English Tuition with Learn North West

For top grades in GCSE English, students must develop perceptive, well-structured ideas. The best way to build these skills is through discussion-based learning—listening, proposing ideas, debating, and reflecting—supported by expert guidance and feedback.

At Learn North West, our small group English tuition creates this environment. Students engage in high-level discussions, explore complex ideas, and strengthen their written responses with ongoing individual support.

Whilst 1:1 tuition is valuable for refining specific skills or supporting specific SEND needs, research shows that small group learning leads to greater progress in reading and English. In a group, students benefit from shared perspectives, lively debate, and frequent feedback from their teacher—all while receiving tailored 1:1 attention within each session.

"Thank you so much, I would never have got the Grade 9s without your help" GCSE Group Student

Our experienced English partners, Maria, Debbie and Emily, guide students from Year 7 through to GCSE, helping them develop confidence and the analytical depth required for Grade 8–9 responses as well as supporting students who are working towards securing Grade 4-5s. Lessons are adaptive—not fixed courses—so every session reflects the needs of the students.

Within each group, students:

• Work on key GCSE texts and exam skills for both English Language and Literature

• Practise analysis of unseen extracts and poetry

• Refine their writing through individual feedback and redrafting

• Strengthen exam technique and independent thinking

  
  

We don’t reteach the entire school course, this would not be possible in one hour a week; instead, we bridge the gap between classroom learning and exam success—building precision, insight and confidence. Students studying different literature texts can work together effectively, as exposure to a range of material strengthens analytical thinking and adaptability.

Our approach draws on flipped learning and revision-based reinforcement, helping students explore texts more deeply and retain key ideas. This balance of discussion, writing time, and targeted feedback ensures meaningful, sustained progress.

"English is a lot more fun in your group, thank you for all your help and being such a great teacher" GCSE Group Student

For over eight years, this model has consistently produced strong outcomes, high student retention, and outstanding feedback. Group learning at Learn North West delivers the challenge, collaboration, and individual support students need to excel in English.

Alongside weekly group lessons, we also offer and please look out for these should they be of interest to you:

• 1:1 ad hoc support where needed

• Masterclasses on set texts

• Targeted revision sessions

Our Class Times:

From September 2025 the majority of our English Provision will take place on Mondays and Wednesdays at our Learn North West Altrincham classroom with Maria, Debbie and Emily.

About Maria:

Wednesday classes are led by Maria Moyles, the Managing Partner and founder of Learn North West. Maria has been a qualified English teacher since 2006, teaching English up to A' Level in various schools across Greater Manchester and Cheshire, including high achieving 11-18 schools and Grammar Schools. Throughout her career, she has held subject leadership roles, examined AQA GCSE exams, and advanced to senior leadership as an Advanced Skills Teacher, focusing on school improvement and professional development programmes across multiple schools.

About Debbie:

Debbie Holmes is a partner in Learn North West, specialising in Secondary English Language and Literature. With a career spanning 30 years,  Debbie is an extremely experienced and talented teacher who has held various Head of English and Communications posts and been an examiner of AQA "A" Level English Literature and Language.

Passionate about Literature, Debbie loves teaching poetry, prose and drama and brings her own enthusiasm to all the lessons she teaches. She is also fascinated by linguistics and completed a Masters in Applied Linguistics in 2010.

Debbie and Maria are joined also by Emily, one of our newest partners. An avid reader and lover of all things Language, Emily read English Language and Linguistics at Edinburgh University qualifying with an MA (Hons) in English Language and Linguistics. Emily gained her PGCE at Newcastle University before beginning her career as a teacher in 2020.

Resources and Further Help

Supporting students at home with their independent revision is a must for GCSE success, we have prepared a series of at home materials to aid revision as well as our published revision guide. To learn more, please use the following links:

GCSE English Literature FREE Resources: Link.

Jekyll and Hyde Revision Guide: Link.

English Language Paper 2 Guide: Link.