News and Updates

This month a highlight was attending a talk with the popular historian, Lucy Worsley (BBC), who spoke about the life and works of Jane Austen. Lots of interesting stories about the writer's life, such as her refusing to marry a very wealthy man who could give her everything... because she wanted to make her own money as a female writer instead! All of this in the early 1800s. No wonder Jane Austen is such a legend in British culture.  

In February I went to Northern Ireland for the first time. Here I learnt about the history of Northern Ireland / Ireland, and what's known as "The Troubles." I was ashamed to admit that I knew nothing about it until I was there, and made it my mission to learn more about it. This led me to read The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne, which is set in Ireland against the backdrop of The Troubles. The main character endures some horrific ordeals as a result of the religious, political and social turmoil of the period. I cried a lot but learnt so much! Although it's fiction it felt very very real. I will struggle to find another book this good for a while... my best book of 2025 (even though it's only March!). 

During the month of December, I probably teach A Christmas Carol to at least one student per day! I think I know it off by heart at this point. 

So many people don't know how influential this story is; much of what we enjoy about Christmas today was formed  by Dickens in this 1843 story. For example, historians agree that Dickens came up with the term "Merry Christmas," or at least popularised it with this very book. The figure of Santa Claus / Father Christmas was a figure that changed often in literature and oral storytelling, but the features and temperament that we know him for today - jolly, generous, wearing a big robe lined with fur, associated with food, spreading light wherever he goes etc - were pinned down once and for all by Dickens in this very story. A true classic!

October half term was full-on as many of my students are in their GCSE years. I have many year 10s wanting to cover as much as possible, and many year 11s who needed to prepare for mock season. All are studying English language and literature, so making use of half term is always a great idea!

Another excellent Results Day this year. All students under my guidance made positive progress - from the day of their enrolment to results day, all 15 students improved on their English grades. Success stories include Mirren, who was scoring 5s in his English mocks. After working extremely hard and committing fully to all of our lessons, he ended up with a 9 in English language and an 8 in English literature!  

Read his story in the reviews section here:

Please consider also donating to the Help4Hounds fundraiser. 

Exam season has been busy, as always for a tutor. In English there are 2 subjects, literature and language, meaning four whole papers! In May, we had: English literature paper 1 and paper  2, English language paper 1... so just English language paper 2 to go, and then everyone is finished! 

I have 15 year 11 students this year. The majority sat the same GCSE exam board, AQA, which is the most popular in the UK. But a handful take Eduqas, some are iGCSE, a few sit the Edexcel papers, and one sat the Cambridge exam board. This means I have to know all of them so that students are taught precisely to their specifications. Here's how they differ:

- Question commands 

- How many marks per question

- Assessment objectives that you're marked against

- Text types: eg some require students to write an interview script, some will ask for an article 

- Literature set texts: eg some exam boards have a whole Shakespeare module, some don't

- Poetry collections: the collection of poetry for each exam board is totally different 

And the list goes on! Being a tutor certainly keeps me sharp with my knowledge of literature. Exam season really tested my flexibility! 

This month I have had the pleasure of learning about Schloss Leizen, a summer camp in Germany. At the camp, students spend their school holidays learning, playing, socialising, and developing their physical and mental skillsets. They have such amazing resources and activities on offer to children. 

I am excited to be connected with Schloss Leizen having learned about how much they have to offer, and I hope to visit myself to learn even more about it. 

January is always busy considering the "back to school" mindset, especially for exam students. Just 16 weeks until the first English language GCSE! It was made even busier as I travelled a lot this month - I taught from Madrid, New York and Barcelona.

January 9th was Results Day for resit students. Huge congratulations Gustavo and Callum, who both worked so hard for their GCSE English resit in November. Both passed with flying colours and can now concentrate fully on their next steps in education. A great outcome for all! 

This month I was lucky to spend some time teaching from Madrid. It was wonderful to enjoy some winter sun in my favourite country, and still be able to teach as normal. On one of the days, I was caught up in a Spanish nationalist rally in the centre of the city, with thousands of people gathered in protest.They were all waving the Spanish flag, listening to speeches from politicians and marching in huge crowds. It was an amazing thing to see. 

September started with 10 new students being added to the J Hodges Tuiition register. September is always a busy time as it's often a time for fresh starts. I have a real mixture this year, including 12 year elevent students 5 primary school students and 2 A Level students. 

July was holiday time. While I was teaching plenty, I used this time to relax after a busy exam period. I did read three fabulous books while away - all by the same author: Daisy Jones and the Six, Malibu Rising and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. The latter has made it into my list of "top 3 books I have ever read." It was amazing. 

This summer I  onboarded many international students who had an interest in Victorian novels, and a desire to explore some of the most famous titles. I decided to create a course for Pride and Prejudice, which became the book of my summer because I taught it to so many of my students! I never liked this book at university, but I can say now that I have discovered its value. I love teaching it. 

This month I have loved designing and delivering my new course, The Great American Novel. We explore the very best of American Literature, and study the stories that help capture the development of this amazing nation. Unsurprisingly, some of my absolute favourites feature in this course.

- The Civil War: Uncle Tom's Cabin

- The Roaring 20s: The Great Gatsby

- Post war: Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea 

- Modernism: J D Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye

- Modern classics: Stephen King's The Shining  

...and loads more. I love it. 

One of my favourite things to do is conjure up concepts for new courses. When I think about what students around the world want to learn about, I am free to then create a course around that specific subject. This enables me to celebrate the areas of English I already love, or push myself to learn a subject I do not know yet so  I can share it with my students. Last year, one of my favourite examples was "An Introduction to Dickens." This was really popular; students loved the way it covered 3 of Dickens' biggest works of fiction, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol and Great Expectations. Throughout the design and research process for this course, I perfected my knowledge of Dickens in a way that enriches my everyday teaching of literature. This month, I decided that the format worked so well, I produced a similar course, "An Introduction to Shakespeare." This covers my personal selection of Shakespeare's plays, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Tempest.  The course is perfect for easing into Shakespearean writing and learning how to craft an analysis of his complex plots. Students approaching GCSE can appreciate a wider view of Shakespeare before having to study one of his plays as part of the compulsory Shakespeare section of the GCSE. 

December was a time of rest and hard work for me this year! While I still taught the majority of students and classes throughout the busy month, I still managed to enjoy plenty of down time. December started with a relaxing trip to the Caribbean and it ended with Christmas and New Year's in the Alps for a skiing trip. 

I've secured the title of Educator of the Month with the education company that I have been partnered with since 2020. This feels amazing to know that the students continue to love their lessons. These students live in Asia and the USA and have a real thirst for learning English literature. Recently I have completed a ten lesson course on Animal Farm and another group have just finished reading Romeo and Juliet. Another group have just begun Great Expectations too, which they are absolutely loving. 

I completed training in Cardiff ahead of my exam marking responsibilities. The training was intense and it required hours or reading with groups of examiners to learn how to award marks precisely and fairly. This year I've been assigned the poetry paper, both anthology poetry and unseen. Poetry is notoriously difficult to mark because no two people will read a poem the same! This means lots of practise is needed before official examining can really take place. I love exam marking as it keeps my lessons up to date and makes sure that I am teaching the specifications to the most precise level.