Use these free UK Online Tuition resources to identify gaps quickly, choose what to practise next and make revision more focused. No sign-up is required. GCSE English Language Start with the 15-minute English diagnostic if you are unsure which skills are costing marks. For AQA students, use the Paper 1 guide to separate the skills needed for Q2, Q3, Q4 and Q5. GCSE Maths The 12-question maths diagnostic samples number, algebra, ratio, percentages, geometry and probability. Year 11 revision Use the 20-point exam-readiness check to assess whether revision habits are active, targeted and exam-focused. 11+ English and reasoning This short diagnostic gives a quick snapshot of vocabulary, grammar, comprehension and verbal reasoning. How to use these resources Choose one diagnostic, complete it independently, mark it carefully, and turn the weakest two areas into the next week’s practice. Repeating targeted practice is usually more useful than collecting more resources without using them.

AQA Paper 1 combines creative reading and writing. The fastest way to improve is to stop treating Questions 2, 3, 4 and 5 as four versions of the same task. Each rewards a different kind of thinking. Q2: analyse language Your job is to explain how specific words, phrases and language choices create meanings or effects. Do not simply identify a technique and move on. A useful check before you move on Have I selected a precise quotation? Have I zoomed in on a meaningful word or phrase? Have I explored an implication or connotation? Have I connected the choice to an effect on the reader or presentation of the subject? Q3: analyse structure Structure is about how the text is organised and how the reader’s attention changes across it. Think in movements: where the text begins, what it focuses on next, what changes, and why the ending matters. Look for shifts in focus changes of place or time zooming in or out introductions or withholding of information contrasts changes in pace cyclical or contrasting endings Q4: evaluate This is a judgement question. Build a clear argument about how successfully the writer creates the effect or impression in the statement you are given. Evidence matters, but evaluation is more than spotting techniques. A stronger response does three things makes a clear judgement selects evidence that genuinely supports that judgement explains how the writer’s choices make the judgement convincing Q5: creative writing The writing task rewards controlled communication. A successful response does not need the wildest plot. It needs deliberate structure, accurate sentences, carefully chosen vocabulary and a clear sense of purpose. Before writing Decide on one central idea or mood. Plan a simple beginning, development and ending. Choose two or three details you can describe precisely. Vary sentence structures deliberately rather than randomly. Before finishing Check sentence boundaries. Check commas and apostrophes. Remove repeated vague vocabulary. Make sure paragraphs are purposeful. Check that the ending feels earned rather than abruptly added. The key distinction Q2 asks: how does the language work? Q3 asks: how is the text organised? Q4 asks: how convincing is the writer’s effect? Q5 asks: can you control your own writing? This guide is written to support the current AQA GCSE English Language 8700 course. Always use your school’s current materials and official AQA information for paper-specific instructions.

This quick check is designed for Year 11 pupils and parents. Give one point for every statement that is genuinely true now, not something you intend to start doing later. The 20-point check I know the exam board for each of my GCSE subjects. I know which papers I will sit and roughly what each paper tests. I have a realistic weekly revision routine. My revision timetable includes breaks and days off. I spend more time on weak areas than on topics I already enjoy. I regularly retrieve information from memory rather than only rereading notes. I complete exam-style questions every week. I mark or check those questions carefully. I keep a record of repeated mistakes. I revisit mistakes after a few days rather than simply moving on. I can identify my weakest three topics in English or Maths. I can explain what examiners are looking for in the main question types. I practise under timed conditions sometimes. I know approximately how long to spend on major questions. I can start a difficult question without waiting for someone to tell me exactly what to do. I have useful revision resources organised in one place. I sleep reasonably consistently on school nights. I know what I will revise this week, rather than deciding at the last minute. I can name at least one concrete improvement I have made since my last assessment. If I get stuck, I know the next specific action to take. Your score 16–20: strong foundations. Your priority is now quality, timing and increasingly demanding exam practice. 11–15: broadly on track, but several gaps are probably reducing the value of your revision. Fix the lowest-scoring areas first. 6–10: revision may be happening, but it is not yet systematic enough. Build a simple routine around retrieval, exam questions and error correction. 0–5: simplify. Do not create an elaborate timetable. Start with a small number of high-value habits and make them consistent. The three habits with the highest immediate value Retrieval: close the book and force yourself to produce the answer. Exam practice: apply knowledge in the form the exam actually requires. Error review: turn every mistake into a specific thing to practise again. This is a planning tool rather than a grade predictor. Its purpose is to identify behaviours you can actually change.

