Depending on your child's preference and/or their particular needs, both of the following workshops for children can be conducted either on a one-to-one basis or in small groups.  Please contact me to discuss your requirements.


MAKING ENGLISH ENJOYABLE

Unfortunately, the way in which English is taught at school, with a heavy emphasis on exams and targets, can occasionally end up putting children off the subject altogether! The focus on literary techniques and learning the correct answers to anticipated exam questions can often obscure the beauty of the language, the richness of the history behind a piece of work and the simple strength or value of the content.

I want to make English fun for your children and a large part of doing that successfully comes down to choosing both the right material to look at and the right way to approach it - something that varies from one individual to another. That's why our first session will simply involve a detailed chat with your child, during which time they will fill in a questionnaire on their particular likes, dislikes, interests and opinions. I will then be able to tailor my choices of material and approach for subsequent sessions in as informed a way as possible.

As well as doing a certain amount of reading and creative writing, throughout the course of our sessions together we may also watch a number of films and plays, meet and talk to a few actors, do some acting ourselves and visit certain museums or other places of interest.* Some of these activities may be assigned as homework, others will take place during our lessons.

Whether we have only a couple of sessions together or a couple of hundred(!), it is my hope and intention that your child will emerge from them with a better understanding and love of English in general and the specific material that we have looked at in particular - and the sense of empowerment that only a true feeling for the language and what you can do with it can give you.

*Where an entry fee is payable, you will be responsible for the cost of your child's ticket in addition to the fee for their lessons. I will, of course, pay for my own ticket!

CREATIVE WRITING

This course will involve a great deal of creative writing and will focus on a different subject each week. Your child can choose either to attend the whole course or to book only the individual sessions in which they are interested. Week by week, we will consider the following subjects.

·            Where do ideas come from?

·         How can I create a great main character?

·         Which is the best way to tell my particular story?

·         How can I make the world of my story real?

·         How can I grab a reader's attention?

·         Beginnings, Middles & Ends

·         The basics of publication

For those attending more than one session, I will also set a little bit of enjoyable homework each week!

MARKS OUT OF 10:

 "10/10.  I really liked the creativity of it - thank you so much!"
Amira C, Barnes

"9/10.  I particularly enjoyed when we got to write a paragraph about our character."
Isabel L, Mortlake