Steph’s Study Stars Tutoring

POV: You’re trying to plan tomorrow’s Steph’s Study Stars lessons … and your study buddy has other ideas. 🐶💻

Apparently, every lesson should include:
🤍 More treats
🤍 More cuddles
🤍 Fewer emails

Honestly … he might be onto something. 🤍

Behind the scenes with The A Team. 💜⭐

📖 Literacy Quest.
🃏 Vocabulary cards.
📝 Whiteboard battles.
🎲 Games
😂 A few laughs.
💜 Lots of progress.

No endless worksheets.
No sitting copying answers.

Instead you’ll find:
⭐ Challenging vocabulary
⭐ Retrieval games
⭐ Comprehension discussions
⭐ Visual modelling
⭐ Problem solving
⭐ Plenty of “Can you explain why?”

Learning should be active, supportive and challenging all at once. These three never fail to give every activity their all.

Week by week, confidence grows. And that’s exactly how learning should be.

The A Team in action. ⭐

Flashcards. Whiteboards. Dice games. Timed questions. Explaining their thinking. Celebrating the wins.

Every session looks a little different because every challenge helps build confidence.

Watching these three grow week after week has been such a privilege. They’re working incredibly hard, asking brilliant questions, and proving that 11+ success isn’t about being perfect, it’s about showing up, trying again, and never giving up. 💜✨

PS the game was a draw … 👀

Tutoring rule #1: Always find the nearest whiteboard. 😆

After 18 months of working together, it’s basically tradition now. Through challenges, changing direction, and plenty of hard work, T has stayed focused every step of the way.

Every session reminds me that success isn’t always about the straightest path - it’s about resilience, determination, and showing up even when things get tough.

Now, back to the whiteboard … because apparently we can’t have a lesson without one. 😂📚⭐

Who says tutoring has to happen at a desk? ☀️📚

Yesterday’s heat meant one lesson moved into the garden, while another took place online as usual. Two completely different settings, but both carefully adapted to the needs of the student.

Both of these students have now reached the end of their Year 12 A Level course and will be continuing with me into Year 13. We’ve built strong foundations this year, and now the focus shifts to refining exam technique, strengthening analytical skills and building the confidence needed to achieve success at A Level.

Every student learns differently, and every session is adapted to help them achieve their very best. 💜

The A-Team ⭐

One of the highlights of this week was working with what I’ve affectionately started calling The A-Team – a group of 11+ students who all happen to have names beginning with A!

Two members of the A-Team have been working with me for several months now, and it’s been fantastic to see their progress. More and more, they’re showing their thinking clearly through their working out, tackling challenging questions with greater independence, and growing in confidence when encountering unfamiliar vocabulary.

This week also saw the newest member of the A-Team join us. To help build confidence and establish a starting point, we explored comprehension activities linked to one of his favourite interests. Using topics students genuinely enjoy is a great way to make learning engaging whilst helping me identify strengths and areas for development.

Every student starts from a different place, but seeing confidence grow week by week is one of the most rewarding parts of tutoring.

I can’t wait to see what the next few months bring for this brilliant group. ⭐

And just like that… History exam season 2026 is over. 💜

Every year I say the same thing, but I genuinely feel so proud of the students I work with. I’ve watched them turn uncertainty into confidence, develop their exam technique, and achieve things they didn’t think were possible a few months ago.

From Tudors to Cold War, Civil Rights to Russia, we’ve covered a lot of history together this year!

Now comes the waiting game, but for today I’m choosing to celebrate the effort, resilience and determination my students have shown throughout the year.

Thank you for letting me be part of your journey. Results don’t define you, but you should be incredibly proud of how hard you’ve worked.

Now go and enjoy your summer. You’ve earned it. ☀️📚✨

📚 A little reminder that I don’t just teach History…

This week has included:

✨ Angles and geometry
✨ Word problems
✨ Comprehension
✨ Vocabulary building
✨ Grammar and punctuation
✨ Plenty of whiteboard maths!

The best part? Watching confidence grow when something suddenly clicks.💡

Whether your child is preparing for the 11+, needs a confidence boost, or wants to stretch themselves further, sessions are always tailored to the individual learner.

⭐ Steph’s Study Stars
📍 Torbay & Online
📚 11+ | KS2 | KS3 | GCSE | A Level History

Small steps. Big progress. Growing confidence every week. 💜

This is what my A Level History tutoring sessions actually look like. 📚✍️

Yes, in-person sessions are brilliant - but online tutoring can be just as impactful when it’s structured properly. Through screen sharing, live modelling, instant feedback, retrieval practice, essay planning, and examiner-focused guidance, students make HUGE progress from the comfort of home. 💻⭐

Every session is tailored to the student:
⭐ Building secure knowledge
⭐ Strengthening exam technique
⭐ Developing confidence with essays & sources
⭐ Breaking down mark schemes and examiner expectations
⭐ Live feedback that students can apply immediately

As exam season starts to wind down, I’ll soon have limited spaces opening for the new academic year for GCSE & A Level History students.

If you’re looking for consistent support across the year - not just last-minute panic revision - now is the best time to get in touch to secure a space. 🤍

📍Online or Torquay-based in person
📩 DM to enquire or ask any questions

Today’s sessions were very much focused on turning “I have no idea what this question is asking” into organised essay plans and confident arguments ✨

Today’s A Level sessions focused on:
⭐ building stronger essay structure
⭐ improving analytical judgement
⭐ linking evidence properly
⭐ slowing thinking down instead of panic-writing

Also had a GCSE session squeezed in too but completely forgot to take a photo because we got too into the lesson 😅

Current tutoring essentials:
☕ tea
💜 whiteboards everywhere
📝 approximately 700 essay plans

They’re absolutely smashing it at the moment and it’s so lovely watching confidence grow in real time ✨

If your child is currently stuck in the “I know the content but can’t turn it into marks” stage before exams, I still have limited spaces for last-minute GCSE & A Level support.

Feel free to pop me a message for more information 🤍