Online English Tutor Sam

Sam came on board with my daughter some two weeks before the Oxford final ELAT test. Time was pressing but Sam quickly gauged where my daughter needed support and really helped her to develop her approach, understanding and writing skills in relation to English Literature and interpretation. He appropriately challenged her, developed her confidence and albeit challenging she thoroughly enjoyed her lessons with him. He came on board again just before her Oxford interviews and took my daughter through her personal statement and literary interpretation while suggesting ways to develop her interests and consider other areas for discussion.

Sam is an incisive, nurturing and generous teacher who actually “teaches” individually as
opposed to just running a student through their paces. He has that rare ability to assess and hone the best out of a student and for this we are really grateful. As my daughter now moves on to her mock A levels I will not hesitate to ask Sam for help to support her with exam technique and essay writing skills as and when needed. We were very fortunate to have come across Sam and I do not hesitate to recommend him as a tutor.
- Joyti M., parent

"Sam is a truly gifted teacher. This has been evident to me in the 15 years I have known him, and increasingly as his experience in teaching has grown and become more comprehensive, working both in a private capacity and state school. His intellect in relation to the arts and humanities is starry, and he is able to employ it to inspire students of all abilities. This has been particularly apparent at Chesterton in his tutoring of disadvantaged and disaffected students in year 11 who have shown renewed respect and interest in school life as well as their studies of English as a result of Sam's impact and interaction with them. Sam has the capacity to bring focused laughter into the space with the raise of an eye brow. Using his improvisation skills he can lead a workshop in drama with more fun, inclusivity, playful challenge and personal fulfilment than any other practitioner I have come across. Sam can translate these specialist drama expertise into covering the teaching of all subjects, and engaging learners in the breadth of the curriculum, as has been noted in his work as a cover supervisor. Several students at Chesterton have commented to me that Sam is a brilliant teacher, and those students who have made a commitment to acting have cited him as a major, founding influence on their pre-professional lives. Sam is a resilient, positive and reliable professional. He understands fully the need to report safeguarding issues and is an expert at creating a safe, open space within the classroom, or in chaperoning children on school outings (such as when he took 2 students at Chesterton to take part in a BBC Learning film). Sam is able to adapt his personal style to all ages, and I have been lucky enough to witness this in his work with and care of my own younger children. His sense of humour, his discretion, his flexibility, his generosity of spirit and his unceasing energy are all qualities that one rarely comes across as a complete package. Any student or institution lucky enough to work with him will immediately sense the substance of these words."
- Suzanne Marston, Head of Drama

"Sam is an outstanding tutor, he is an asset to any school or private student. They could not be in better hands. Sam is everything you would want in a tutor, his own academic background and impressive subject knowledge speaks for itself but what is even more impressive is his ability to relate to young people and adults in a way which both sets them at ease and inspires confidence. He is creative and innovative in his approach to tutoring which achieves superb progress and outcomes. Sam's commitment and enthusiasm are major motivational forces for the young people that he comes into contact with. He is an absolute joy to be around and learn from and with."
- Donna Hubbard-Young, Headteacher

"The tutor sessions were so beneficial as they went beyond the specifications of my English and Drama courses to truly engage with the subjects themselves. I was challenged to think at a more advanced level which definitely paid off, as I achieved my target grades for GCSEs and Year 12 exams."
- Poppy, tutee in Drama GCSE and English Language A Level

“Sam is a fantastic tutor — the best even! In 2019, he was tutoring me to get into Oxford to study Classics and English, for which I had to take the English Literature Admissions Test (ELAT), which is a notoriously hard and open-ended exam. I was really worried about it. To prepare, Sam taught me to close-read texts and think investigatively about all sorts of interesting pieces of writing. He also gave close attention to the intricacies of answering the exam questions creatively and critically, which is what the ELAT tests. Additionally, Sam did mock interviews with me to practise for my Oxford interviews. There was no better preparation I could have had, and topics we discussed from my personal statement came up in my actual interviews! Our sessions were extremely fun, collaborative and chatty. Sam pushed me to analyse thoroughly, in a relaxed and friendly environment. Now at the end of my second year at Oxford, Sam still advises me frequently on essays and reading, which goes to show there is no limit to his expertise and capability as a tutor!”
- Leo, tutee in Oxford admissions and ELAT; now Oxford undergraduate in English & Classics

“Sam has been a brilliant creative writing tutor. His feedback is so valuable, because he is able to look at writing from a unique perspective that is informed by his vast knowledge of literature. From working with Sam I have gained technical knowledge, of structure and genre, but more than that I have become a more adventurous writer. He gave me more confidence to experiment. There is never a dull moment when working with Sam. He has been an inimitable part of my writing journey.”
- Christopher, tutee in creative writing; now podcaster and published writer