Writing
Learn how to improve your child’s writing
“Writing is hard work. A clear sentence is no accident. Very few sentences come out right the first time, or even the third time. Remember this in moments of despair. If you find that writing is hard, it’s because it is hard.” William Zinsser
Why do children need writing lessons?
Essential Life Skill: Good writers are effective communicators, a crucial ability in all aspects of life
Academic Success: Whether it’s SATs, 11-Plus, GCSEs, A Levels, or a degree, articulating your points clearly is vital for exams
Career Advancement: Almost every job requires some form of written communication; being a competent writer gives you a significant advantage
Creative Thinking: Writing encourages you to think outside the box, helping you stand out from the crowd
Mental Health Benefits: Writing offers an escape from everyday life, allowing you to express your thoughts and emotions- a powerful tool for mental well-being
Limited School Timetabling: With already packed schedules, schools often provide limited opportunities for children to practise writing
Assessment Challenges: Gauging the quality of your child’s writing can be difficult when you’re unsure of the expected standards
Course Content
Boost Your Child’s Writing Skills with Our 7-Week Courses
Each course focuses on a key writing genre from the National Curriculum, reinforcing and expanding on what children learn in school. These courses are perfect for all primary students, especially those preparing for grammar and independent school entrance exams. The lessons enable students to explore and practice all the different genres of writing they might be asked to demonstrate in exams.
Cost: £130
What’s Included:
A baseline assessment before starting
6 live and interactive 45-minute lessons
Bespoke lesson resources
Consolidation homework tasks
A progress assessment at the end
Our fully interactive and engaging lessons encourage students to share their ideas, with teachers providing immediate feedback and support. Using the innovative online educational tool Nearpod, we can see every child’s screen and provide individual advice and support.
Children are taught the key features and essential writing skills appropriate to each genre by a writing expert and are provided with comprehensive supporting resources. Watch your child make rapid progress, gain confidence, and build writing stamina along the way.
Click here for the full course guide.
Marking Service
Maximise Your Child’s Writing Potential with Our Exclusive Marking Service
While marking maths and comprehension papers is straightforward, writing is a different ball game with no right or wrong answers and complex mark schemes. But fear not—we’re here to help!
Our service provides genre-based writing tasks for your child to complete. Each task is comprehensively marked, accompanied by a detailed report highlighting strengths, weaknesses and expert guidance on how to improve.
Cost: £50
How It Works:
- Purchase the Task: Select the relevant task based on your child’s age and the required genre. Download it immediately.
- Complete the Task: Your child completes Task 1 and emails it to one of our English expert markers.
- Receive Feedback: The writing is marked in detail, and a comprehensive report is sent, indicating strengths and areas for improvement.
- Improve and Resubmit: Your child completes Task 2, incorporating the feedback from the report.
- Final Assessment: The same teacher marks the second task and issues another detailed report.
Our service ensures your child receives personalised feedback and support, helping them make significant progress and gain confidence in their writing abilities. Suitable for 7-Plus, 11-Plus and 13-Plus grammar and independent entrance exams
What do our parents say?
“Christos got Headteacher’s award for his writing today. Gobsmacked! Now, if that isn’t down to your teahing, I don’t know what is”
Pana, mum to Christos
“What a fantastic set of lessons. Bella’s writing has come on immeasurably in such a short time!”
Claire, mum to Bella
Course Leader: Ali Goulden
First class BA(QTS) English Literature from The University of Warwick
Fully qualified teacher since 1999
Creative Writing and English specialist and former Head of English
Course Options
Click image for more details and booking
Age 7 to 10 years
Age 9 to 13 years
Writing Clinics
If your family schedule doesn’t permit attendance at weekly classes, we have the perfect alternative in our writing clinics.
Ideal for one-off writing boosters, these sessions give students a condensed experience of a full course in a one-off lesson.
Cost: £5 per class including the resources
See upcoming options below:
Stanley’s Ultimate Guides to Writing
For children, understanding exactly what is required can be one of the most challenging aspects of writing as it’s easy to become overwhelmed by the expectations. Each genre has its own set of key features and, without the guidance of a qualified and experienced English teacher, it can be tough to know and judge what makes a great piece of writing.
With over twenty-five years of teaching experience, Ali has distilled her knowledge and expertise into this fantastic set of guides. These 10-20 page guides are the perfect complement to our courses but are equally valuable for anyone seeking guidance.
Each guide includes:
A checklist of key features, including language, skills, structure, grammar and vocabulary
Focus sentences to help frame your writing
A WAGOLL (What A Good One Looks Like) example
Cost: £5 for a downloadable copy – instant access!
Read our Cracking Character Descriptions
Even the birds have fled to a much warmer, more welcoming country. Silence hovers in the misty air and, apart from my heavy crackling steps on the lightly covered leaves, no sound can be heard. No twitters or tweets. No laughing, no crying. Just endless, eerie silence. Icicles clink together like nature’s own beautiful music.
Longingly, the elegant thin branches reach for the stone-grey clouds, which fill every crack in the sky. Other plants, such as wilting flowers and dusky-green bushes are delicately decorated with frosty-white snowflakes; they shimmer and shine in the early morning sun.
My lips turn blue and I am becoming a shivering dog, who has just taken a dip in the sea. Teeth chattering, I wrap the shawl, which is draped around me, even tighter. Despite me wearing the cosiest, warmest gloves, my hands are being nipped brutally by the relentless freezing weather.
What do our parents say?
“It’s been great seeing Alex come out of his shell and gaining confidence in his abilities through your classes which are so energising and cleverly designed and delivered. All the supporting materials have been top notch! “
Stephanie, mum to Alex
“Christos got Headteacher’s award for his writing today. Gobsmacked! Now, if that isn’t down to your teaching, I don’t know what is”
Pana, mum to Christos
“Just a quick one. Bella did really well in the second stage SET, came high amongst those who got through and can list schools. As you can imagine, we are delighted for her. Thank you so much. It’s all down to you.”
Claire, mum to Bella
“A huge thank you for all the fantastic tutoring Ethan has received from yourself and the rest of your team. We were blown away with how Ethan thrived under your Tutoring which was evident in how incredibly well he did at Caterham school’s 11 plus exams. ”
