Tutor Profile

Michelle

(59 reviews)

Michelle

PGCE qualified English language and literature teacher (QTS) with 9 years’ experience as an English language GCSE examiner. I am passionate about my subject and have become a specialist in this area of teaching (English KS3 and KS4). I am also a trained counsellor (Certificate in Counselling skills) with an awareness of the need for empathy when tutoring young people. As a tutor on First Tutors, I taught over 100 students and gained excellent feedback. I regularly receive recommendations through past tutees. My lessons last for 60 minutes and I set a weekly homework task so that students can practice their learning while fresh in the mind.

Teaching Experience

• PGCE qualified teacher with QTS (Secondary English language and literature)

• English language approved GCSE examiner with 9 years’ experience

• Over 15 years’ experience teaching English language and literature within KS3 and KS4 school settings (grammar schools, independent schools and maintained schools)

• Experienced private tutor for English language and literature with online lessons via Zoom (60 minutes)

• Offering private tuition in the frequently taught GCSE literature texts including: Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Of Mice and Men, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Blood Brothers, An Inspector Calls, A Christmas Carol, Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm, the Poetry anthologies and many more

• 10 years on 'First Tutors' with 5* feedback and proven results for students

• Able to provide references from existing and past tutees

• Tutoring a wide range of abilities including students with SEN (ASD/ADHD tutoring experience)

• Enhanced DBS registration

Tutoring Approach

As an experienced private tutor with over 15 years’ experience, I understand that students may often struggle in large school settings. I begin by assessing a new student’s current abilities and grades using my experience and knowledge of the English language and literature curriculum. Once areas of strength and weakness have been identified, I support students in developing their confidence through a range of reading and writing tasks.

I often work with students preparing for their GCSE exams, focusing on exam skills and working through exam-style questions. I have experience working with several exam boards, including AQA, Eduqas, Edexcel, and iGCSE. As an English language examiner, I understand the marking process and how students can answer questions as effectively as possible to maximise marks. Exam skills practice is highly valuable for students in Years 10 and 11. I also work with younger students in KS3 to build confidence, understanding, and enjoyment of the subject. Occasionally, I work with students preparing for entrance exams.

I find tutoring to be a highly interesting and rewarding profession; it is always a delight to help students develop their confidence and skills. My tutees not only pass their exams in English language and literature but also consistently improve by several grades.

Here is some of the feedback I have received from past students:

FROM TAMSIN: Michelle has been excellent in building my daughter’s confidence, skill and knowledge. She has quickly built rapport and is really helping her develop and get ready for the exams. We would definitely recommend.

FROM TARA: Michelle tutored both my children at GCSE level. The improvement was outstanding for both, jumping grades by at least two points. She definitely helped improve writing and analytical skills, while allowing them to develop their critical thinking about texts and context.

FROM OLENA: Michelle has been an absolutely wonderful tutor for my son. From the very first lesson, it was clear how dedicated, patient, and genuinely caring she is. She creates a supportive and encouraging environment that really helps build confidence. English is not my son’s first language, and we were quite anxious about his exam. In a short space of time, Michelle helped him improve his skills, believe in himself, and feel truly prepared. We received his exam results today, and he achieved the grade he had hoped for. We couldn’t be more grateful. I would highly recommend Michelle. She is an exceptional tutor, and I would wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone looking for professional support and genuine care when learning English.

FROM NEVE: Michelle has been a wonderful tutor for my son. She is always well organised and prepared, but what really stood out was her patience and understanding during difficult times. Her support made a real difference to his confidence and progress in English.

FROM VIOLET: Helped me greatly with improving my GCSE English skills overall especially my English language over the years. Thank you so much! Enya :)

Qualifications

Understanding Autism

Other · Open University · 2025

CELTA

Professional · Bath College · 2015

Child Protection Training

Other · Bath Spa University · 2010

QTS

QTS · Bath Spa University · Pass · 2010

PGCE English Secondary

PGCE · Bath Spa University · 2010

Certificate in Counselling skills

PGCert · Middlesex University · 2004

Reviews (59)

betty

Michelle has been supporting my daughter with English throughout her final GCSE year. She helped her develop her skills to structure and organise her writing, improve her exam technique, and build confidence in approaching exam questions. Michelle also reviewed her mock exam papers, providing constructive feedback and guidance on how to improve. She was always flexible and accommodating. I would highly recommend her as a tutor.

