CYCLE 1 · ENGLISH · FOUR WEEKS

How your child’s four-week course can work

A fixed lesson.
Support for the
week around it.

One four-week fee.

Support beyond the lesson.

One-to-one English and Chinese tutoring and academic coaching for GCSE and IB students.

Your child’s course includes regular teaching with Grades & Growth, personalised practice, detailed feedback and guidance between lessons. Their questions, written work and progress help us decide what to teach next.

When more direct guidance would help, additional lessons we agree to arrange are included in the same four-week fee. Your child can ask for help with a difficult text, an unclear essay or a demanding school week without worrying about another tuition charge.

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A small number of students.

Time to respond.

For 2026/27, Grades & Growth will enrol just 6–8 students. Keeping enrolment small gives us time to prepare individual lessons, review written work and arrange additional guidance.

Extra sessions are usually arranged on Wednesdays or Thursdays, according to the student’s needs and availability. If a task would benefit from discussion, your child can request a lesson to work through it. Agreed additional lessons are included in the course fee.

Teaching develops the skills. Coaching helps students use them.

A student may understand an essay question and still struggle to begin. A disappointing mark may make them reluctant to try again. A busy week may leave them unsure which task needs attention first.

Grades & Growth helps students organise their ideas, break demanding work into manageable steps and decide what to do next. When confidence or energy drops, we adapt the work and return to academic content that needs further attention.

Students practise asking for help, responding to feedback and making their own decisions. Over time, the aim is for them to approach their work with greater confidence and less guidance.

Their work shapes the next lesson.

Grades & Growth reviews classwork, homework and questions to identify what the student understands and where further teaching would help. Follow-up exercises address those specific difficulties, and the next lesson builds on what their work reveals.

Parents receive progress updates at least once a fortnight, with opportunities to discuss concerns and agree on next steps.

What this can look like over four weeks

Alex’s English course is an illustrative example. The teaching and additional support would be adapted to each student.

  • Alex has ideas about a character but struggles to explain the evidence. The tutor teaches the skill, reviews Alex’s paragraph and prepares practice around the difficulty.

  • A Geography essay needs a clearer argument. In an agreed additional session, Alex practises interpreting the question, selecting evidence and explaining a judgement. The session is included in the course fee.

  • Alex feels discouraged and struggles to begin. The tutor listens, reduces the task to a manageable size and helps Alex organise a paragraph. Academic work needing more attention is revisited.

  • Alex asks for help with an approaching deadline. Grades & Growth’s tutor is available and agrees to an additional session, included in the fee. Together, they clarify the question and improve the plan; Alex completes the writing independently. Weekend sessions are exceptional and depend on availability.

Before the first Monday

  • Friday 4 September

    Payment is due ten days before this example cycle begins. The payment deadline does not determine statutory cancellation dates.

  • Thursday 10 September · 09:00

    Alex and a parent receive the four-week PDF pack by email. They print it as supplied and keep it in a folder.

  • Every week

    Thursday PDFs respond to submitted work and discussion. Handwritten homework goes by email before Sunday at 18:00, even if unfinished.

WEEK 01 / 14–20 September

01

Finding a voice in literature

Alex has plenty to say about fairness, but finds it harder to explain how a writer creates meaning. The first week starts with those ideas.

MON · 16:00–18:00

The fixed English lesson

Read a selected Act One extract together. Explore how Torvald addresses Nora, then examine dialogue, stage directions and power. Alex chooses evidence and writes a paragraph by hand, with time for discussion and feedback.

THU · 09:00

Practice built from the lesson

A PDF arrives for Alex and a parent: a vocabulary exercise on power and independence, an annotated paragraph and practice explaining the effect of a short quotation.

SUN · BEFORE 18:00

Submit an attempt, including questions

Alex emails photographs of the handwritten work at 17:20, including one unfinished explanation. Miss Ellie uses it to prepare the next Monday lesson.

  • How does Ibsen present power in Nora and Torvald’s relationship in this extract?

    Dialogue · stage directions · evidence · explanation

WEEK 02 / 21–27 September

02

Taking essay skills into Geography

A school Geography task asks Alex to evaluate transport choices. The subject changes; selecting evidence and explaining a judgement remain useful skills.

MON · 16:00–18:00

Feedback, then a stronger argument

Review Week 1’s writing. Return to the play to distinguish a claim about Nora from evidence that supports it. Practise linking an observation about language to an interpretation.

