free time I enjoy writing and also long distance hiking and cycling - most recently the Camino de Santiago (Frances), hiking 800km across northern Spain in the summer of 2022.