A short 11+ English and verbal-reasoning diagnostic for parents and pupils who want a quick snapshot of vocabulary, comprehension, grammar and reasoning skills. Instructions Allow 15 minutes. Work independently. Do not use a dictionary. Mark at the end and note which question types caused difficulty. Questions 1. Closest meaning of “reluctant”: eager, unwilling, noisy, careless. 2. Opposite of “scarce”: rare, plentiful, hidden, valuable. 3. Complete: puppy is to dog as calf is to ____. 4. Which does not belong: violin, trumpet, flute, telescope, piano? 5. Rearrange LISTEN to make another six-letter word. 6. Correct: “Neither of the boys were ready for their test.” 7. Add punctuation: After dinner Mum said we could play outside. 8. “Leo folded the letter twice, pushed it deep into his pocket and changed the subject when his sister entered.” What does this suggest about Leo? 9. If all Fens are Rops and no Rops are Tals, can any Fens be Tals? Explain briefly. 10. Complete: 3, 6, 12, 24, __. 11. Complete: B, E, H, K, __. 12. A book costs £7.50. Three books cost how much? Answers 1. unwilling 2. plentiful 3. cow 4. telescope 5. SILENT 6. “Neither of the boys was ready for his test.” 7. “After dinner, Mum said we could play outside.” 8. He is probably hiding or avoiding something; the hidden letter and changed subject support the inference. 9. No. Every Fen is a Rop, and no Rop can be a Tal. 10. 48 11. N 12. £22.50 Score guide 10–12 strong starting point: increase challenge and work on speed and precision. 7–9 broadly secure: practise the question types that caused mistakes. 4–6 uneven: vocabulary, comprehension or reasoning foundations need targeted work. 0–3 focus on one skill at a time rather than lots of full practice papers. Different 11+ providers use different formats, so this is a general skills check rather than a prediction for a specific test.

A free 15-minute GCSE Maths check-up covering number, algebra, ratio, percentages, geometry and probability. Instructions No calculator unless you genuinely need one. Give yourself 15 minutes. Show working where possible. Mark only after all 12 questions. Questions 1. Calculate 7.2 × 0.4. 2. Write 0.375 as a fraction in simplest form. 3. Increase £80 by 15%. 4. Simplify 3a + 5b − a + 2b. 5. Solve 4x + 7 = 31. 6. Expand 3(x + 4). 7. Flour and sugar are in the ratio 5:2. If 350 g of flour is used, how much sugar is needed? 8. A jacket is reduced from £60 to £45. What percentage reduction is this? 9. The angles in a triangle are 48°, 67° and x°. Find x. 10. A rectangle is 8 cm by 5 cm. Find its area and perimeter. 11. A bag contains 3 red, 5 blue and 2 green counters. What is the probability of choosing green? 12. Sequence: 5, 9, 13, 17, … Write an expression for the nth term. Answers 1. 2.88 2. 3/8 3. £92 4. 2a + 7b 5. x = 6 6. 3x + 12 7. 140 g 8. 25% 9. 65° 10. Area = 40 cm²; perimeter = 26 cm 11. 1/5 12. 4n + 1 Score guide 10–12 secure: move towards multi-step exam questions and timed practice. 7–9 reasonable foundation: identify the topics behind your errors and practise those first. 4–6 several gaps: focus on core methods before full papers. 0–3 rebuild fundamentals carefully with short targeted practice. This is a broad skills diagnostic, not a grade predictor.

A quick, free check-up for Year 10 and Year 11 students. It is designed to identify common weaknesses in GCSE English Language without requiring a full paper. How to use it Set a 15-minute timer. Answer without notes or help. Check the answers only when the timer ends. Use the score guide to decide what to practise next. The diagnostic 1. Language technique “The corridor swallowed him into darkness.” Name the main technique and explain one effect. 2. Precise inference “Maya checked the clock for the fourth time and rubbed her palms against her jeans.” What can you infer about Maya? Give evidence. 3. Better analysis Improve this weak comment: “The writer uses the word ‘cold’ to show it is cold.” Explore a possible connotation of “cold”. 4. Sentence control Correct the punctuation: Although the rain had stopped the streets were still shining the shops however remained closed 5. Vocabulary Replace “nice” with a more precise adjective: “The view from the hill was nice.” 6. Structure A story begins with a crowded station, zooms in on one abandoned suitcase, then ends with the station completely empty. Give one effect of this change. 7. Evaluation A student says: “The writer makes the storm seem genuinely dangerous.” Give one sentence agreeing or disagreeing and one type of evidence you would look for. 8. Writing Write one opening sentence for a story called “The Last Train” that creates immediate tension without saying “I was scared”. Answers and self-marking 1. Personification or metaphor with an accurate effect. Strong answers explain that “swallowed” makes the corridor seem threatening, consuming or inescapable. 2. Maya is likely nervous, anxious or impatient. Evidence includes repeatedly checking the clock or rubbing her palms. 3. Strong analysis explores an implication such as emotional distance, hostility or lifelessness, depending on context. 4. One correct version: “Although the rain had stopped, the streets were still shining; the shops, however, remained closed.” 5. Answers vary. Examples: breathtaking, panoramic, spectacular, tranquil or imposing. 6. Credit an effect such as mystery, unease, isolation or focus on the suitcase. 7. Credit a clear judgement plus relevant evidence such as violent verbs, threatening imagery, short sentences or sensory detail. 8. Credit a controlled opening that creates tension through detail, uncertainty, setting, action or implication. Score guide 7–8 secure: focus on speed, precision and higher-level interpretation. 5–6 developing well: identify the two weakest question types and practise them deliberately. 3–4 significant gaps: build core analysis, inference and sentence-control skills before doing lots of full papers. 0–2 start with fundamentals and short guided practice. This diagnostic is a starting point, not a GCSE grade predictor.

