Yvonne Mason, UK English and History Tutor

06/09/2026

It's not too late to sign up for one of our exciting courses for home educated teens and join our amazing community! Check out what Dreaming Spires Dreaming Spires Home Learning has to offer this September!

There’s still time? Dreaming Spires is starting its live, online courses after Labor Day this year (like in the good ol’ days, right??), so there’s still time to sign up your college bound teens: specialist tutors who nurture the scholar, classmates who are motivated to excel, and a close, personal service so our college references can be meaningful and stand out. WASC accredited.
Choose from 2 foreign languages, 6 options in Literature and composition, 4 sciences, 5 history (including Homer), art history, business, and geography. Based on Charlotte Mason, we use high quality, inspiring books to ignite the passions for the future!

03/09/2026

As well as running my own courses, it has been my privilege to work with other teaching organisations over the years, including what is now King's Interhigh, Wolsey Hall Home Education College, Dreaming Spires Home Learning (currently) and I'm delighted to have just been invited to work alongside Maranatha Christian School in Swindon, teaching secondary English. I'm looking forward to welcoming their students to my classes next week!

02/09/2026

If you look at my note on my profile picture - you'll see I've quoted a meme I came across recently - 'Slow growth is still growth'. Wise words. For me, slow growth is planning my first block of KS3 History lessons on 'What the Romans did for us' (you can see some of the slide for my powerpoints coming together below) and for my new online KS3 Medieval History course for home educated students, it's getting to grips with one of my favourite subjects - the evolution of Medieval Castles!

Where the latter is concerned, I love being able to use the research I've been doing for over twenty years on a noble family who held various castles during the 13th and 14th centuries so I'm busy seeing how I can bring some of that fascinating information into my lessons.

This is real history, not just lifted out of a textbook, so it takes time a lot of thinking and planning to do - but slow growth is still growth! It really helps to do a chunk of work at at larger job like this each day, and it's something I advise my students to do. My husband calls it, 'getting your teaspoon out' (doing the work a teaspoon at a time).😃

So, what slow growth is still growth for you today? Let me know in the comments below!

And if you have a home educated young person who loves history, why not message me or email at [email protected] to see how they can join in my KS3 History classes! :)

01/09/2026

Edexcel IGCSE English Language Spec A and B Courses – Enrolling Now!

Looking for an IGCSE English course where your child feels supported, inspired, and ready to succeed? 🎓

I’m Yvonne Mason, an English and History specialist with 20 years of experience. I’m currently enrolling students for my live, online Edexcel Specification A and B courses starting next week! 🗓️

Why join my IGCSE English groups? 🌟

✅ Expert Support: Individual tutor support outside lessons plus marking and feedback from our experienced associate Edexcel examiner. ✍️

✅ Inclusive Learning: All resources are specially adapted for students with dyslexia, autism, and other learning needs. 🧩

✅ Flexible Options: Join our live Zoom sessions or take the course via recordings at a discounted rate. 💻

I provide a kind, judgment-free, and supportive environment designed to build real results for home-educated students. 🏠📖 But don’t just take my word for it! One of my students just shared:

"I GOT A 9!!! Thank you so much for all your help, I have loved being your student and I am so relieved with this result." 🎉

And a parent recently wrote:

A is delighted with her result. Thank you for all your efforts and consistency. We have been more than pleased by your lessons - hence our family loyalty!! Truly, we have real confidence in your tutoring and As writing confidence has only grown over the few years she has been with you.🎉

Details:
⏰ 1 hour per week
💰 £10.50 per lesson (£10 via Direct Debit) | £8 via recordings only

Get in touch:
Click Send Message below or email [email protected] to secure a spot! 📩

Spaces are limited! ⏳

01/09/2026

📖 On My Research List this Week- The wonderful historical texts behind Middle-earth!

Ever wondered where J.R.R Tolkien drew his ideas from?

Before there was a Shire, there was a scop (poet) singing in a mead hall. Before there were Riders of Rohan, there were riddles in the dark of Norse myth. Tolkien didn't invent Middle-earth from nothing — he built it from centuries of stories he loved, and in Middle-earth Studies, we read many of them ourselves.

We begin in the North, with the Prose Edda and the Völsunga Saga — the world of dragon-hoards, cursed rings, and a hero forged in fire. Without these, there's no Éowyn, no Gollum, no ring that must be destroyed. and no Smaug!

From there we cross into Anglo-Saxon England, where Beowulf gives us a hall under threat from something ancient in the dark, and other Old English poems give us the mood of exile and loss that runs right through The Lord of the Rings.