Tutor response

Thanks for your kind review Betty. I am looking forward to a positive result in August. Your daughter worked incredibly hard in all of our lessons and I wish her all the best in her future endeavours.

ShashaFirst Tutors

My son has been having weekly lessons with Michelle for a few weeks now. He really enjoys Michelle’s teaching, especially her engaging and stimulating approach. English has always been the subject he is least interested in, but with Michelle’s support he has found it far more accessible and has developed effective strategies for dealing with some of the more challenging aspects of his schoolwork. We will continue working with Michelle for the foreseeable future.

Tutor response

Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback Shasha. I am delighted that A is enjoying our lessons and finding them helpful. He is a pleasure to teach and is already making great progress.

TamsinFirst Tutors

Michelle has been excellent in building my daughter’s confidence, skill and knowledge. She has quickly built rapport and is really helping her develop and get ready for the exams. We would definitely recommend.

Tutor response

Thank you for the lovely feedback Tamsin. I am enjoying working with your daughter to prepare her for the English language exam in the summer. She is a pleasure to teach and is already showing significant improvement in her written responses.

TaraFirst Tutors

Michelle tutored both my children at GCSE level. The improvement was outstanding for both, jumping grades by at least two points. She definitely helped improve writing and analytical skills, while allowing them to develop their critical thinking about texts and context.

Tutor response

Thank you for your kind feedback Tara. I thoroughly enjoyed working with both of your children and would like to wish them all the very best for their futures and continued academic success.

OlenaFirst Tutors

Michelle has been an absolutely wonderful tutor for my son. From the very first lesson, it was clear how dedicated, patient, and genuinely caring she is. She creates a supportive and encouraging environment that really helps build confidence. English is not my son’s first language, and we were quite anxious about his exam. In a short space of time, Michelle helped him improve his skills, believe in himself, and feel truly prepared. We received his exam results today, and he achieved the grade he had hoped for. We couldn’t be more grateful. I would highly recommend Michelle. She is an exceptional tutor, and I would wholeheartedly recommend her to anyone looking for professional support and genuine care when learning English.

Tutor response

Thank you for your lovely feedback Olena, I very much appreciate it. Teaching your son was a pleasure. I am absolutely delighted that the determination and hard work he put into our lessons together has paid off and his grade has improved. I wish you all the very best for the future!

NeveFirst Tutors

Michelle has been a wonderful tutor for my son. She is always well organised and prepared, but what really stood out was her patience and understanding during difficult times. Her support made a real difference to his confidence and progress in English.

Tutor response

Thank you Neve, it’s always a pleasure working with respectful parents who support the tutoring process with good communication. Wishing you and your family all the best.

VioletFirst Tutors

Helped me greatly with improving my GCSE English skills overall especially my English language over the years. Thank you so much! Enya :)

Tutor response

Thank you Enya, it was a pleasure working with you. Wishing you all the very best for your future!

TomFirst Tutors

MichelIe supported my daugther whilst preparing for her GCSEs and we found her to be a very supportive and professional tutor, highly recommended.

Tutor response

Thank you Tom, it was a pleasure helping your girls with English language exam preparation. Wishing you and your family all the very best.

YenFirst Tutors

As of recently, my son has received his results from his GCSEs. Safe to say, we are both very satisfied with the English results with many thanks to Michelle. Her help and guidance for my son towards his English has been more than impeccable not only boosting his grade from a 4 to a 9 in language and 7 in literature, but also his confidence towards the subject. I would definitely recommend Michelle to all parents who feel their child’s English may need support. She has experience and knowledge to ensure the top 7-9 grades.

Tutor response

Thank you Yen. It was a pleasure to teach your son and work with your family. Wishing you all the best.

SrikarFirst Tutors

Very friendly and excellent way of teaching and really encouraging

Tutor response

Thanks Sri, it’s been great working with your son. His positive attitude towards learning is very encouraging.

FrancesFirst Tutors

Michelle is patient and experienced in teaching my son.

