Online English tutor & more
Rowena
Cambridge graduate with two decades' experience as a GCSE and A-level examiner
Hourly rate
£90/hr
Online English tutor & more
Cambridge graduate with two decades' experience as a GCSE and A-level examiner
About
I have worked as a teacher and tutor for over 20 years. Since 2020 I have been a full-time tutor in GCSE and A-level English, GCSE and A-level Religious Studies, GCSE History and A-level Philosophy.
I have experience teaching the following subjects:
ENGLISH
- Edexcel IGCSE English Language A and Literature, with the following options: Of Mice and Men, The Whale Rider, To Kill a Mockingbird, Things Fall Apart, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, The Merchant of Venice, Pride and Prejudice, An Inspector Calls.
- Cambridge IGCSE Language and Literature, with the following options: To Kill a Mockingbird, Pride and Prejudice, Stories of Ourselves Volume 2 (Nick, The Woman’s Rose, etc.), A Streetcar Named Desire, A Taste of Honey, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Tempest, An Inspector Calls, War of the Worlds, Things Fall Apart, Songs of Ourselves Vol. 1 (Lament, Hunting Snake, etc.), Songs of Ourselves Vol. 2 (The Road, The Bus, etc.)
- Cambridge IGCSE World Literature with The Sound of Waves, Stories of Ourselves Volume 2 (The Doll’s House, etc.) and unseen poetry
- AQA GCSE English Language and Literature, with the following options: Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice, An Inspector Calls, A Taste of Honey, Lord of the Flies, A Christmas Carol, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, The Sign of Four, Pride and Prejudice, Power and Conflict poetry, Love and Relationships poetry, Worlds and Lives poetry.
- Edexcel GCSE English Language and Literature, with the following options: Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, The Merchant of Venice, Animal Farm, An Inspector Calls, Journey's End, Lord of the Flies, A Christmas Carol, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Frankenstein, Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Relationships poetry, Belonging poetry, Conflict poetry
- AQA A-level English Literature A with the following options: Pre-1900 love poetry, The Great Gatsby, Rebecca, The Taming of the Shrew, Othello, A Streetcar Named Desire, A Handmaid's Tale, Feminine Gospels.
RELIGIOUS STUDIES
- OCR A-level Religious Studies: Philosophy of Religion, Ethics and Christian Thought
- Eduqas A-level Religious Studies: Philosophy of Religion, Ethics and Christianity
- Edexcel A-level Religious Studies: Philosophy of Religion, Ethics and New Testament
- AQA GCSE Religious Studies Specification A – Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Themes, including Mark’s Gospel
- AQA GCSE Religious Studies Specification B (Roman Catholic) – all units, including Mark’s Gospel
- Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies – Christianity and Islam
- OCR GCSE Religious Studies - Christianity and Islam
PHILOSOPHY
- AQA A-level Philosophy
HISTORY
- Cambridge IGCSE History, with any of the following units: Core Content B, The First World War, Germany, Russia
- Edexcel IGCSE History, with any of the following units: Germany, development of dictatorship, 1918-45; A world divided, superpower relations, 1943-72; The Origins and course of the First World War, 1905-18; Russia and the Soviet Union, 1905-24; The Middle East, 1917-2012.
- Edexcel GCSE History, with any of the following units: Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c.1060-88; Early Elizabethan England; Superpower relations and the Cold War, 1941-91; Russia and the Soviet Union, 1917-41; Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918-39
About me:
I graduated from Cambridge University in 2000 with a degree in Religious Studies.
I worked as a teacher and Head of Department in Religious Studies and Philosophy from 2005 until 2020. I have been tutoring in English, History, Philosophy and Religious Studies since 2013.
I have over 20 years’ experience helping students with university applications. I offer current and former students free help with UCAS applications.
I can assist with practice interviews for Oxford and Cambridge Religious Studies and Philosophy.
I am now a full-time tutor so I can provide dedicated help to a small number of students. I am happy to mark work and answer questions between lessons for no additional cost when possible.
£90/hr · 3 subjects · 7 levels
Subjects & pricing
£90/hr
Languages
- English Native
Qualifications
Higher education
- MA (Hons) Religious Studies · University of Cambridge · 2:1 (Upper second) · 2000 University of Cambridge · 2:1 (Upper second) · 2000
Teaching qualification
- PGCE Religious Education · University of Cambridge · Pass · 2005 University of Cambridge · Pass · 2005
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- Jan 2026 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Rowena is a brilliant tutor - calm, reassuring and hugely knowledgeable. She helped my son with GCSE RS, English Language and English Lit. I highly recommend her.
- Dec 2025 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Infectious passion about the subject. Very organised and helpful . She immediately hit it off with my daughter.
- Aug 2025 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
An excellent tutor – she taught my child History for GCSE and helped achieve a grade 9. Her teaching is clear, well-structured, and highly efficient. I would strongly recommend her to any student looking for outstanding support.
- Aug 2025 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
I am delighted that I chose Rowena as a tutor for my daughter and if you are unsure about it, rest assured you will not be disappointed if you go ahead with it. Circumstances led to my daughter doing a Religious Studies Edexcel A-Level in less than a year and ended up with a very solid B. This was all due to Rowena’s excellent teaching as she was not able to do this A-Level at school and therefore the complete course was taught by Rowena. My daughter and I both thought she was absolutely brilliant and is a wealth of information on the topics being studied and on examination techniques. She is always extremely well prepared for her lessons, very approachable and explains complicated and difficult topics in such a manner that it just makes total sense. Lessons with Rowena were intense in that she had to get through a lot of information in each weekly lesson, but were also so enjoyable. My daughter genuinely enjoyed her sessions with Rowena and actually looked forward to them each week. £80 per lesson may initially sound slightly steep, but is worth every single penny. In my opinion you will have zero regrets about choosing Rowena as a tutor.