Primary tuition is most useful when it solves a specific learning problem rather than simply adding another hour of school-style work. That may mean closing a gap, rebuilding confidence, providing greater challenge or preparing for the transition to secondary school. Primary English support Reading fluency and comprehension. Inference and evidence-based answers. Vocabulary development. Grammar, punctuation and sentence control. Planning and improving written work. Building confidence with longer or more demanding texts. Primary Maths support Number sense and place value. Written and mental calculation. Fractions, decimals and percentages. Ratio and early algebra where appropriate. Measures, geometry and data. Reasoning and multi-step problem solving. Confidence should come from competence Praise matters, but confidence is more durable when a pupil can see that something which used to be difficult is now manageable. Lessons therefore need enough support for success, followed by a gradual reduction in prompts. Avoid creating dependence A tutor should not become the person who completes every difficult step for the child. Modelling is useful at the start, but over time more of the thinking should transfer back to the pupil. Year 6 and secondary transition For older Primary pupils, tuition can also strengthen the reading, writing, number and independent-working habits they will need in Year 7. SATs preparation can be included where relevant without making every lesson a test paper. What progress should look like Useful signs include fewer repeated misconceptions, clearer written explanations, more secure calculation, better reading accuracy and a pupil starting tasks with less prompting.

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde rewards students who understand not only duality but also the way Stevenson controls information. The novella is a mystery before it becomes a confession, so narrative structure is part of its meaning. Core themes Duality and the divided self. Reputation, secrecy and social respectability. Science, transgression and the limits of knowledge. Repression, desire and hidden behaviour. Violence, degeneration and fears about civilisation. Friendship, isolation and failed communication. Versatile public-domain quotations Short quotations worth knowing include 'man is not truly one, but truly two', 'ape-like fury', 'Satan's signature', 'profound duplicity of life', 'my devil had been long caged', and 'the moment I choose, I can be rid of Mr Hyde'. Victorian context with a purpose Rapid scientific development created excitement and anxiety about challenging religious and moral boundaries. Ideas around evolution and degeneration can illuminate Hyde's repeated association with something primitive or less fully human. Middle-class respectability helps explain the importance of reputation, secrecy and the male professional world of Utterson, Jekyll and Lanyon. Gothic conventions allow hidden spaces, doubles, violence and the uncanny to externalise fears respectable society tries to suppress. Use narrative structure as analysis The reader spends much of the novella following Utterson's limited viewpoint. Full explanations arrive late through Lanyon's narrative and Jekyll's statement. That delayed revelation creates mystery and forces the reader to reinterpret earlier events. Extract-to-whole-novella method Build a thesis about Stevenson's presentation, not merely the named theme. Analyse two or three precise details from the extract. Connect the extract to earlier and later stages of the mystery. Use structural ideas such as concealment, delayed revelation or shifting viewpoint where relevant. Link Victorian context directly to interpretation. Common mistakes Writing a generic paragraph about Victorian repression regardless of the question. Treating Jekyll and Hyde as completely separate and ignoring Jekyll's responsibility. Describing Hyde as evil without analysing how Stevenson constructs that response. Ignoring how Utterson's viewpoint shapes what the reader knows. Using scientific context as a fact dump. A high-value revision task Choose one quotation about Jekyll and one about Hyde. Write three different thesis statements that could use both: one on duality, one on reputation and one on science. This trains flexible evidence rather than single-purpose memorisation.