We travel to Wales for the Mabinogi — shape-shifting, enchantment, and a strangeness that seeps into Tolkien's elves and his sense of a land layered with old magic.

And later, we sit with the medieval poets: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl, and Sir Orfeo — tales of temptation, grief, and journeys into other worlds that echo all through Middle-earth's own quests.

Even Plato's Atlantis finds its way in — the drowned kingdom that became Tolkien's Númenor.

Each week, we don't just read these stories — we ask what Tolkien took from them, what he changed, and what that tells us about how a writer builds a world. My students often tell me this is their favourite part of the course: seeing the "real" stories hiding inside the one they already love.

If your child loves The Lord of the Rings and wants to understand where it truly came from, then Middle-earth Studies might be exactly the course for them. More details on the Dreaming Spires Website or dm me here!

And if you are an adult interested in discovering the world behind Middle-earth, do get in touch as I’d love to see how I can help adults journey through Middle-earth too!

Yvonne Mason 🌿

28/08/2026

⚔️ KS3 Medieval History – Enrolling Now for 2026-27! 🏰
Ever wondered what it was really like to live through the Black Death, storm a castle, or plan a medieval feast?

My KS3 Medieval History course is back for the new academic year, and I'd love your 11-14 year old to join us!

We'll explore a wide range of medieval history topics such as:🏰 Castles, siege warfare & the feudal system💀 The Great Famine & the Black Death🗺️ Medieval maps, travel & trade👩 Women's experiences in medieval Europe🎭 Games, feasts & everyday life.

📜 We'll read real primary sources (in translation!) — chronicles, records & more.

📜 We'll find out how medieval historians work and how they know what they know as well as learning to do medieval history research like a real historian.

This isn't a textbook-and-worksheet kind of class. We discuss, debate, research and dig into primary sources together, with documentaries, guest historians, and plenty of room for students to respond creatively.

Everything is designed to build the historical thinking and writing skills that create a solid foundation for medieval history modules at GCSE, while (most importantly!) having fun along the way.

🖥️ Wednesdays, 2-3pm, via Zoom💻 Full Google Classroom support — recordings, resources, homework & discussion forum.

💰 £10.50/week (or £10 via Direct Debit) £8 per lesson if taking the course via recordings only.

Don't just take my word for it:

"You've really helped me develop a deep and rich understanding of world history, and also grown my interest in the subject as a whole!" – Nathan R

"Honestly I'd take her class if I could! So different from the boring history classes I took at school." – Natalie M

As a Medieval historian by training, this era is my genuine passion — and I can't wait to share it with a new group of curious minds this year.

📩 Message me, or email at [email protected] to find out more or to sign up — spaces are limited!

27/08/2026

I am an English and History specialist tutor and teacher, and an experienced home educator with twenty years’ successful experience in offering lively, interactive and supportive tuition to home educated students. I have been teaching online for over fifteen years and I am well known to, and trusted by, the Home Education community here on Facebook. I hold an enhanced DBS check on the update service.

I have spaces available in my live History and English online group classes from September: Booking is open now!

My classroom culture is built on kindness and real results. I provide a supportive, judgment-free environment where home-educated students actually enjoy learning. See below for the full schedule:
*Courses marked with an asterisk are via Dreaming Spires Home Learning.

Ready to find a tutor who inspires? Click 'Send Message' now, or email me at [email protected] to secure your child's spot or ask for more details!"

24/08/2026

When choosing a tutor, I know how important it is to hear from other parents and students about their experience with a prospective provider. Here's what just some of my students and their parents, and a colleague, have said about my teaching (All statements are verifiable). Do get in touch to chat about how my classes might be the right fit for your child! 😁

24/08/2026

If you look at my note on my profile picture - you'll see I've quoted a meme, 'Slow growth is still growth', and added 'So don't give up.' Wise words. For me, slow growth is planning my first block of KS3 History lessons on 'What the Romans did for us' and for my new online KS3 Medieval History course for home educated students, it's getting to grips with one of my favourite subjects - the evolution of Medieval Castles!

Where the latter is concerned, I love being able to use the research I've been doing for over twenty years on a noble family who held various castles during the 13th and 14th centuries so I'm busy seeing how I can bring some of that fascinating information into my lessons. This is real history, not just lifted out of a textbook, so it takes time a lot of thinking and planning to do - but slow growth is still growth! :D

So, what slow growth is still growth for you today?