Ali Langley Tutoring

Ali Langley Tutoring English tutoring specialising in GCSE and A Level preparation. Online and face-to-face lessons. Group and 1:1 rates available.

Extensive experience with SEN and SEMH needs. All abilities catered for with a supportive, trauma-informed approach.

A reminder for my wonderful GCSE students that I’m already IMMENSELY proud of their achievements. Please let me know how...
19/08/2026

A reminder for my wonderful GCSE students that I’m already IMMENSELY proud of their achievements.

Please let me know how you all get on.

These days can be a mixed bag of emotions, parents - I’m at the end of the phone if you need me. All will be well: let’s ‘screw our courage to the sticking place…’

And most importantly; remember to measure success in effort and determination, not a number on a piece of paper.

Proud teacher moment! 19 years after this young man completed his GCSE English in my first ever GCSE class… I got to see...
17/06/2026

Proud teacher moment! 19 years after this young man completed his GCSE English in my first ever GCSE class… I got to see him perform with his INCREDIBLE band Wolf Alice at Eden Project.
Always the grandest of lads - with a shedload of talent. A vital reminder to my wonderful students: dream big. These things can happen.

Thank you to the supportive families allowing me to move sessions (you are the best) and to Joff for having us (and putting up with 2 uncool, overexcited English teachers out on a school night).

I have said goodbye to my GCSE students over the last week - some of whom have been with me for 2 full years (😭❤️). This...
17/06/2026

I have said goodbye to my GCSE students over the last week - some of whom have been with me for 2 full years (😭❤️). This has been a mix of emotions. I feel sad that I won’t be working with them next year but immense pride and happiness about the incredible progress they have made this year. It’s been a privilege to work with such an exceptional group of young people.

To my class of 2026… This is only the beginning: you’ve all succeeded in getting this far, working hard and being resilient in the face of really hard situations.
I am so proud and will miss you greatly. Let me know how you get on and have a WONDERFUL long summer (football fans - please try and see some hours of daylight while the World Cup is on!)

Today marks the end of the English GCSEs 2026Everyone is tired and ready for the end, but this is when you need to dig i...
05/06/2026

Today marks the end of the English GCSEs 2026

Everyone is tired and ready for the end, but this is when you need to dig in and give it your all.

For AQA students - I know it’s probably not your favourite. Double the reading doesn’t mean double the stress… be methodical! Work your way through the extracts with purpose, annotate, highlight, select more examples than you need and then pick the best ones which fit the question.

The paper is called viewpoints and perspectives: use yours (moderated of course - you may need to fake a bit of interest and enthusiasm for public transport or whatever amazing topic they give you this year).

If you get to the writing question and think ‘WHAT? HOW? WHO?’ - remember there are 2 sources in front of you that have a similar theme. You can’t use their content but you can be inspired by their perspectives.

Make sure it’s clear what type text you’re writing in the intro/exit and think carefully about WHO you write for (MP/peers/editor etc) and adjust your tone accordingly.

I can’t sign off for the academic year in a post about the paper most of you hate - BUT - I can remind you how mind-blazingly proud I am with your efforts.

Use all your time.
TECHNICAL ACCURACY (you know who I’m talking to… 🤨).
Check your work.
Use your paragraph prompts (if you need them).
And make your experts in your writing credible (without silly names!).

Nearly there now…at then end of this, I wish you as much happiness as Wilson on a cool beach at sunset (that’s an enormous amount).

Let me know how it goes, my constellation of ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ proud of every single one of you.

English Language paper one…Things you cannot control: the extract 😬🙄 be it about dinosaurs, avalanches (poor Zoe), alien...
21/05/2026

English Language paper one…

Things you cannot control: the extract 😬🙄 be it about dinosaurs, avalanches (poor Zoe), alien invasions, ghostly children in fancy dress or a middle aged teacher having an existential crisis about his marking (wow - that hits home 😂): this is what you have to work with. Accept it and work through it.