Tutor response

Thank you, I hope the few sessions we had over Easter were helpful for Ambrose. Best of luck with the summer exams.

AlisonFirst Tutors

My son had a fantastic tutoring experience with Michelle. Her teaching style is engaging and effective, making complex concepts easy to understand. She provided valuable feedback and personalised lessons for my son which helped him improve this English grade. I highly recommend Michelle for anyone looking for an English tutor.

Tutor response

Thank you so much Alison. I hope that I can continue to help improve your son's enjoyment of English.

HelenFirst Tutors

Michelle is an excellent tutor and she has guided my daughter with her patience and expertise on English. My daughter enjoyed the lessons with her, started to have a direction at the study and finally obtained 9 in both English Language and English Literature in GCSE. I would like to thank Michelle much, as she really knows the character of a student and helps improve step by step.

Tutor response

Thank you Helen. Your daughter worked really hard to achieve those outstanding grades. Well done to her!

ElizabethFirst Tutors

Michelle has been the perfect GCSE tutor for my daughter Anna … her grades were sitting at a 5 pre tutoring with Michelle and having just received her GCSE results on Thursday we are absolutely delighted that Anna has achieved an 8 In English language and a 7 in English Literature .Michelle is a kind reliable and organised tutor who highly motivated and encouraged Anna to achieve her full potential.Anna has been so inspired with Michelle’s tutoring that she has decided to study English literature at A level . Which is phenomenal. Thank you Michelle for all your dedication support and enthusiasm with Anna’s tutoring it is very much appreciated…L&R

Tutor response

Thank you Liz. Anna's results show that with determination a student's true potential can be achieved. Her bright, bubbly personality shone through in all our sessions making it a great pleasure to work with her. Delighted to hear that she is going on to study English literature at A level.

SarahFirst Tutors

Michelle provided excellent tuition for my daughter in preparation for her English GCSE exams. With a warm and friendly approach, Michelle offered valuable strategies for approaching exam questions which helped boost my daughter's confidence to help attain high grades.

Tutor response

Thank you Sarah. It was a great experience working with your daughter to boost her confidence; the development of creative writing skills was a highlight of our work together. Getting a grade 9 in both exams is an incredible achievement which she fully deserves.

VictoriaFirst Tutors

Michelle tutored our son for his English Literature and Language GCSEs. She was wonderful, friendly and boosted his confidence enormously. He enjoyed the sessions and we saw his grades and enjoyment of the subject hugely improve. I highly recommend Michelle and we are very grateful for all the help she gave our son.

Tutor response

Thank you Victoria, it was great working with your son. He is a young man with exceptional talent and potential. I have no doubt that he will excel in his future studies.

ShellyFirst Tutors

Great tutor, helped to change grades from a grade 3 to a grade 7. Would highly recommend and worth the cost.

Tutor response

Thank you Shelly. I am delighted that your son improved from a grade 3 to a grade 7. He worked incredibly hard and was a pleasure to tutor.

BarbaraFirst Tutors

Michelle is an excellent tutor who is very organized, and she prepares the lessons very well. She taught my daughter for more than half a year and my daughter has been motivated and worked hard to achieve grade 8 from grade 6/7 in her school exam of English and English Literature. Michelle is highly recommended!

Tutor response

Thank you so much Barbara. It was such a pleasure to teach your daughter - a very talented and conscientious student.

VeraFirst Tutors

Michelle is an amazing teacher, extremely professional and passionate. I'm so happy that I have found her. I really recommend. The lessons have been an absolute game-changer for my daughter's GCSE preparation. She was struggling with English and lacked confidence in her abilities. My daughter hated to write essays, now, because she feels confident, she likes it. Moreover, improving her writing skills is helping her in so many other subjects. Thank you Michelle!

Tutor response

Thank you so much for your kind review. It was a great pleasure to work with Iris and see her confidence grow. She is a very talented young lady.

RosalindFirst Tutors

Two months of weekly tutoring with Michele resulted in two grades improvement and GCSE English resit success!

Tutor response

Thank you Rosalind. I am so delighted that the hard work paid off and the English exam result in November was two grades higher.

