William D

My Passion & How I Inspire

When tutoring, it is always my primary aim to make my lessons enjoyable and thought provoking, to encourage a genuine curiosity as to the matters of fiction or the events of the past.

Whilst both English and History reward a deep and analytical engagement with the period or texts in question, I’ll always tailor my approach to the needs of the current student. For A-Level and university students I’ll work through further reading and different critical frameworks, practicing an Oxbridge style tutorial that encourages self-reflexive and sophisticated academic practice.

For younger students, I tend to make worksheets and activities to ensure that the foundations are grasped and the students perform to the best of their abilities in exams. As such, my tuition is both discursive and systematic, moving from the key issues and themes in question to the ultimate goal of developing a relationship that nourishes creative, independent thought.

My Experience

Mentoring GCSE students at DLD College in all subjects, across a range of examination boards. I provided help with both study skills as well as help with specific academic tasks.

Volunteer Creative Writing teacher with Schools Plus at Botley School, Oxfordshire

Oxbridge application, interview and ELAT coaching for English Language and Literature.

Ad Hoc Oxford undergraduate tuition from Anglo-Saxon to Contemporary Literature.

Subjects That I Teach

  • Creative Writing
  • Creative Writing - A-Level
  • Creative Writing - Undergraduate
  • English
  • English - A-Level
  • English - Undergraduate
  • History
  • History - A-Level
  • History - Undergraduate

My Qualifications

Merchant Taylors School: GCSEs, 8A* 1A

DLD College: A-Levels, 2A* (English, History) 1A (French)

University of Oxford: English Literature and Language, First-Class BA Hon (Gibbs Prize for distinguished performance).

During my time as an undergraduate, I also received the Oglivie-Thompson Prize for Old and Middle English as well as the Cochrane Scholarship.

Creative Writing: Graham Midgley Memorial Prize for poetry, shortlisted for the Jane Martin Poetry Prize.

My Video Introduction

Fun fact

I am a keen chef and love making Italian food – homemade pasta is my specialty!