Things you can control:
Read it really carefully
Use the skills your teachers have guided you to use (seriously - we aren’t making it up)
Stick to your timings and focus on those high mark questions.
Language = words and phrases, try and link your examples together and think about the overall idea the writer is trying to communicate.
Structure = how the text is put together (order, perspective, characters, zooming in, zooming out, sentence structures, dialogue, punctuation).
Evaluate the statement and craft a response using evidence to show your point of view (a bit like showing your working out when you do a maths equation) return to your statement and conclude with a final point justifying your ideas.
Writing question:
Describe - take a walk through the picture at the end of the day. Spend time with the idea you are describing and think about your five senses. Imagine what is beyond the picture, behind any landmarks, who might be with you and use your imagination. It does not have to be in the picture for you to describe it. Imagine how the setting changes when day turns to night.
Narrate - writing the opening of a story means EXACTLY that. Do not try and capture Endgame into a two minute trailer. Craft your writing, be brave, use characters you know. Paragraph, punctuate with precision and use varied, ambitious vocabulary.
Proofread and make edit; then check your punctuation again… because I know you’ve forgotten about mid-sentence punctuation!

You. Have. Got. This.

Year 11 it’s time to flex and show what you know about the good stuff! By the end of the day you will be DONE with Engli...
19/05/2026

Year 11 it’s time to flex and show what you know about the good stuff! By the end of the day you will be DONE with English Literature (until I convince you to go for an A Level…)

Section A - what’s Priestley mad about? Who’s responsible and how? Being a woman in 1912 was pretty dreadful, wasn’t it? Tell me how, why and what the impact was. When we follow most of the genre rules and flip the ending: subverting the genre.

Section B - keep your head, think about your second poem carefully and when your brain tells you that you cannot remember any examples, try and think of what images from this poem live rent-free in your head (then they will pop into your mind!) visualise it on the page - what can you say about the structure? Move between the poems like an analytical ninja and remember what you say about the impact and how it’s supposed to make you feel/what you should learn is very important.

Section C - do a quick spell to the weird poem spirits now and hope they decide not to ‘bless’ you with a crazy one… seriously though: the examiners want to know your interpretation, your thoughts about the topic and how you got to that conclusion. They want you to show imagination, opinions, talk about tone, perspective, images and what ingredients (words) help you understand it.

I will be thinking about all of you and know with confidence that you will be doing your absolute best.

‘Probably armed (with more knowledge than you ever thought you were capable of), possibly not (aware of how utterly brilliant you are).’

Wishing the VERY best of luck to my fabulous cohort of year 11s on the day of the first of the English papers. As you sk...
11/05/2026

Wishing the VERY best of luck to my fabulous cohort of year 11s on the day of the first of the English papers. As you skip off to enjoy the delights of Shakespeare and the 19th century novel, remember the following:

1. PLAN - get all the ideas about the ‘rest of the play/novel’ out of your head before you annotate the extract.
2. Stick to time - don’t ’do a Dickens’ and mess with it. Half the time on each essay; trust me.
3. Intro-beginning-middle-end *slot the extract in where it lands chronologically*-conclusion
4. A quote is one way to provide an example. You think you have to wording mostly right?Pop some speech marks round the words and hope for the best.
5. Other ways to provide an example STRUCTURE (how’s it put together?) order, plot twists, pacing, punctuation (Dickens and those exclamations in stave 5!)… then think who dominates the speech? Who asks questions? (Lady Macbeth I’m looking at you - Queen Gob 🙄) How does Shakespeare get himself out of a plot hole? (WITCHES) these ideas must always be followed up with an idea about what effect this creates and why you think the writer does this.
6. Check your work. Conclude your genius with a return to the BIG idea you opened with.
7. Most importantly, be so so proud of getting through some of the hardest literature you’ve encountered in 11 years of schooling and remember - you don’t have to do this again.

Stay calm, take a breath and remember ‘Macbeth doth murder sleep’ 🔪 but no one murders the Scottish accent quite as well as Ali. 🫠

PS Malcolm does not murder Macbeth and Fred is not a child, he’s a full grown man (IYKYK 🙄)

I’m back in London this weekend - but no room in the schedule to visit the Globe! This time I’m supporting my husband, J...
24/04/2026

I’m back in London this weekend - but no room in the schedule to visit the Globe! This time I’m supporting my husband, Jason who is running for the fantastic autisticauk (a charity very close to our hearts). Please wish him well, think cooling thoughts 😬 and you can all look forward to the funny stories that will inevitably occur. If anyone has capacity to sponsor him he is so close to his target.
Jason, I’m so proud of you ❤️

https://2026tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/jason-langley

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