Matt K - Tutors - Keystone Tutors

“School will not be the same without you, you were the best English Teacher and Tutor.”

Parent

11+ English
13+ English
GCSE English
A Level English
English as a Foreign Language (EFL)

My teaching career has incorporated both the independent sector (Tudor Hall School in Banbury, where I was Second in Department with responsibility for the KS3 syllabus) and, for the last year, being KS5 Lead at the North Oxfordshire Academy.

As a result of this experience, I have an excellent understanding of the requirements of English at secondary level across the key stages and have a proven track record in helping students to grow in confidence and develop the skills necessary to pass a variety of exams. At Tudor Hall I both set and marked entrance examinations for the school and have a good understanding of the requirements of both 11+ and 13+ entrance examinations. I have also prepared students for the 16+ entrance examinations and interviews. Additionally, I have been responsible for GCSE and A Level examination groups every year for more than a decade.

Additionally, I am a CELTA-qualified teacher and I have taught English as a foreign language before in varied countries and cultures. In several of these roles I was asked to evaluate students, identifying difficulties and developing strategies for overcoming them.

I have had two main strands to my career, which began after I qualified from Keele University with a 2:1 in Politics and Economics.

First, for several years I worked in Marketing and Database Marketing for several global companies such as Vodafone and British Gas. Having decided on a career change, I spent a number of years teaching English abroad (principally Paris) after qualifying as a teacher of English as a foreign language. It was this experience that really enthused me to pursue a full-time career in education, specifically teaching English.

After returning to the UK, I took a master’s degree in Linguistics from the University of Birmingham (passed at distinction) and then trained as a teacher, qualifying with a Postgraduate Diploma in Education for Secondary English in 2012.

I have worked as a teacher of English until July 2024, when I made the decision to focus on tutoring. During my teaching career, I delivered excellent grades in GCSE Language, GCSE Literature and A Level English Literature to a varied cohort of students in both the state and independent sectors.

“Thank you for a great 2 years of English GCSE. I will fondly remember all your feedback... you encouraged me to do English A-Level and encouraged my love for reading by kindly lending me a variety of books.”

Parent

“Thank you very much for teaching me for the last 2 years! You have been amazing and I wish you luck at your new school.”

Parent

“I can't thank you enough for what an incredible teacher you've been for me these last couple of years. I have adored every lesson we have had and can confidently say I will really miss them, far more than any other subject.”

Parent

Over the course of my teaching career, I have come to understand that children learn most effectively in a relaxed, yet purposeful environment. My tutoring is centered around fostering this atmosphere, where students feel confident in asking questions and actively engaging in their own progress.

Lessons themselves are bespoke to each child’s needs and priorities, but, underpinning all of the tasks is the development of the key skills (such as inference and language analysis) that are essential for success in both English Language and Literature.

I am currently working part time as a tutor at Bloxham School in Oxfordshire and am thoroughly enjoying the pleasure of working with individual students and small groups again. Outside of Bloxham, I am establishing myself as an English tutor and (very slowly) writing a novel for teenagers.