A bit about Hannah H

Free 20-minute introduction session and now offering a special 6-month 15% discount deal to new clients! My name is Hannah and I am an author and experienced private English and creative writing tutor. I have over 700+ hours of tuition under my belt and I aspire to making my lessons as fun and engaging as I can. I was not a great student when I was a child and returned to the classroom in my late 20s where I discovered just how rewarding learning can be. I specialise in 11+ exam prep, but I am comfortable teaching English to KS2 and KS3 students, gifted or behind. I have 8 novels published so what I teach in creative writing can't be found in a book. I give bespoke writing lessons that will lift confidence and provide the building blocks to writing great stories for all ages. Lessons start with a free 20 minute introduction in which I like to get to know the student, understand their goals, get an idea of their strengths and weaknesses and simply see if we're a good match. From there lessons are tailored to that student's needs. English tuition depends greatly on the level the student is at but commonly includes grammar and spelling, vocabulary, comprehension and inference skills. Creative writing tuition includes planning and structure, character-building, plot and conflict and numerous descriptive techniques. I offer a referral system whereby both students benefit from a 50% discount on their next/first lesson. I first started tutoring midway through my bachelor's degree when one of my lecturers (who was head of department) asked me to run a creative writing workshop at a university open day. Since then, I've gone on to lecture screenwriting at that university as an associate lecturer, tutor at an advanced studies summer school at one of Cambridge's prestigious colleges, and complete over 600 hours of online 1-to-1 tuition. There is nothing quite so satisfying as meeting a student who is struggling with their English and/or creative writing and witness their confidence growing until finally they blossom and they move on - be it to write their exam or publish their book. Confidence is key to success so that is what I strive for; supporting, encouraging and rewarding students while also challenging them. My lessons are very interactive and involve lots of exercises and puzzles. I'm a relaxed and laidback kind of person and that feeds into my teaching style, but don't mistake that for complacency when it comes to homework! I work hard at providing fun and educational lessons and I expect my students to work hard too. I love the social aspect of being a teacher, of forming a relationship with many different people from around the world. It isn't unusual for me to teach students from Hong Kong, India, Australia, Ireland, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and the UK all in one week! And, of course, I love to see students grow in self-belief and skill. English is a wonderful subject when you are confident about it and my job is done when I see that enjoyment on my student's face too! Confidence equals success. I'm a firm believer in positive reinforcement. Much of my early education was stunted by a philosophy of instilling fear into the students and rote teaching, so my teaching practice is as far away from that as I can possibly make it. This may only be a subject for school for many but so many life lessons can be learnt through positive tuition. My students know they can ask me any question without being judged, told off or laughed at. I actively encourage them to ask questions, be it something as simple as a word meaning or a technique or grammar rule. My lessons are fun, we have a laugh while we learn, and sometimes students have so much fun that they don't even realise that they are learning! I am very proud to have a 100% strike rate with 11+ prep students passing their exams and getting into their chosen schools. Children sometimes come to me under a lot of pressure to meet their parents' expectations and do well in their exams. I like to retain their target but remove that pressure as I strongly believe too much pressure will hinder their exam performance rather than improve it. I spent five years studying creative writing and English as an adult. I attended an Access to HE course specialising in creative writing, English literature and journalism, from which I graduated top of my class with a distinction. I then achieved a BA (with honours) degree in Writing and Film Studies, graduating again top of my class with a first. In addition, I was awarded the McLeod Prize for highest average mark for any student within the entire faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences. I followed this up with a master's degree in creative writing on one of the top master's programmes in the world (at the University of East Anglia), from which I graduated with a distinction. I was inspired to become a teacher after attending an Access to HE course. I went in very hesitant about how I would perform given my previous educational experience, and because of my previous job my self-confidence was at an all-time low. I went from strength to strength and it completely changed my life (for the better!). I came away determined to give back the knowledge and positivity I had gained. Outside of teaching, I love my arts and crafts - from painting and drawing to cross-stitching and model-building. I love animals too (horses are my favourite!) and I live with my tabby cat, Atticus (named after the character from Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird). Of course, I love to read and to write. My partner has a very restricted diet and I love the challenge of cooking tasty meals. I teach children from roughly Year 4 up to Year 7 (although I am increasing my curriculum to include Year 8 and 9), with a special interest in 11+ English exam prep. My creative writing lessons are for all ages; I have students, some of whom are 8 years old, some of whom are 68 years old. Nobody is too old or too young to write a story.