--- title: Michael url: https://owltutors.co.uk/tutor/403/ type: Tutor profile audience: parents published: 2026-10-01 subjects: [11 Plus, 13 Plus, English, History] compiled: 2026-11-13 --- # Michael - From £100.00 per hour - Enhanced DBS checked - English teacher - Qualified to teach in 2012 - Teaches: In person, Online - Masters, Examiner, Russell Group ## About Michael Michael specialises in English preparation for independent-school entrance examinations at 11+, 13+ and 16+. He is a fully qualified English teacher with 17 years' experience in education: seven years at outstanding secondary schools in London and ten years working as a professional private tutor. As a whole-school literacy coordinator, he led literacy teaching across subjects, developing significant expertise in helping pupils interpret questions, organise ideas and communicate effectively. Michael's knowledge of independent schools' current assessments allows him to tailor each child's preparation for the school's requirements. His students have gained places at Harrow, Eton, Sevenoaks, Radley and Colchester Royal Grammar School, as well as winning scholarships to Brighton College and Forest School. His experience includes preparing pupils for the Eton scholarship English paper. Based in Brighton, Michael also has extensive experience with Brighton College's application process and a 100% success rate with pupils he has prepared for its 11+, 13+ and 16+ entrance assessments. One of Michael's strengths is the way he makes unfamiliar entrance examinations clear and manageable for children and parents. He builds structured programmes around each pupil's strengths and areas for development, teaching them to recognise different question types, interpret their wording and understand what a successful answer needs to demonstrate. Using clear learning targets, Michael models the thinking behind these effective responses, gradually reducing the scaffolding as pupils become more independent. Resources and targeted independent tasks are shared after each lesson so that pupils continue to apply and consolidate their learning at home, with clear guidance for parents on how to support this work. An Owl Tutors parent whose son secured offers from Harrow and Radley described how Michael helped him move beyond gaps in comprehension and vocabulary to recognise subtleties in texts and organise his writing more effectively. The pupil said Michael had given him "the key which unlocked the necessary door". The same balance of explicit guidance and growing independence shapes Michael's teaching of creative writing. Drawing on his master's in creative writing from Goldsmiths, University of London, he helps pupils turn original ideas into engaging, carefully structured writing while developing confidence in their own voice. The parent of an 11+ pupil preparing for Brighton College described his creative-writing course as "well organised and goal focused", reporting significant improvement in a short time. Alongside entrance preparation, Michael teaches GCSE and IGCSE English, A-level English Literature and IB English, with teaching experience across all the major exam boards. This breadth also informs his preparation of 16+ entrance candidates, who need to demonstrate increasingly mature reading and writing skills. He helps these students develop perceptive interpretations, explore ambiguity and evaluate a writer's choices, shaping their ideas into persuasive, original arguments. At A-level, he develops these skills further, helping students sustain critical evaluations and engage confidently with sophisticated interpretations of their texts. His students regularly achieve A\* grades, and many have secured places at their first-choice universities. Successes also include a student progressing from a predicted D to an achieved B following ten months of tuition. Michael's teaching is further informed by seven years of examining experience, including GCSE English and A-level English Literature with AQA, and the IB internal assessment. Michael's strategy as a tutor is to make the language of mark schemes concrete and usable: terms such as "sophisticated", "perceptive", "detailed" and "confident" can be difficult for students to translate into their own writing. Through modelled examples and explicit teaching, he shows students what these qualities look like and how to craft responses that demonstrate them. His students have achieved full marks in coursework and 159/160 across the two GCSE English Literature papers. Another progressed from a grade 5 in her GCSE English Literature mocks to a final grade 9 after beginning tuition shortly before Easter. Underpinning this rigorous preparation is a calm, encouraging relationship with each pupil. Parents and students describe Michael as patient and invested in their progress. Alongside subject knowledge, he develops organisation, time management and practical exam strategies, helping pupils approach demanding work confidently and trust their own ideas. Outside teaching, Michael enjoys sea-swimming, running on the Downs and writing short stories. ## Availability Availability as of 13 November 2026: contact Owl Tutors to check. ## School entrance experience Michael has experience of preparing pupils for the following schools: - [Ardingly College](https://owltutors.co.uk/schools/ardingly-college/) - [Brighton College](https://owltutors.co.uk/schools/brighton-college/) - [Charterhouse](https://owltutors.co.uk/schools/charterhouse/) - [Colchester Royal Grammar School](https://owltutors.co.uk/schools/colchester-royal-grammar-school/) - [Dulwich College](https://owltutors.co.uk/schools/dulwich-college/) - [Eton College](https://owltutors.co.uk/schools/eton-college/) - [Forest School](https://owltutors.co.uk/schools/forest-school/) - [Harrow](https://owltutors.co.uk/schools/harrow/) - [Lycee International De Londres](https://owltutors.co.uk/schools/lycee-international-de-londres/) - [Radley