Autumn term Three weekday one-to-one slots remain before the October assessment window. Ask about a slot
Linen FieldPrivate Tuition
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Two learners working through written problems together at a table with notebooks open

One-to-one tuition · Maths, English, Science

Steady progress, one honest hour at a time.

Linen Field is a small tutoring practice run by Marguerite Ashby. Sessions are planned around what a learner can already do, so the hour is spent on the gap that is actually holding them back — not on re-reading the textbook together.

Enquire about a slot See subjects & levels
  • Years 5 – 13
  • In person or online
  • Weekly written notes

How a term runs

Four stages, from first conversation to end-of-term summary

Every learner follows the same simple arc. Knowing the shape of it in advance makes the commitment easier to judge.

  1. A short conversation, then a diagnostic hour

    We talk about what the learner finds hard and what school has already flagged. The first paid hour is spent on a written diagnostic: a mixed set of questions that shows where the understanding thins out rather than where the marks were lost.

    Week one

  2. A term plan you can read in two minutes

    You receive a one-page plan: the topics we will rebuild in order, the exam board or curriculum we are working to, and the habits we are trying to establish — showing working, checking units, planning before writing.

    Weeks one to two

  3. Weekly sessions with a task in between

    Each session opens by marking the week's task together, spends the middle on new ground, and closes with the learner explaining the method back in their own words. Between-session work is deliberately short — around twenty-five minutes.

    Through the term

  4. A written summary before the break

    At the end of term you get a plain summary: what was covered, what has genuinely landed, what is still fragile, and whether continuing is worth it. If tuition is no longer the right use of the money, the note says so.

    Final week

Subjects & levels

What I teach, and how far up

I keep the subject list narrow on purpose. Anything outside it would be tutoring from a textbook rather than from experience, and you would feel the difference within a fortnight.

Equations and working written out step by step across a board
Method written out in full, every time
Curriculum coverage by subject
Subject Levels What the work focuses on
Mathematics Years 5–11, GCSE foundation & higher Number fluency, algebraic manipulation, ratio and proportion, geometry reasoning, and the multi-step problems where marks are usually dropped for missing working rather than wrong answers.
English language Years 5–11, GCSE Reading unseen extracts under time, structuring an argument, sentence-level control, and the transactional writing tasks that reward planning more than vocabulary.
English literature Years 9–11, GCSE Building a usable quotation bank, writing about method instead of plot, and comparing texts without falling into a checklist answer.
Combined science Years 7–11, GCSE Required practicals, graph and data questions, rearranging formulae with confidence, and the six-mark extended answers that need a structure rather than more facts.
Study skills Years 9–13 Retrieval practice, revision timetabling that survives a bad week, past-paper technique, and managing the hour itself in the exam room.
Handwritten notes and worked steps in an open notebook beside a pen

Working method

The hour has a shape, and so does the week around it

Tuition works when it changes what a learner does on their own. Everything below exists to make that more likely.

  • Marking together, not marking for The week's task is marked in front of the learner so they see how a marker reads their work — where the method mark sat, and what a single missing line cost.
  • One idea per session A session rebuilds a single idea properly rather than skimming four. Narrow and finished beats broad and vague.
  • Explain it back The last five minutes are the learner teaching the method back to me. If that stalls, the topic returns next week instead of being ticked off.
  • Short, specific homework Around twenty-five minutes, with the questions chosen rather than a page number assigned. Long tasks get abandoned; short ones get done.
  • Notes a parent can read A few lines after each session: what we covered, what the task is, and anything worth mentioning at home. No jargon, no scoring.

Session formats

Three ways to work, priced per session

All formats include the between-session task, marking, and the written note afterwards. Sessions are booked a term at a time so the plan has room to work.

Most common

One-to-one

£46 / 60 minutes

  • Length60 minutes, same slot weekly
  • GroupOne learner
  • SuitsRebuilding a subject from an unclear base, or stretching well past the class pace
  • IncludesTerm plan, weekly task with marking, session notes, end-of-term summary

Shared cost

Paired session

£30 / 75 minutes, each

  • Length75 minutes, same slot weekly
  • GroupTwo learners at a similar level, arranged between you
  • SuitsSiblings or classmates covering the same topics who work better with someone to compare methods against
  • IncludesShared term plan, individual tasks and marking, one note per learner

Exam period

Paper clinic

£62 / 90 minutes

  • Length90 minutes, booked as needed
  • GroupOne learner
  • SuitsThe weeks before a paper, when technique and timing matter more than new content
  • IncludesA sat past paper, full mark-scheme walkthrough, and a short list of what to revise next

Questions

The things parents ask before booking

If something here is still unclear, put it in the enquiry form and I will answer it properly rather than generically.

How much notice do you need to cancel a session?
Twenty-four hours, and the session moves to another slot that week where one exists. Inside twenty-four hours the session is charged, because the planning and the marking for it are already done. Illness is the obvious exception — just tell me.
Is online tuition really as effective as in person?
For maths and science it is close to identical, as long as the learner has a shared writing surface — a tablet, or a phone propped to show their page. For younger learners, or anyone who drifts easily, in person is usually the better use of the hour. We can start in person and switch later.
My child says they hate the subject. Is tutoring pointless?
Usually the opposite. Most subject hatred is confusion that has been carried for a year or two, and it softens once something finally makes sense. I do not use enthusiasm as a tactic — we work on one concrete thing until it works, and the attitude tends to follow the competence rather than lead it.
What do I actually receive as a parent?
A one-page term plan at the start, a few lines of notes after each session saying what we covered and what the task is, and a written summary at the end of term. No dashboards or scores to interpret.
Do you work to a specific exam board?
Yes. Tell me the board and specification at the enquiry stage and the plan is built around that paper structure, its required practicals, and its mark schemes. If the board is unknown, the school's subject page usually lists it.
Can we try a single session before committing to a term?
The first session is the diagnostic hour, and it stands alone — you are free to stop there. It is charged at the standard rate because it produces the plan, but nothing beyond it is booked until you have read that plan and decided.
How many hours a week make a difference?
One well-used hour with a short task in between beats two hours with nothing between them. Two sessions a week only make sense during an exam period, or when a learner is rebuilding a subject from a long way behind.

Enquire

Tell me about the learner

A few details are enough to say whether I can help and which slots are open. I reply to every enquiry myself, usually within two working days.

Weekday slots · 15:30 to 19:30 · Saturday mornings in exam term

The more specific this is, the more useful my reply will be.

I use these details only to answer your enquiry.