JennyFirst Tutors

Michelle is an outstanding tutor for my son: She is always well organised, her lessons are well planned and always engaging. She is personable and wonderfully positive with my son. Her advice and feedback is always so clear and precise, allowing my son to know exactly how he can improve his learning. We can see the progress he is making and are immensely grateful to Michelle. We would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending her as a tutor.

Tutor response

Thank you Jenny. It was an absolute pleasure to tutor your son - a very polite, friendly and well-mannered student - I am sure he will do very well in his new school.

SimonFirst Tutors

Michelle was an excellent tutor. Here are my solid points why I highly recommended her: 1) She was the only tutor who could reply to my every e-mail request with prompt response 2) She was very systematic to present the terms & conditions to me before the first lesson. I could fully understand the deal before 3) According to my son's feedback, Michelle has improved his English a lot. 4) As my son changed to another school recently, the GCSE examination board has also been changed. Michelle has actively recommended my son to change to another tutor since she has not familiar on that examination board of the new school. I am much appreciated on her teaching attitude which would focus on the benefit of her student. If you want to find an English tutor, don't hesitate to send the request to her.

Tutor response

Thank you so much Simon. I hope that the new school is working out well and your son is enjoying his English lessons.

JennieFirst Tutors

Michelle is an excellent tutor. My daughter went from disliking English to it becoming one of her favourite subjects. She helped my daughter achieve her best and two 9’s in her GCSE

Tutor response

Thanks Jennie, it was such a pleasure to teach your daughter. She did incredibly well in her final exams and is a very talented student with a great attitude to learning.

EricaFirst Tutors

I highly recommend Michelle, who helped my son through his GCSEs in English Language and English Literature. Where other tutors had failed before, she managed to make English interesting for my son, and he actually started to enjoy English. Thanks to Michelle, my son got excellent grades in both GCSEs.

Tutor response

Thanks Erica, it was a pleasure to work with your son.

MarionFirst Tutors

Being a more mature learner I was somewhat anxious that I would not be of the same standard as other younger students, but Michelle put me at ease and was very supportive. I ended up passing with a very good grade, which I would attribute mainly to the help I received from Michelle. I would have no hesitation in recommending her as an English tutor.

Tutor response

Thank you Marion for your kind review - it was a pleasure working with you.

SubasiniFirst Tutors

Michelle had helped my son to achieve Grade 8 in English Language and Grade 9 in English Literature. We are extremely grateful for her help in achieving these very high grades.

Tutor response

Thank you for your kind feedback - I am delighted that the lessons proved helpful for your son.

FlorentinaFirst Tutors

Tutor response

Thanks Florentina - well done on achieving a good grade in your English language GCSE!

DequanFirst Tutors

Excellent English tutoring! Michelle has explained to my son how to do the question on Paper 1 and Paper 2 in great detail. She has also pointed out my son's mistakes and how to improve on them. Overall an excellent experience!

WillisFirst Tutors

So far so good. She very organize and knows how to lead her student.

RichardFirst Tutors

Michelle has been tutoring my daughter so that my daughter could resist her English exam . My daughter found the way Michelle taught English was easy to understand and very helpful

HarvinderFirst Tutors

Michelle has been really good with my daughter. English is a subject my daughter does not have much confidence in. Michelle has helped increase her confidence, and improve her ability to perform in this subject. I’m looking forward to seeing how much more she enjoys the subject through her new found confidence. Thank you Michelle

SamuelFirst Tutors

Michelle tutored my daughter for a few months preparing for her GCSE English exams. She helped my daughter to improve from a 6 in English Literature and 7 in English Language to both 9s in her final GCSE results. Michelle supported my daughter by guiding her to thoroughly analysing texts from poetry and language papers and writing essay plans for the literature texts which helped my daughter immensely and improved her confidence.

MRsFirst Tutors

Michelle has tutored my daughter for a few months and her English has already improved a lot. She now has a wide range of vocabulary and structure to use which will help her greatly in her gcse. Michelle is very concise and makes sure that she goes through everything in detail. My daughter really enjoys learning with her and is now more confident in English!