College](https://owltutors.co.uk/schools/radley-college/) - [Sevenoaks School](https://owltutors.co.uk/schools/sevenoaks-school/) ## Qualifications - Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) (English), King's College London, 2012 - Masters in Creative Writing, Goldsmiths, University of London, 2020 - BA (Hons) English Literature, Cardiff University, 2007 ## Subjects and levels - 11 Plus (English, Verbal Reasoning) - 13 Plus (English, Verbal Reasoning) - English (KS3, GCSE AQA, GCSE Edexcel, GCSE OCR, IGCSE, A Level AQA, A Level Edexcel, A Level OCR, IB Standard Level, IB Higher Level, Undergraduate, ESL) - History ## What parents and students say Average rating: 5 stars from 6 reviews, 100% would use again. > "Michael has a very calm demeanour and the creative writing course he prepared for our son was well organised and goal focused. Our son was highly motivated by Michael's teaching and his creative writing improved significantly in a short time. We would highly recommend Michael to others." ★★★★★ > — Parent of 11 Plus student (Brighton College), 23 March 2023 > "I have no hesitation in recommending Michael as an English tutor. In two hours, my son went from hating this subject to feeling confident about how to approach it. He has also asked for more tuition from Michael in the future." ★★★★★ > — Parent, 21 April 2022 > "Due to the pandemic year, UK boarding school exams were delayed and in lieu of a spring exam, a September date was ascribed in the middle of the summer holidays so it was a bit of a scramble. As such, and as we reside in Switzerland, I reached out to Owl Tutors UK and the team was incredibly responsive and swift, and sourced my son a math tutor so he had three intensive weeks of online tutoring with Michael. As my son is schooled in a bilingual French-British School, the English subject was taught as a second language and my son lacked some key notions, notably in reading comprehension and writing composition as well as vocabulary. Michael reviewed texts with him and forced him to think critically and creatively and my son experienced an a-ha moment and to use his words, "Michael gave me the key which unlocked the necessary door." My son's ideas flowed and he was able to organise his thoughts and his writing compositions more carefully. Michael would send poems and excerpts from passages for my son to analyse ahead of their online meetings and my son really grasped the general meaning as well as the more subtle nuances, even in old English! Given that he had limited time to prepare for the big test day, Michael encouraged him and gave him the confidence needed for my son to give his best. Michael lent my son as much time as he needed in those critical three weeks and was a testament to how positive reinforcement and great teaching can inspire a young mind. My son performed phenomenally well on his exams and his online interviews and received two offers to his top two choices, so he is elated. Thank you ever so much, Michael!" ★★★★★ > — Parent of 13 Plus student (Harrow and Radley College), 26 February 2021 > "As a result of a late decision to return to the UK from abroad we enlisted the support of Michael to support our daughter in preparing for 13+ style exams in English in order to gain entry to our choice schools. As a result of having been in the international education system for the past five years her ability to respond to more advanced English Comprehension questions was lacking and this was identified very early into our sessions. Michael was incredibly supportive particularly at introducing her to the concept of analyzing a piece of literature in order to interpret the writers intentions as well as identifying literary devices through quotes which are key parts of any English Exam. Michael was always encouraging and kind yet insistent when it came to ensuring she had truly understood the question and provided an appropriate response to merit the number of marks available. He set relevant homework and past paper practice at each session and always followed up on this in the following session to ensure continuity of effort. We as parents found him very professional and focused as well as being a pleasure to deal with." ★★★★★ > — Parent of 13 Plus student (Brighton College and Ardingly College), 16 October 2020 > "Michael has been a brilliant tutor for my son, always encouraging and supportive, yet also challenging him to think hard and do his very best. Even after just one lesson, my son said he now had a much better understanding of what his English teacher in school was asking of him, and how to work with a text. He also said Michael made him feel very happy, because he felt praised and appreciated. My son has thrived under Michael's very capable instruction, and has done very well in the exam, after less than half a year of tutoring." ★★★★★ > — Parent of 13 Plus student (Forest School), 6 March 2019 > "Michael is a caring and understanding tutor. He teases out the best in his students without them even noticing! I thought I'd have regular battles with my son to get him to engage with a tutor, but he is always happy to see Michael." ★★★★★ > — Mother of 13 plus student in London, 4 December 2017 ## From this tutor's blog - [Homeschooling: How to keep your child learning during school closures](https://owltutors.co.uk/homeschooling-how-to-keep-your-child-learning-during-school-closures/) - [Preparing for the 11+: what to do between now and the exams](https://owltutors.co.uk/preparing-for-the-11-what-to-do-between-now-and-the-exams/) - [How to study Shakespeare: Five Tips for Success](https://owltutors.co.uk/how-to-study-shakespeare-five-tips-for-success/) ## Where Michael can teach In-person lessons available across these areas: - **Brighton and Hove:** Brighton (BN50), Brighton (BN88), Hove (BN52) ## Next steps Ready to discuss tuition with Michael? - Free 20-minute consultation: [make an enquiry](https://owltutors.co.uk/contact-us/) - Phone: +44 (0)20 3457 8474 - Email: enquiries@owltutors.co.uk