I have been tutoring since September 2015. I have an M.A from the University of Glasgow and I am a fully qualified teacher with a PGCE. Right now, I am teaching GCSE and A-level English at a sixth form college in London. I also have experience in teaching English as a Foreign Language and have a level 5 certificate in TEFL.

My own education journey is never over, though. I am always looking for ways to improve myself. This includes education-based courses to continue my professional development and make sure I am always on track of the newest education research. I also try to develop new, interesting skills outside of English and History education. That way, I will never forget what it feels like to be a student. I can empathise with their struggles and understand what questions they might ask. Plus, you'd be surprised how these subjects all link together! Right now, I am learning French.

If you would like evidence of any of my certifications, please contact me privately.

I trained as a secondary school teacher and I currently work at a sixth form college teaching English. That means I always need to make sure my DBS certificate is up to date. So, I have an Enhanced DBS certificate and I subscribe to the Update Scheme.

If you would like to check my DBS before you start tutoring with me, please reach out! I am happy to provide you with the details.

I teach the following subjects:

• English Language
• English Literature
• History
• EPQ
• English as a Foreign Language (including IELTS preparation)
• Academic Writing
• Creative Writing and Storytelling

I am also able to help you with essays in other subjects, including media studies and drama.

I am able to teach at all levels and for all types of exams! That includes:

• GCSE
• A-level
• Scottish Highers
• Scottish National 5
• International Baccalaureate
• 11+
• SATS

If there are any other qualifications you would like to check with me, let me know!

Generally, tutors will charge between £25 and £75 per hour for one-to-one tutoring in school-based subjects.

However, this can very a lot based on the following things:

• Tutors set their own price based on their own expenses. That means tutoring will vary based on where your tutor lives, what resources they are offering, and whether they are coming to you.
• Different tutors have different levels of experience. Lots of tutors start working when they are freshly at university. They would charge less for this because they don’t have as much experience. If you’re looking for a tutor with 5-10 years of experience or more, they are going to charge more.
• Tutors from more prestigious universities charge more. If your tutor is from a Russell Group university, they feel they have an edge and will charge more. Oxbridge tutors tend to charge the most, as their universities have massively positive reputations!
• Group tutoring costs less than one-to-one, since multiple students are spreading out the cost.
• Online tutoring tends to cost less than face-to-face. However, tutors might factor in the price of video conferencing software. Something like Zoom isn’t cheap!
• A rare subject or one that requires more equipment is going to cost more.
• Tutors often do packages if you pay in bulk.

Please remember: price does not always equal quality. Some popular tutors will offer discounts or low rates because they do not need to spend as much money on advertising. Someone who went to Oxford or Cambridge is definitely intelligent. However, they might not have the skills or knowledge in teaching that will make the tutoring stick in a student’s mind.

So, your best bet is to meet with a tutor and discuss with them first-hand. You might want to check out the material and resources they have online. Make sure you always do one or two trial lessons before you commit to paying in bulk.

I try to make sure my prices are fair and resonable at all times.

If you would like to see my current prices, check out my bookings page. 

If you cancel your booking with at least 24 hours notice, I am more than happy to offer you a refund! This should be automatic for anyone who paid directly through the website. If this does not happen, feel free to reach out to me via email so I can sort that out for you.

I do not offer refunds if you cancel with less than 24 hours notice. This is because it does not give me enough time to fill the slot with a new student. I am also unable to offer refunds for classes that have already been delivered or digital resources you buy from the shop.

If you are unhappy with the quality of my tutoring or resources, please let me know. While I am unable to offer you a refund, I will do my best to make improvements to my services and make up for for any legitimate issues you bring up. 

At the moment, all tutoring is offered online. However, this will change very soon!

In 2023, I will be opening my tutoring hub. I will be available there on weekends and evenings, so please look out for that!

Unfortunately, I do not go to students’ homes for tutoring. This is for a few different reasons:

• I have a huge number of resources and books I can offer here at my tutoring hub. It would not be faesable for me to travel with them regularly.
• Students tend to focus better when they are in a different environment. It is usually a good idea to create boundaries and offer them a neutral space while they are young. That way, they can develop clear separation between work and leisure time.
• The travel time between students’ homes would mean that I would have to charge more, as I would be unable to fill up as many tutoring slots.
• It is important for me to consider my own safety.

Instead, I do offer online tutoring sessions. Please feel free to check those out on my dedicated bookings page!

With a Shani's Tutoring membership, you get a great deal of resources to help you ace your exams. This includes:

• Almost all of the resources available on the shop for free.
• "Tips and Tricks" pages to explain the most important knowledge in English.
• Access to the Shani's Tutoring forums where you can ask questions and chat to like-minded students.
• A discount on online tutoring.

The benefits are always improving as I make the website better! Stay tuned for more.

Unfortunately, courses are not included in the membership at this moment. However, I am working on a pricing plan for a new membership that includes the courses! Make sure to be on the lookout for that!

Almost all of the resources in the shop are available for my members for no extra fee. Please check the "Included with Membership" tab to find out which resources are on offer for you.

If a resource is listed as "Included with Membership" but you can't find it, please feel free to reach out! I will make sure you can get your hands on it as soon as possible.

At the moment, I am creating courses for the following topics:

• GCSE English Language and Literature
• A-level English Literature
• A-level English Language and Literature
• Analysing Texts
• Text-Specific Courses (E.g. Hamlet, Jekyll and Hyde, and Macbeth). These courses will take students from page 1 to exam-ready.
• Grammar for English Students
• Writing Stories

I am also in the process of offering a course for other tutors: Becoming an Excellent Tutor! This will include the knowledge that I have picked up over my 7+ years of tutoring, as well as my PGCE in Secondary English. It will be catered for tutors, rather than teachers. So, it will have much more of a focus on one-to-ones and business strategies.

Right now, my courses are in beta. This is to make sure that they are high-quality and mistake-free before I release them to the public. This might take some time, but I am working on it all the time! Please stay tuned for updates about the release date of my first course.

I have experience tutoring for all exam boards and I am happy to adapt to meet your needs. It doesn't matter which exam board you are using. The resources here on Shani's Tutoring will be a huge benefit to you.

When there is information specific to an exam board, I will always tell you which one I am talking about. You can also filter by exam board through the tags at the bottom of a page or guide.

The beauty of English at GCSE and A-level is that the exam boards are all pretty similar. The layout of the exams will be different. However, they all have to follow the same national curriculum and they're all using the same assessment objectives. So, you will always learn some great things if you pick up material for another board!

Back when I was in school, learning styles were all the rage. We did quizzes to find out if we were a visual, reading and writing, auditory, or kinesthetic learner. We all got put into one of those boxes and teachers had to make sure they considered all different learning styles in every lesson.

However, since then, learning styles have been debunked. It turns out we all benefit from learning the same information in lots of different ways! It also turns out that the type of knowledge you’re learning impacts what learning style is best. Reading and writing isn’t the best strategy for learning how to knit!

Since then, we’ve learnt a few things:

1. Students don’t have learning styles. They have learning preferences. While it is useful to cater to those preferences, it is also vital that we teach students how to learn in other ways.
2. Everyone needs to see a piece of knowledge in lots of different ways and contexts for it to truly stick. The reason “learning styles” worked so well is because it forced teachers to present the knowledge over and over again in lots of different ways.
3. No student should be put into a box like that. Our learning preferences change depending on how we’re feeling and what we’re learning.

That’s why I don’t test students for learning styles when they start tutoring with me. I just make sure I cover as many different preferences as possible as we go along.