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Meet our expert UK-qualified Tutors


Meet our team

Our Tutors

At Wolsey Hall Oxford, we’re proud of our dedicated, passionate and specialist team of 165+ UK-qualified and highly experienced Tutors. Each Tutor is chosen for their exceptional understanding of and passion for their subject and academic level, as well as their ability to inspire the same enthusiasm and love of learning in their students.

Our Tutors provide detailed, helpful and encouraging feedback on each of your child’s course assignments, to help them grow in confidence, independence, and knowledge of their chosen subjects. Every one of our Tutors comes from a teaching background and has taught in classrooms as well as online, so they're familiar with the pressures and challenges that many of our students have faced in mainstream school settings – meaning their feedback is always personalised, reassuring, and understanding of each student's unique circumstances.

That’s why when you enrol with us, you’ll have peace of mind that your child is getting a flexible, world-class British education, backed by experienced educators who will help them progress at the pace and level they’re capable of.

Hear from Science Tutor Gemma Langley

The role of a Tutor

Our Tutors are here to ensure all our students feel supported academically during their time with us. When you enrol, your child will be allocated a different Tutor for each of their courses and learning levels, ensuring they benefit from specialist subject knowledge and insight. Your child’s Tutors will provide detailed and prescriptive feedback on each of their course assignments, highlighting areas of strength and next steps for development – so your child knows how they’re doing at each stage, and what they can do to progress further.

Tutors can also direct students to additional resources or information if students are struggling with a particular module or topic. They will take the time to understand your child’s interests, passions and circumstances to help them feel connected and engaged with their learning. There are opportunities to meet with your child’s Tutors online to check in and discuss their progress as well.

As our courses are designed to build our students’ independence, you’ll play more of a role in connecting with your child’s Tutors at Primary Level, where they can offer advice and tips to help you support your child’s learning. From Lower Secondary to A Level, your child should be able to engage with their Tutors on their own, or with minimal involvement from you.

A picture of someone's hand holding a pencil above an exam paper.

What are assignments?

Your child will need to complete an assignment at the end of each of their course modules, to help them reinforce what they’ve learned and test their understanding of subject content. Assignments are not exams and are not graded, and they do not count towards your child’s future GCSE and A Level results – they’re simply a way for your child to apply their knowledge of each module, so they can see how they’ve progressed.

Assignments are submitted through our online student learning platform, and your child will receive encouraging, tailored feedback from their Tutors within five working days. Students can only complete module assignments once they’ve engaged with all the learning content (they may also be required to achieve a particular score on a course quiz).

Getting to know your child's Tutors

STEP 1

Welcome email

Once your child is enrolled and their Tutors have been assigned, they will receive a friendly welcome email from their Tutors with lots of information about their courses, how to work through the different modules, and more. This means you can help your child get their studies off to the best start, without having to figure it all out on your own.

STEP 2

Introduction call

Your child’s Tutors will also arrange individual welcome calls with you, so you can get to know them a little better and they can find out about your child’s interests, hobbies and circumstances. It’s like an informal ‘meet and greet’ where you can connect with each Tutor and ask any questions you may have about the course content and structure.

STEP 3

Course review calls

There are also opportunities to speak with your child’s Tutors during their studies. Review calls are typically held after each assignment (around every four weeks) at Primary Level, and halfway through each course from Lower Secondary to A Level – however, there is flexibility if you’d prefer them to take place at other times. These calls are optional, but many families find them useful for discussing assignment feedback, their child’s progress, and exam preparation for GCSE Level and A Level courses.

Meet our Tutors

Stephen Follows

Tutors

Subjects

  • English Language
  • English Literature

Teaching Levels

  • GCSE Level
  • A Level

Stephen Follows

Tutors


Words are extraordinary things. I love the way they can take you to places you’ve never been, without making you ever leave your own settee. I love the way they can seem to be telling you one thing and actually be saying something else entirely. I love the way that they sound as well as the way they look on the page, in all sorts of languages, especially when someone who really knows what they’re doing sets them to music.

Words might seem odd things to love, but they’ve been a very helpful guide when it’s come to finding interesting things to do with my life. I started off doing an English degree at Keble College, Oxford, reading and writing about the great works of English Literature with the help of some of the great literary minds of the day. When I’d finished my degree in 1988 (gaining a 2:1), I spent my time running bookshops, mainly in Oxford, guiding others towards words that they too could enjoy.

After a decade of doing that, I decided to try my hand at the other side of the book trade, publishing. I did the MA in Publishing at Oxford Brookes University, graduating in 2001 with Distinction, and started looking for jobs. But before I could find one, the university roped me in to teach their new Publishing undergraduates, and that started me on the road to education, which I’ve been travelling along ever since.

I spent four years teaching undergraduates, and then took the PGCE teaching qualification at Oxford Brookes in 2006. Since then I’ve worked exclusively in independent schools, and I’ve had especially enjoyable jobs at two top girls’ schools, South Hampstead High School and Godolphin and Latymer School.

I’ve another string to my bow which might interest you. When I was at Keble, I was part of the team which won University Challenge in 1987; in 2000 I was the winner of another broadcast quiz, Mastermind. That got me involved in setting quiz questions, and I currently write for Brain of Britain, Round Britain Quiz, and Counterpoint. Tune in to BBC Radio 4 on a Monday lunchtime, and you might very well hear my words.

What you’ll also hear or read, when I’m tutoring you, is someone who sees a student’s confidence, and his or her enjoyment of the subject, as at least as important as their knowledge or skills. You can’t acquire either of those things, or hang on to them, unless you’re completely confident in what you’re doing or until you really love it. That’s what I focus on, and that might be why parents and pupils have often called me ‘inspirational’. I hope you think so too.

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What’s your next step?

Our Learning Advisers are here to help and are happy to talk about how we can support your child to get the best start.

You can reach us by phone, email or live chat, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (UK time).

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