Allana-Marie: English Excellence GCSE Tutor

21/05/2026

Another lovely review this week on Google. Thank you so much ❤️🙏🏻.

18/05/2026

11/05/2026

🌟 GCSE exams start this week – good luck to all students taking them! 🌟

You've worked hard – now it's time to show what you can do. Believe in yourself – you've got this 💪✨

As exam season kicks off, here are a few gentle reminders to help you stay healthy, focused and calm:

🛌 Sleep well – Aim for 7–9 hours a night to help your brain stay sharp.
🥗 Eat to fuel – Balanced meals and snacks will keep your energy steady.
💧 Hydrate – Water much better than energy drinks.
🧘 Take breaks – A little fresh air, movement, or mindfulness goes a long way.
💬 Talk to someone – Don’t keep stress bottled up.
📅 Plan your time – Little and often is better than cramming.
💖 Be kind to yourself – You’re doing your best, and that’s more than enough.

You've got this, one step at a time 🙌

05/05/2026

English Literature Paper 1 is now less than a week away, which always feels like a bit of a turning point.

At this stage, I always remind students that it’s not about trying to learn everything — it’s about feeling secure in what you already know.

I’ve put together a selection of some of my favourite Macbeth quotations. These are the ones that tend to work well across different questions and really help students talk about the bigger ideas in the play.

If you can feel confident explaining just a handful of quotes clearly — what they show and why Shakespeare uses them — you are in a strong position.

Keep things simple, keep practising little and often, and trust what you know.

01/05/2026

Common abbreviations — do students actually know what they mean?

It’s something I see quite often… students recognise abbreviations like e.g., i.e. or etc., but aren’t always fully confident on what they actually mean or when to use them correctly.

This might seem like a small thing, but it can affect:
✔ clarity in writing
✔ accuracy (AO6)
✔ and overall confidence in responses

For example, e.g. and i.e. are often mixed up — and they don’t mean the same thing!

Quick reminder:

* e.g. = for example
* i.e. = in other words

Building these small details into revision can make writing feel much more secure and precise.

I’ve put together this quick guide to help students keep these clear — a simple one to revisit little and often.

— English Excellence ✨

01/05/2026

🎓 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐀𝐐𝐀 – 𝐆𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫’𝐬 𝐆𝐂𝐒𝐄𝐬! 🎓

Course starts Tuesday 9th June 2026

Is your child moving into Year 11 soon?
Or a motivated Year 10 (or ambitious Year 9!) wanting to get ahead early?

Give them the confidence and skills they need before the pressure of Year 11 begins.

✨ 6- week AQA English Language Paper 1 & 2 Preparation Course.

✅ Boost confidence
✅ Master key skills for Papers 1 & 2
✅ Build strong analytical techniques
✅ Develop clear, structured exam responses

📚 Classes (online):
Mondays at 18:00
Wednesdays at 16:30

📚 Taught by an experienced GCSE English teacher and AQA-trained examiner

👉 Get ahead before Year 11 starts – limited places available

📩 Message or WhatsApp me for details

12/04/2026

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. Here’s a little snapshot of my Easter break in Kefalonia — somewhere I’m lucky enough to visit every year 🇬🇷

Greek Easter is actually celebrated today. This is because the Greek Orthodox Church follows a different calendar to the UK, so the dates don’t always match.

I often end up missing Easter Day itself in Greece, as school in the UK starts again straight after Orthodox Easter. That said, tutoring resumes for everyone tomorrow!

Please do WhatsApp me if you have any questions, and I’m really looking forward to seeing you all this week.

01/04/2026

✨ Yesterday evening, I had the loveliest surprise…

I received this message from a former student who joined my GCSE English Language Paper 1 & 2 courses last year — and it honestly made my day.

Seeing students grow in confidence and go on to achieve strong results is exactly why I do what I do. Knowing that the strategies, skills and support we worked on are still helping them in exams is incredibly rewarding.

I feel very privileged to be part of their journey, even for a short time — and I always love hearing how they’re getting on.

📩 If you’re a previous student, I’m always so pleased to hear from you.
📚 And if you’re new and looking for support, I’d love to help.

I’ll be running another GCSE English Language course for Year 10 students (and ambitious Year 9s) starting in June.

If you feel this would benefit your child, feel free to get in touch.

— English Excellence ✨

30/03/2026

Second book in my recommended school ‘tween read’ series and I’ve just finished Witchborn by Nicholas Bowling. While I enjoyed parts of it, I didn’t connect with it in the same way as the last novel I read, The Ravenmaster’s Boy.

The novel follows Alyce, a girl forced to flee her home after her mother is accused of witchcraft, set against the backdrop of Elizabethan England where fear and suspicion of witches runs high. As she tries to survive in a world that is quick to judge and punish, the story explores themes of persecution, identity and belonging.

The premise is really engaging, and there are moments where the atmosphere feels genuinely tense and immersive. Bowling does a good job of capturing the paranoia and hysteria of the time.

However, I found this one a little more exaggerated, particularly in the characters and some of the plot developments. At times, it felt slightly overdone, which made it harder to fully invest in what was happening. In comparison, The Ravenmaster’s Boy felt more grounded and emotionally believable.

That said, it’s still a good read for younger teens who enjoy historical fiction with a darker edge, and it would definitely spark some interesting discussions around context and the treatment of outsiders in society.

Just not quite as strong a read for me this time.

28/03/2026

On Friday, I observed a colleague of mine deliver a wonderful lesson on the importance of food in A Christmas Carol — an area so easily overlooked, especially with its lengthy descriptions in Stave 3… but why are they there?

Dickens isn’t just describing food for the sake of it. He uses it very deliberately to reflect people’s attitudes towards Christmas — and, more importantly, towards others.

In Stave 3, the abundance of food surrounding the Ghost of Christmas Present is striking. It’s excessive, almost overwhelming — but this is purposeful. Dickens presents generosity as something plentiful and available to all. It challenges the harsh Victorian belief (linked to Malthus) that there isn’t enough to go around. Instead, Dickens suggests there is enough — if people choose to share.

In contrast, the Cratchits’ meal is small and modest, yet it is filled with warmth, gratitude and joy. Despite having very little, they celebrate together, showing that the spirit of Christmas is not about wealth, but about togetherness and generosity.

Scrooge, at the beginning, rejects this completely. He isolates himself, even refusing Fred’s invitation to dinner. His attitude towards food mirrors his attitude towards people — closed off, cold, and unwilling to share. By the end of the novella, this changes. His acceptance of food, celebration and company symbolises his transformation.

So those long descriptions? They matter.

They show us that food in the novella isn’t just physical nourishment — it represents kindness, community and the true spirit of Christmas.

A brilliant reminder that sometimes the smallest details in a text carry the biggest meanings.