Upstart Tuition

22/09/2026

People want answers.

Actually, they often want THE answer.

But the truth is, there are many possible answers: yours begins within you, my child (Jedi hand gestures are optional). My job's to help you bring it out and shape it.

https://a-levelenglishlit.uk/?p=2931

16/09/2026

I can smell the herby goodness from here!

Our spice and herb wall is always brimming with ingredients for autumnal 🍂🫚 soups and casseroles, you can bring your own containers to refill or make use of our free recycled jars 🥣😋 one favourite is the pirate stew mix from the fabulous

15/09/2026

What’s your favourite Agatha Christie story?

Team Poirot, or Team Marple?

When I stop and think about it, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple are possibly more frightening than the criminals they expose.
Maybe that’s one reason why I prefer Sherlock?

https://a-levelenglishlit.uk/2026/09/15/15-09-agatha-christie/

15/09/2026

“Sometimes the more people speak, the less they actually say. What aren’t we being told here, and why not?”

Issue Eight of First 100 Words tackles a book that made me cry at the end. How well was I able to ‘cold read’ it? You’re the judge.

https://a-levelenglishlit.uk/?p=2726

Explore the intricacies of narrative style in this analysis of a narrator's road trip, balancing exploration with unspoken emotions.

10/09/2026

Effective revision?

Less reading, less highlighting, more REMEMBERING and THINKING.

https://a-levelenglishlit.uk/2026/09/10/how-many/

09/09/2026

Who are your beautiful heroes or ugly villains?

Beauty is, to a considerable extent, a lottery. Yet, as Tolstoy says, we almost always believe that what is beautiful on the outside will be good on the inside. Hmmm.

https://a-levelenglishlit.uk/?p=2747

09/09/2026

Why is Shakespeare more popular abroad than in the UK?

Seven years ago I was thinking about this.

Today, I still don't have any answers, but the same frustrations remain.

https://a-levelenglishlit.uk/2026/09/09/from-the-archives-07-09-2019/

07/09/2026

Paver is brilliant at creating a sense of place - and then making you slightly afraid of it.

https://a-levelenglishlit.uk/2026/09/07/07-09-michelle-paver/

06/09/2026

Macbeth?
The play of blood. And black. And birds, too.
But today, let's talk about hands.
https://a-levelenglishlit.uk/2026/09/06/red-right-hand-hands-in-macbeth/

05/09/2026

I hear sirens, in both senses of the word …
I think he’s expecting a girl.
What he’s going to meet?
A WOMAN.

Issue Seven of First 100 Words? It’s highly uncomfortable territory all round: Angela Carter’s ‘The Bloody Chamber’.�
https://a-levelenglishlit.uk/2026/09/04/first-100-words-the-bloody-chamber/

I hear sirens, in both senses of the word … I think he’s expecting a girl. What he’s going to meet? A woman.