Macbeth revision becomes much easier when the play is organised around recurring ideas rather than memorised scene by scene. For AQA, students respond to a printed extract and then write about the play as a whole, so revision must connect close analysis with wider patterns. Core themes to connect Ambition and the desire for power. Kingship, tyranny and political order. The supernatural, fate and temptation. Guilt, conscience and psychological collapse. Masculinity, violence and manipulation. Appearance, deception and moral disorder. Versatile Macbeth quotations Useful short quotations include 'vaulting ambition', 'stars, hide your fires', 'unsex me here', 'false face must hide', 'full of scorpions is my mind', and 'tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow'. Revise each as flexible evidence rather than giving it one fixed meaning. Context that helps analysis James I became king of England in 1603, making legitimate kingship and threats to political order important contexts. Belief in witchcraft and the supernatural could make the Weird Sisters especially unsettling to a Jacobean audience. The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 sharpened anxieties around treason, regicide and hidden threats to the monarch. Early modern expectations around gender and martial masculinity help illuminate Lady Macbeth's manipulation and Macbeth's repeated need to prove himself through violence. Track Macbeth as a sequence Macbeth begins as a celebrated warrior, recognises the moral danger of regicide, chooses murder, becomes increasingly dependent on violence, and finally reaches a bleak form of nihilism. That trajectory can support questions on ambition, guilt, power, violence and the supernatural. Extract-to-whole-play planning Turn the question into an argument rather than a topic label. Find two or three extract details that directly support that argument. Identify a method and explain what it suggests. Connect each point to an earlier or later moment elsewhere in the play. Use context only where it deepens the interpretation. Judge what Shakespeare ultimately shows about the theme or character. Common mistakes Retelling the murder plot instead of analysing Shakespeare's presentation. Naming techniques without explaining why they matter. Adding memorised context that is not connected to the argument. Writing only about the extract and forgetting the whole play. Learning too many quotations too shallowly. A 20-minute drill Pick one theme. Write a one-sentence thesis, retrieve three short quotations from different stages of the play, and explain how each develops the theme. Then write one paragraph using the strongest evidence.

AQA GCSE English Literature is a closed-book qualification, so revision has to do two jobs at once: build secure knowledge of the texts and develop the analytical writing needed to use that knowledge under exam conditions. How the AQA Literature exam is organised Paper 1 covers Shakespeare and the 19th-century novel. It lasts 1 hour 45 minutes, carries 64 marks and is worth 40% of the GCSE. Paper 2 covers the modern text, anthology poetry and unseen poetry. It lasts 2 hours 15 minutes, carries 96 marks and is worth 60%. Paper 1: Shakespeare using a printed extract and the play as a whole. Paper 1: a 19th-century novel using a printed extract and the novel as a whole. Paper 2: one modern prose or drama essay. Paper 2: compare one named anthology poem with another poem from the same cluster. Paper 2: analyse one unseen poem and then compare it with a second unseen poem. Know the text as a network, not a plot Plot knowledge is necessary but insufficient. Strong revision connects characters, themes, turning points and methods so that the same evidence can be adapted to different questions. A small set of versatile, well-understood references is more useful than a huge quotation list learned without interpretation. Practise the move from evidence to argument Students often know a quotation but do not know what to do with it. Practise a repeatable sequence: make a claim that answers the question, select precise evidence, analyse the writer's method, develop an interpretation, then connect that interpretation to the text as a whole. Use context to illuminate the text Context should sharpen interpretation rather than become a detached history paragraph. Ask how a relevant social, political or literary idea helps explain a writer's choice or an audience response. Build a closed-book quotation system Create compact quotation banks organised by theme and character. Each quotation should have more than one possible use. Retrieval practice is stronger when the quotation is recalled and then used in a sentence or paragraph rather than simply reread. The four high-value revision hubs A useful weekly Literature routine Retrieve quotations, characters and key moments. Closely analyse one short extract or poem. Plan a thesis and three analytical or comparative points. Write one timed paragraph or essay section. Review feedback and identify one specific next target.

