Our Tutors - Alex Harrison

Alex, English Language and Literature - University of Oxford

Hello! I’m Alex, and I graduated from Oxford in 2022 after completing a BA in English Language and Literature. After working as an English teacher for four years, I am returning to academia in September to complete an MA in Enlightenment, Romantic and Victorian Literature at the University of Edinburgh. My current research interests include: the development of the novel; reading cultures and literacy in the 18th century; needlework; and George Eliot!

I am a fully qualified English teacher with extensive experience as both a classroom teacher and an online tutor. My four years of teaching at a top-performing school in London have given me an in-depth understanding of both GCSE and A-Level exam specifications. As a teacher, I supported the school’s high achievers programme, coaching dozens of students through Oxbridge applications, leading to a significant increase in success rates. Whilst classroom teaching has been an exciting and valuable experience, online tutoring has always been the aspect of teaching I’ve most enjoyed. English is a fundamentally dialogic subject, most engaging when taught in an environment that facilitates exciting 1:1 discussion. This is why I find online tutoring so enjoyable – I feel able to draw out a student’s personal response to a text, with the lesson often moving in a more challenging or interesting direction than it would in an ordinary classroom. 

My teaching approach is characterised by patience, empathy and an openness to students’ ideas. My experience as a teacher means I have a thorough understanding of SEND needs and can teach a range of abilities. I am well-suited to supporting lower prior-attainers, but also relish the opportunity to push students toward the top grades. Throughout my education and adult life, literature has been my greatest passion, and I remain thoroughly immersed in the subject as a postgraduate student. Through tutoring, I aim to share this passion with my students, instilling a genuine love for the subject, alongside a renewed confidence in their own ideas and academic potential. 

I am very pleased to have received incredibly positive feedback from parents and students, with many commenting that my lessons are ‘interesting and engaging’ and have had a fantastic impact on both confidence and results.