THU · 09:00 + 16:00–17:00

Materials, then Geography support

After emailing the question, deadline, school notes and an attempted plan, Alex has an agreed one-hour session. Using the school’s case study, discuss sustainable urban transport: benefits, limitations and a reasoned judgement. A parent is informed of the booking.

SUN · BEFORE 18:00

A handwritten response

At 17:30, Alex emails a revised literature paragraph and a Geography practice paragraph. School-assignment review follows the school’s rules; Alex writes the final submission independently.

  • Evaluate how transport strategies can help make an urban area more sustainable. Use evidence from your school’s case study.

    Non-fiction writing · cause and effect · evaluation

WEEK 03 / 28 September-4 October

03

A difficult week. Time to talk.

A friendship difficulty and a disappointing school mark leave Alex upset and reluctant to write. Miss Ellie makes room to listen without asking Alex to share more than feels comfortable.

MON · 16:00–18:00

An adapted regular lesson

Coaching takes more of the session. Together, they identify one manageable task and briefly explore how a character’s outward behaviour can differ from their feelings. Planned academic work is reduced and revisited later.

WED · 16:00–16:45

An agreed session to regain confidence

Alex requests help and a parent is informed. In 45 minutes, they talk through what feels difficult, organise three ideas and begin a paragraph together. Rest comes before further demanding work.

THU · 09:00 / SUN · BEFORE 18:00

A smaller task, with support

Thursday’s PDF contains a shorter follow-up. At 17:00 on Sunday, Alex sends one revised paragraph and a question. A parent receives an update focused on patience and support, with private details respected.

  • Choose one moment where Nora’s words or behaviour suggest a feeling she does not openly express. Explain your interpretation.

    Confidence · manageable steps · independent expression

WEEK 04 / 5–11 October

04

A forgotten deadline. A practical next step.

On Sunday, Alex remembers that a school literature response is due on Monday. The task is started, but the argument is unclear. Alex takes responsibility and asks for focused help.

MON · 16:00–18:00

Bring the reading together

Compare Nora’s presentation across selected scenes, including the final conversation. Review paragraph structure and practise planning a response with a clear line of argument.

THU · 09:00

Feedback and a clear plan for further practice

Alex receives individual feedback, a short revision task and a planning checklist. The ordinary homework submission remains available before Sunday at 18:00.

SUN · 16:10 → 16:35–16:55

A 20-minute lesson, arranged at short notice

Alex sends the deadline, instructions, draft and two questions by WhatsApp. Miss Ellie happens to be available and confirms a call starting 25 minutes later. They clarify the question and improve the plan; Alex completes the writing independently. A parent is informed.

  • How does Ibsen present Nora’s changing understanding of herself? Select evidence before deciding the order of your argument.

    Prioritising · asking for help · planning · ownership

WHAT SETS GRADES & GROWTH APART

  • One four-week fee. Support beyond the lesson.

    When tuition is billed by the hour, an extra lesson can mean another expense to consider. At Grades & Growth, your fee covers a personalised four-week learning programme, including preparation, homework review, detailed feedback and any additional lessons we agree to arrange.

    Your child can ask for more help without worrying about adding to your bill.

  • The next lesson starts with careful preparation

    What your child finds difficult, understands well or wants to explore helps us decide what to teach next. We read their work, review their progress and prepare lessons around what needs attention.

    You deserve to know how things are going, too. In this example, Alex’s parent receives a progress update at the end of Weeks 2 and 4. A parent call can also be arranged, with agreed next steps summarised afterwards. This keeps you informed about what your child is learning and how we are helping.

  • An important task need not mean an extra charge

    In Week 4, Alex needs help with an important task that cannot reasonably wait until the next weekday lesson. Miss Ellie is available and arranges an additional Sunday session. The lesson is covered by Alex’s four-week fee.

    Sundays are normally reserved for rest, family and teacher training. Regular lessons or Wednesday–Thursday support come first wherever possible. Sunday requests are considered individually and depend on availability. The call begins within 30 minutes in this example, but that is not a promised response time. Email, video or WhatsApp feedback may be offered when a live lesson cannot be arranged.

  • Support that helps students work for themselves

    Alex develops the ideas, writes the work and makes the decisions. Our role is to ask useful questions, explain difficulties and give feedback that helps Alex recognise what to improve.

    We want students to grow more confident in their own judgement and become better able to work independently. Guidance on assessed work follows the school’s and awarding body’s rules.

    We also make time to listen when a student feels discouraged or overwhelmed. Academic coaching supports learning, confidence and motivation; it does not replace counselling or mental health treatment.

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