- Jul 2025 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Really good tutoring, teaching schedule was tailored very well. Very engaging outside of class too, gave detailed feedback on school work.
- May 2025 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Rowena is supportive, knowledgeable and rigorous and we are hopeful she will be able to navigate our children through the English GCSE exams which seem to be as much about exam technique as anything else!
- Jan 2025 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Rowena is an excellent teacher. She gave me the confidence to keep pushing and studying and gave me very helpful feedback on my work. She was always on time and always prepared. She is one of the best teachers that I ever had. Without her, it would have been much more difficult to pass with the mark that I received.
- Sept 2024 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
When our daughter broke for GCSE revision and hadn't finished her English texts at school, Rowena was brilliant. She assessed the gaps and pressed on with support on two of the books, providing both guidance and support with both English papers, which built our daughter's confidence. Thank you from both of us. 8's in both English papers.
- Sept 2024 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
I wholeheartedly recommend Rowena. She is an absolutely exceptional teacher. Her thorough knowledge of the CIE exam board and her insightful understanding of each student's unique needs set her apart. Rowena’s ability to swiftly pinpoint and address any issues with intuitive solutions is nothing short of remarkable. Her guidance is always clear and precise, making her lessons not only highly effective but also genuinely enjoyable. Students can see immediate improvements in their writing. Rowena's reliability and unwavering support make her an invaluable asset for anyone preparing for exams. If you're looking for the best advice and aiming to excel in your studies, Rowena is the perfect choice.
- Sept 2024 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Rowena is a fabulous tutor. She tutored my daughter throughout her 2nd year of English GCSE for both the literature and language courses, covering the Cambridge exam board requirements. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed the lessons, and Rowena helped her enormously with the set texts and poems in particular. I think the depth Rowena added across the board hugely boosted my daughter's confidence in her ability to answer the exam questions. Rowena always seemed to be able to add that little bit of extra knowledge and analysis in clarifying and enhancing answers. The result was a 9 in both papers. Rowena was always very generous with her time in marking papers and giving feedback and was reliable and flexible if lesson times needed changing.
- Aug 2024 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Rowena is an excellent teacher and great mentor for the student. Her feedback is invaluable and factual which makes the student understand where they need to work on. She is the main reason for my daughter to get grade 9 in GCSE and its not an overstatement. She works with the student to reach the goal.
- Jul 2024 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Rowena is a top class tutor. She has tutored both my daughters for GCSE English Language and Literature.She has a very professional and approachable nature and absolutely gauges the learning requirements specifically to the students needs. She is flexible with her tutoring lessons and always gives constructive feedback for improvements to be made.I would thoroughly recommend Rowena and feel very privileged that both my girls benefitted from her expertise. Thankyou.
- Jun 2024 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Rowena has been a massive help for my daughter and has given her constant support to prepare for her GCSE English exams. She was always available for help outside of lessons, and always willing to answer any last minute questions before exams. Rowena offers so much knowledge and exam tips that my daughter wasn’t taught at school, which meant she was able to go into her exams feeling much more confident, all thanks to Rowena’s help. We are so grateful for all her support and would definitely recommend her as a tutor.
- Jun 2024 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
I contacted Rowena just before my son’s GCSE English to him for last minutes preparation. Rowena has been very supportive and giving him lots of useful knowledge. She is an excellent tutor My said Rowena is the best English teacher he has met. Rowena also started to teach my daughter Alevel Religious Studies and she found Rowena’s lesson very clear and helpful.
- Jun 2024 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
I have no hesitation recommending Rowena for English tuition. My son has found her approach very systematic and easy to follow from the start. She has been instrumental in helping him gain confidence prior to her recent English GCSE exams.
- Jan 2024 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Rowena has been brilliant in helping my son feel more confident and positive about getting a good grade for his GSCE English.
- Oct 2023 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Very nic reply. I've booked Rowena's lesson. Thanks.
- Sept 2023 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Where do I even begin! Rowena is an excellent Tutor and without her I don't think I would have achieved the grades needed to study History at Oxford University. She tutored me in both OCR RS and later History for A level and instilled in me so much confidence about my ability. Her guidance and approach to essay writing and planning really helped me improve very quickly, I went from achieving a B and C in my mocks to A*'s. Rowena is such a warm, caring and super friendly person, she also tutored my brother and regularly updated my mum on our progress. In such a short period, she even picked up that I possibly had learning difficulties,(later diagnosed as dyspraxia at university!) which my teacher's had missed throughout my educational journey. Rowena also went above and beyond to help me prepare for my university applications. We all love her and will forever be grateful for all her advice, encouragement and support whilst in the midst of a difficult A- level pandemic period. I genuinely don't know where I'd be without her!
- Sept 2023 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
I am very confident to say that Rowena is an amazing and highly experienced English teacher .Her lessons are planned and tailored to the need of the student .As my daughter was preparing for GCSE , she made a remarkable progress after the lessons with Rowena and is showing more confidence and understanding in using writing techniques. She got A* in English in GCSE 2023. I really can’t recommend her enough
- Sept 2023 ·imported from First Tutors
A First Tutors client
Rowena was a great tutor. Really knowledgeable and helped my daughter feel motivate and confident in her English GCSEs with great results.