English Admissions Tutoring & PreparationWritten work · Interview · Personal statement

I've tutored children aged 6–18 for 11+/13+ entrance exams, GCSEs, A-Levels and university applications, including interview prep. One recent GCSE student achieved full marks in Literature and two marks off full marks in Language. I've won creative-writing and academic prizes from Christ Church and received an Honourable Mention in the International Hippocrates Prize. Away from work I play competitive squash.

My literary interests run right across 1350–present, from Chaucer to Austen, Milton to Ishiguro and Sally Rooney, with a particular passion for Shakespeare. As one of the final cohort to sit the ELAT I scored 52/60, and in my two Oxford interviews I was my college's top-choice English candidate. I was also awarded a Full Collections Prize for achieving First-Class marks in every mock exam I've sat at Oxford. I've mentored several sixth-form students to Oxbridge offers in English and joint courses, through a tutoring company and my old sixth form, delivering mock interviews and written guides. I'm now a future trainee solicitor at Clifford Chance — so if you're weighing up where a humanities degree can lead, I'm happy to talk through life beyond university too.

I've mentored several successful Oxbridge applicants, both independently and through a widening-participation mentoring programme, supporting disadvantaged students one-to-one through intensive personal-statement drafting, essay feedback and multiple mock interviews. I've taught internationally in Beijing and will be a subject lead in English Literature at an Oxford residential school this summer. Outside academia I run a bi-weekly poetry group at my college.

I've tutored over 40 international students aged 6-21 for (i)GCSEs, A-Levels, and university applications at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. As a queer immigrant from a state-school background, I am passionate about making higher education more accessible and highlighting your unique personality throughout the application. I'm a published poet whose undergraduate dissertation on Achilles won various prizes.

I sat the ELAT myself, scoring 54/60, and I've supported applicants to English at both Cambridge and Oxford — with a specialism in postcolonial literature to help an application stand out from the canon. I'm well versed in every GCSE and A-Level exam board, experienced in supporting neurodivergent students and adapting preparation to their needs, and I bring plenty of mentoring experience with young adults. My teaching style is responsive, enthusiastic and always built around the student in front of me.

I like to work with students by breaking arguments down to their foundations, then building them back up until they're clear, confident and genuinely their own. Editing professionally means I read the way an admissions tutor reads — for argument, precision and voice — and that's what I bring to written work and personal statements. My teaching experience began in rural Namibia, where I volunteered as an English teacher and debate coach, often working across language barriers with resourcefulness and enthusiasm. I'm patient, encouraging, and particularly enjoy helping students find their voice in essay writing, English and university admissions.

I have four years' experience as a private tutor and have worked with a wide range of students. I organise sessions around each student's particular interests and immediate goals, whether that means developing an essay, preparing for an examination or exploring a topic in depth. I have considerable experience supporting university applications, working on all aspects of the process including personal statement reviews, mentoring and interview preparation — students I have tutored have received offers from Oxford, UCL, Göttingen, Heidelberg and Manchester. My academic work has been recognised with the Michael Sprinker Essay Prize, the Hamilton Prize from Victorian Review, the World History Association Graduate Essay Award and the Ebor Lectures Award, and I have published work in major academic journals.

I've tutored for two Oxbridge-admissions companies, encouraging wider reading, out-of-the-box thinking and creative approaches to literature while staying true to exam-board requirements. I originally applied for Philosophy before switching to English after a term at Cambridge, so I'm also well placed to help applicants considering Philosophy joint courses. Firsts in Cambridge English Parts IA and II; five A*s at A-Level.

As a tutor I focus heavily on my students' interests, creating a space in which they are intellectually stretched while developing confidence in areas of weakness. I have been tutoring professionally for six years, specifically for Oxbridge admissions for the last two. I have supported preparation for admissions and choral scholarship interviews, admissions tests, and academic mentoring, all while encouraging students to engage in a diverse array of interests and super-curricular activities. I have spoken directly with six Directors of Studies and admissions tutors to understand their perspective on the application process — what they're looking for in candidates, what a strong personal statement looks like, and how to have a memorable interview — and I apply this directly in every lesson. My two most recent students were admitted to Cambridge in 2025. I sat Cambridge's English admissions assessment myself in 2023, the first year it changed format from the ELAT, and because it's given at interview I never received a score for it.

I've worked with several students' admissions processes across 2023, 2024 and 2025 — personal statement writing and improvement for both UK and US universities, mock interviews and interview preparation, and guiding students through what universities look for in the process. I was an Open Days ambassador at Regent's Park College, Oxford, and spoke to prospective students and admissions tutors directly about the process. I currently work for the School of Anthropology at the University of Oxford as Graduate Admissions Administrator, and feel comfortable and confident navigating these processes from the inside. I secured my own BA offer and, more recently, my MSt offer to study at Oxford, both at my first attempt. I sat the ELAT myself in 2020/21, before it was discontinued.

My MPhil dissertation explored the poetry of W.S. Graham and late modernism, fully funded by Christ's College's Hamied Scholarship (awarded to one student a year on merit). Alongside Oxbridge coaching I've taught GCSE English, Biology and Maths to UK and Hong Kong-based students, building lessons around each student's interests. I can also devise tailored reading and literary-theory programmes for applicants wanting to deepen a competitive application.

I have supported students in Oxbridge admissions through Access Cambridge, a widening-participation programme, a residential Oxbridge summer school and an international school. I have supported dozens of students in personal statement work and interview preparation, for English, History and related courses at Oxbridge and other leading universities.

I've tutored part-time with a tutoring company for three years at GCSE English Language and Literature, planning lessons around set texts, essay writing and exam technique. As a Junior Dean at a residential summer school I ran workshops helping students craft distinctive personal statements and refine their interview communication. I can also support applications to study Modern Languages. Outside work I rowed for my college and sang with the Oriel chapel choir.

I have experience with GCSE and A-Level tuition, personal-statement assistance and Oxbridge interview preparation, and I worked as a student mentor for an international education programme with a cohort of international students. I've also supported the literacy development of younger children aged 7–12. I'm always happy to help and do my best to keep lessons engaging and tailored to each student.

I've supported several students applying to study English at Oxbridge across the full process — personal statements, written-work advice, entrance preparation and mock interviews. I'm passionate about English literature and focus on building students' confidence and critical thinking, which is essential to a strong Oxbridge application. Flexible, enthusiastic and patient, I really enjoy working with students to achieve academic excellence.