Paper 2 Question 2 is worth 8 marks and assesses AO1 across both sources. AQA reworded the question for the 2026 assessment to make the demand clearer: infer differences between the two texts and support those inferences with relevant detail. This is a synthesis task, not a language-analysis question. The key word is infer An inference moves beyond what a quotation literally says. If one source describes padded seats and dining facilities while another describes exposed benches, the useful inference is not simply that the trains have different seats. You might infer that one journey prioritises passenger comfort while the other reflects a more basic stage of transport. A compact comparison method Identify the specific comparison focus in the question. Find one relevant detail from Source A and infer what it suggests. Find a contrasting or corresponding detail from Source B and infer what it suggests. State the difference clearly. Repeat with another distinct point rather than recycling the same contrast. A paragraph can be simple A strong paragraph does not need lots of terminology. It needs a clear difference, appropriate evidence from both sources and a developed inference. Useful stems include: “Source A suggests…, whereas Source B implies…” and “This difference indicates that…”. Do not turn Question 2 into Question 3. You are rewarded for inference and synthesis here, not for naming metaphors, verbs or semantic fields. Mini-example with invented sources Source A: a traveller checks a digital departure board and complains that the train is six minutes late. Source B: a traveller waits beside a dirt road without knowing whether the coach will arrive that day. A surface comparison says both are waiting. A stronger inference is that Source A presents travel as highly scheduled, so a small delay feels significant, whereas Source B suggests uncertainty is normal and travellers have much less control over time. Common mistakes Comparing the writers’ feelings instead of the topic named in Question 2. Analysing language methods when AO1 is being assessed. Using a quotation and then paraphrasing it rather than making an inference. Writing about Source A for a full paragraph and Source B later without synthesising them. Repeating one broad difference several times. Practice drill Take two short non-fiction paragraphs on the same topic. Write three literal differences. Under each one, add “This suggests…” for both sources. Choose the two comparisons where your inferences are most developed. Write them as paired paragraphs with evidence from both texts. Final checklist I used both sources in each main comparison. I made inferences rather than only spotting differences. My evidence matches the comparison focus. I did not waste time on language terminology. My second point adds a genuinely new difference. For the definitive specification and current assessment information, check AQA GCSE English Language 8700.

Paper 1 Question 5 is worth 40 marks: 24 for content and organisation (AO5) and 16 for technical accuracy (AO6). For the 2026 format, AQA clarified two important points. The descriptive option can be written from your own imagination rather than being tied to the supplied picture, and the narrative option asks for the opening of a story rather than a complete story. The first decision: description or story opening? Choose the option that gives you the clearest material, not the one that sounds more impressive. A successful description needs deliberate movement of focus and atmosphere. A successful story opening needs controlled character, setting, viewpoint and a developing situation; it does not need to race through an entire plot. Plan for control, not quantity Choose one central atmosphere, idea or tension. Plan three or four stages of development. For description, this might be wide view → detail → interruption → changed view. For a story opening, it might be setting → character goal → disturbance → unresolved turn. Choose a small bank of precise details and images. Avoid planning twenty devices. Decide where sentence length, paragraphing and punctuation can genuinely control pace or emphasis. A useful description structure Establish a clear viewpoint: where is the observer and what can they notice? Move focus deliberately rather than listing objects. Develop sensory detail selectively; not every sentence needs all five senses. Let the atmosphere change or deepen so the piece has progression. End on an image, detail or shift that feels connected to the opening. A useful story-opening structure Introduce the setting and character efficiently. Give the character an immediate want, concern or uncertainty. Allow one event, discovery or interruption to change the situation. Use dialogue only when it reveals character or moves the opening forward. Stop at a point that creates meaningful expectation; you are writing an opening, not resolving the whole narrative. Mini-example: controlled imagery Instead of stacking similes, choose one image and develop it. “Rain stitched the street to the grey sky” creates a visual link. A later detail about headlights “tearing the stitches apart” could develop the same image and create cohesion. Reusing an image with variation is often more controlled than introducing a new metaphor in every sentence. AO6 is nearly half the task The 16 technical-accuracy marks mean spelling, punctuation, grammar, vocabulary and sentence control are not an afterthought. Ambitious writing that repeatedly loses sentence boundaries can sacrifice a substantial part of the available marks. Use sentence variety because the meaning needs it, not simply to tick a box. Check full stops and commas before searching for exotic punctuation. Keep tense and viewpoint consistent unless a change is deliberate. Use ambitious vocabulary precisely. An accurate ordinary word is better than a misused impressive one. Leave time to reread for missing words, agreement errors and repeated punctuation mistakes. Common mistakes Trying to tell a beginning, middle and ending at high speed. Writing a static description that becomes a catalogue of colours and sounds. Forcing a memorised story onto a prompt it does not fit. Using a rhetorical-device checklist instead of creating a coherent voice. Ignoring paragraphing and sentence control while chasing vocabulary. Final checklist My piece has a clear central idea or atmosphere. The structure changes or develops. Details are selected, not piled up. My narrative is an opening, not a rushed complete story. I have checked sentence boundaries, spelling and punctuation. For the definitive specification and current assessment information, check AQA GCSE English Language 8700.