LouiseFirst Tutors

Dear Michelle, Ellie was thrilled beyond words to have been awarded a clean sweep of the highest possible grades across all her GCSEs - so 9s in all the English syllabuses and A*s in all the Welsh syllabuses. But as you can imagine she is most proud of her 9 in English Literature and her 9 in English Language. These grades were both hard won, & they would simply not have been possible without you. We would both like to sincerely thank you for your fabulous tutoring - at all times you were hugely organised, and explained things patiently and clearly. You demystified English for Ellie - in your sessions with her, the pace was reassuring, everything was always easy to understand, and in particular Ellie really appreciated the way you built on her ideas (rather than just providing the correct answers), and then focused her writing in a way that made it high-scoring. You gave her the formula for winning top grades, and so then her confidence grew - from thinking that English was just always going to be a blind spot for her, to instead realising that no, she could actually do well at this subject!! Thankyou so much for your intervention - it has been game changing.

TanaFirst Tutors

The tutor’s teaching style is not suitable for my kid.

AnnaFirst Tutors

Michelle is an excellent tutor. She explains clearly and helped my child to build confidence and they improved their grade from 5 to 7 in 3 months. I would recommend Michelle highly as an English tutor

MargaretFirst Tutors

Thank you, Michelle, for tutoring my daughter, Jade who is in Year 10. She has made great progress in both English Language and English Literature. Margaret

HelenFirst Tutors

Michelle has been a calm, supportive and knowledgeable tutor to my daughter. She has built my daughter’s confidence, supported with exam technique and has worked on the areas my daughter has needed additional guidance. Highly recommended.

NaureenFirst Tutors

My son had a couple of lessons with Michelle, he said she is a very good teacher, patient and professional. The lessons are well structured and interactive. He finds her lessons easy to understand. I am happy to have found her to tutor my son.

GitaFirst Tutors

Michelle was an excellent tutor, she gave my son confidence in his abilities and the skills to tackle his GCSE English paper. He enjoyed his lessons as Michelle has a positive and encouraging approach to her tuition. I recommend her highly.

DamonFirst Tutors

My son (Andy) is studying the last year of iGCSE. He is strong in Maths and Science but needs help in tackling the public exam on "First Language English". We therefore found Michelle in the summer last year. She has been helping Andy on the course work and various internal exams every week since then. This is what my son said: "Michelle is very hard-working and able to guide me on the right track. She is able to help me achieve a pleasing grade, but more importantly, she gives me confidence in my English studies." Thanks again, Michelle!

MiaFirst Tutors

My daughter enjoys her teaching.

PengFirst Tutors

Michelle is absolutely an experienced teacher. She knows what children's need and how to encourage them to reach their academic potential. She teaches my son KS3 English. She explains very clearly and she is a very kind person, my son said. My son expects her lesson every time. After a few time lessons from Michelle, my son can write WOW articles. She is my definition of a teacher. She shows so much passion for her teaching. Thankful Michelle, You do an amazing job. I strongly recommend Michelle’s tutoring!

AabirFirst Tutors

She works really well with our daughter

RichardFirst Tutors

Michelle has been a fantastic tutor with my 2 boys, both face to face and online since covid. Both boys are at different stages with different needs and both boys are now happier, have enjoyed improved grades and are much more confident.

LokeshFirst Tutors

I would highly recommend Michelle as i have noticed a huge improvement with my son,he is now much more confident and always look forward to having his lessons. Michelle is very patient and has a true art for teaching . We are very happy with Michelle and would definitely recommend her.

MaureenFirst Tutors

An excellent tutor… Chloe actually looks forward to her lesson

PranoyFirst Tutors

Excellent teacher. She knows her subject well obviously. Have had just a few lessons so far and my daughter already feels inspired and positive- in a subject she was dreading! Looking forward to track this positivity going forward. I am very happy with Michelle.

GerardFirst Tutors

My son and I are so happy we found Michelle. She's an incredible teacher who managed to make my son feel comfortable talking and writing about about a subject he wasn't confident in prior to the lessons starting. I can't recommend her highly enough.

OlgaFirst Tutors

Michelle tutors my 16 year son for his English language and English literature GCSEs. He was really struggling with English and getting very low marks at school and was lacking in confidence. Michelle has really helped to encourage him with her guidance he is getting the hang of it and is making much more effort and feels he now understands what the examiners are looking for. He’s been awarded distinctions at school for his recent efforts in English and his grades are improving very nicely. I highly recommend Michelle. She is friendly, kind and patient and has expert knowledge of her subject.

