Find My TutorAdd your business
← Back to Derby
English Tutor Derby

English Tutor Derby

5.0(22 reviews)See reviews ↓·Derby

About the company

Stephen Smith, who holds a BA (Hons) in English, a PGCE in Secondary English and Qualified Teacher Status, founded English Tutor Derby and has run it for eight years, having previously taught for 15 years across two Derby secondary schools. As Lead Tutor he teaches English Language and English Literature up to GCSE level, covering levels from primary school through SATs, KS3, GCSE and A-levels.

Tuition is delivered face-to-face on a one-to-one basis.

What customers say

Based on genuine customer reviews

English tuition for secondary-school pupils preparing for GCSE examinations is the theme that runs through the feedback for this Derby tutor. Stephen is named repeatedly, with reviewers describing him as calm, patient and dependable, and several parents explain that their child arrived well behind after long absences or a school transfer, only to recover ground and gain confidence.

An observation shared by more than one reviewer is the improvement between mock results and final grades, with pupils who had been predicted low marks going on to secure passes and higher grades that allowed them to continue to A level. The teaching is tailored to each pupil's school outcomes, covering both language and literature, and reviews time and again mention the planning behind each session and the way Stephen identified the level a child was working at. Parents also note his politeness and the reassurance he gave them during a stressful period, and one family describes weekly sessions sustained over nearly three years.

Others credit the tuition with boosting their child's overall happiness and self-belief, while the practical skills developed extended beyond simply passing an examination. Adaptability to changing circumstances, including disruption caused by school closures, is also highlighted, and the general tone is one of gratitude for patient, reliable support that delivered the grades families had hoped for.

Reviews

Reviews are taken from publicly available sources.

LB
louise butterfield31 August 2025

I would highly recommend Stephen. He has an excellent way of teaching and always reliable. My son has always struggled with English. We cannot thank him enough for helping him achieve a good grade in his GCSE to allow him to go onto A levels.

AT
Alan Tatham30 August 2025

Stephen has been an excellent tutor for our son. He is very calm and patient and my son felt extremely comfortable working with him. With Stephen’s help he improved by 2 grades, passing with flying colours. Thank you Stephen. Highly recommend.

CB
Claire Brown21 August 2025

I would highly recommend Stephen for English tuition. He helped my son throughout year 11 to give him the confidence and skills to successfully pass his GCSE English language and literature exams. Stephen is very patient, understanding and reliable.

GB
Gurnam Bola15 September 2024

There are no doubts that Stephen is a five star English tutor. He helped our son achieve a grade 7 in his English Language GCSE (2024). He turned around the much lower predicted grade our son received following his Year 10 mocks to what he achieved at the end of Year 11. We were truly grateful for the support & confidence that he provided our son. Thank you so much Stephen for all your help.

MC
Mark Cordwell15 September 2024

I found Steve to help with my son's writing/spelling/English soon as COVID hit and school's were closing. I definitely didn't want my son falling behind into his senior year's and possibly impacting his GCSEs further down the line. I can't thank Steve enough for all his hard work and patience with my son. A weekly session over nearly three years they worked together on his language and literature. Steve's attitude to the work session and the setting of homework leading onto the next week's session is second to none. Very patient and explaining without over complicating. This year my son passed all his GCSEs. I'm over the moon and very proud. Would highly recommend his service.

MW
Maggie Watson4 September 2024

We had several tutor sessions with Stephen at the start of my son’s year 11. My son was good at English Language but didn’t do great in his mocks. Stephen quickly recognised and encouraged his ability and made him feel confident and able. Stephen is very professional and outlines everything he has done in the session and what he will do next time. He helped my son get a good grade at GCSE and he is studying English Language at A Level. I cannot recommend Stephen highly enough and I’m so glad we chose him.

EH
Eve Harding25 September 2023

Stephen is an amazing English Tutor who I would highly recommend. My son transferred schools 6 mths into Year 10 with his GCSE’s looming. This caused a few issues with English as the literature books he had already studied were not the same as studied at the new school for his exams. I contacted Stephen to see if he could help, as we were desperate as my son was now very far behind. Stephen was fantastic in his teaching approach, very calm, kind, patient and nurturing and helped my son learn and understand Romeo & Juliet from scratch which was not an easy task. My son passed his English GCSE’s with Stephen’s help and got into the course he wanted at college because of this. I could not recommend Stephen highly enough.

Private tutors in Derby compared

Ordered by rating, weighted by the number of reviews — businesses with only a handful of reviews do not jump to the top automatically. 10 businesses in this category in Derby are compared.

RankProviderRatingReviewsOpen Sat.
1mrsobrienmathstuition.com★ 5,051Yes
2Heatherton Tutors★ 5,025No
3Kip McGrath Derby North★ 5,023No
4English Tutor Derby (this page)★ 5,022No
5Education Made Easy - Derby Tutors★ 5,012No
Contact
+447799920694englishtutorderby.wixsite.com/website-9Birchover Way, Allestree, Derby DE22 2QG