ALICEFirst Tutors

My daughter has really benefited from her sessions with Michelle, I can feel a natural drop in anxiety around ENGLISH Literature in the house, despite the pressure in run up to exams in May. Thank you- look forward to more sessions.

WinniFirst Tutors

Michelle is helping my daughter for her GCSE .Michelle is very reliable ,patient and her lessons are well structured.Michelle also gives constructive feedback .I highly recommend Michelle .

JaneFirst Tutors

Michelle provided tuition in both language and literature last year for our son. We were resigned to him failing literature and concerned about language. We are thrilled he passed both and have no doubt it was due to Michelle’s input. She tailors sessions to the pupil excellently and is highly organised.

lauraFirst Tutors

Michelle was fantastic. She met with my son in a cafe every other week for a few months. His confidence grew beyond anything I would have expected. He was predicted a 3 in English Literature and Language and got his results today and achieved a 5 in both! He is over the moon and I cannot thank Michelle enough for all the hard work she put in and helped him with! We will be back with my daughter next! The most fantastic tutor! Thank you again Michelle you really have made olis day and future so bright! Xx

NancyFirst Tutors

We contacted Michelle after our son had not done as well as we hoped in his 11 plus English exam and first term of Y7 exams (termly reports with grades of around B1-B2). Although our son worked hard but as being a bilingual boy from international family, it seemed this was the best outcomes he could have achieved which also disappointed him. Since meeting with Michelle in just a few weeks, our son has grown in confidence and tells us he has learnt a lot and got a much better understanding of how to cope with learning English and demonstrating his knowledge & skills. Michelle offers her own well prepared teaching materials and she has a relaxed and innovative approach to tutoring, really taking time to get to know the student and gearing her teaching to their learning style. During the past a few months, Michelle pushes our son to work beyond his boundaries and comfort zone but does this in a gentle and kind way and has formed a very good relationship with him which is helping him to learn and to be guided. Now we have received some very positive feedback from our son’s English teacher from school and he was really happy to receive his first grade A mark for his Spring term end exam. Well done! We know we have chosen the right person to support our son in learning his English and would highly recommend Michelle. My son is aged 12 years now and currently attends a local grammar school in Bath.

EmmaFirst Tutors

Michelle’s calm and caring manner has boosted my daughter’s confidence. She has identified gaps in her learning and provided guidance and support to overcome these gaps.

DonnaFirst Tutors

Michelle has been tutoring my son for the past few months. She provides excellent lessons focusing on the area he needs the most help with but equally will help with school work. Thank you Michelle for all your hard work so far - it’s lovely to see my sons confidence starting to build up.

ZoeFirst Tutors

Michelle was perfect for my 16 year old son, he got on very well with her. Michelle is a very calming and patient tutor. She managed to gage my sons weaknesses and help improve his confidence in writing. I would highly recommend Michelle to anyone. My son managed to achieve a 4 (C) in his English language which is amazing as he is dyslexic and never thought he would be able to achieve this! Many thanks Michelle for all your support ⭐️⭐️⭐️

ThomasFirst Tutors

Michelle is an excellent tutor who has helped my son greatly in a short period of time. I would definitely recommend her to others who needed English tutition.

Online TuitionHome TuitionDBS checked
  • This tutor has a verified QTS qualification
  • This tutor has a verified PGCE qualification
  • This tutor has an average feedback rating of at least 4.75/5 from 20 or more reviews.
  • This tutor is a Teacher (self-declared)
  • This tutor offers a 50% discount on their first / introductory lesson.
  • This tutor is happy to teach online
Subjects Taught
Creative Writing
Secondary (11 to 14 years)
£55.00
GCSE or National 3-5
£60.00
English
Secondary (11 to 14 years)
£55.00
GCSE or National 3-5
£60.00
English Literature
GCSE or National 3-5
£60.00
Secondary (11 to 14 years)
£55.00
English (Foreign Language)
GCSE or National 3-5
£60.00
Secondary (11 to 14 years)
£55.00
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