Distance Learning with a Difference

  • Focus on Literature

    Not into reading? We've incorporated Shaykhspeare's Online Book Club so there are modules where your child can learn to enjoy fiction - as well as analyse it!

  • Masterclasses in the skills only an English teacher can provide

    Unlike Maths or Science, there aren't simple right/wrong answers. How do you write an effective story? What about a structured speech? Our blend of recorded and live sessions expertly guide your children in creative & persuasive writing.

  • Progress through Self-Assessment

    Throughout the units there are little mini-assessments or quizes with answers provided. You will even have access to one academic year's worth of live session recordings where you can learn from feedback given to other students' work

Course curriculum

  • 1

    *START HERE - Section 1 ADMIN

  • 2

    LIVE SESSION REPLAYS (Sep-Dec 2019)

    • Sat 7 December - Bonus Feedback Session

    • Sun 1 Dec - 5.8 Preparing for Assessment - Guide to the essay plans

    • Thu 14 Nov - Macbeth Act 1 Review & 1:6

    • Sat 2 Nov - 4.3 Intro to Macbeth

    • Term 2 - Thu 24 Oct 2019 (also 1st lesson under Autobiography Module)

    • Orientation - 12 September 2019

    • Speak with Confidence (Part 1)- Sat 21 Sep

    • Speak with Confidence (Part 2)- Sat 21 Sep

    • Reviewing the SPAG Correction Exercise - Thu 26 Sep

      FREE PREVIEW

    • Good Intentions Sat 28 Sep

    • Group Discussion (Part 1) Sat 5 Oct

    • Group Discussion (Part 2) Sat 5 Oct

    • Module 3 SPAG Review - Thu 10 Oct

    • Review of HoW so far - Thu 19 Dec

    • Recount paragraphs & General Election Analysis - Sat 21 Dec
  • 3

    LIVE SESSION REPLAYS (Jan-Aug 2020)

    • Sat 11 Jan 2020 - LS - Warming up to public speaking

    • Sat 18 Jan 2020 - Lesson 3: Planning your talk

    • Thu 23 Jan - Poetry terms review

    • Sat 1 Feb - Final Speeches Week 1

    • Sat 8 Feb - Final Speeches Week 2

    • Sat 29 Feb - Phantom Tollbooth Chapter 1

    • Sat 7 March - Phantom Tollbooth Ch 2-3

    • Thu 12 March - Story writing based on Phantom Tollbooth

    • Sat 21 March - Phantom Tollbooth Ch 7-8

    • Sat 25 April - Debating Club & 2 min rants

    • Sat 2 May - DC Lightening Debates & Team Sorting

    • Sat 9th May - Preparing for the Debating Competition!

    • Sat 16th May - DEBATING COMPETITION - First 4 teams

    • TERM 6 Sat 6 June - Theo Boone - Start of Book

    • Sat 13th June - Theo Boone - Quiz on ch 1-3

    • Sat 27th June - Complaint Letter HW Review & Ch 12

    • Sat 4th July - Quiz & Chapter 16

    • Sat 11th July - Final Lesson of Book Club & Academic Year
  • 4

    Termly Assignments

    • Term 1 - Instructions on how to complete the Basic SPAG Test

    • Term 1 Assignment: Basic SPAG

    • Term 2 - Macbeth Assignment Instructions

    • Term 2 - Upload your Macbeth Essay Here

    • Term 6 - Final Assignment of the Year
  • 5

    Islamic Studies: Hadith of the Week

    • HOW1.1 Good Intentions

      FREE PREVIEW

    • HOW2.1 Seeking Knowledge

    • HOW2.2 Deen = Islam, Iman & Ihsan

    • HOW2.3 Fard al-'ayn & Fard al-kifaayah

    • HOW 3.0 Good Character

    • HOW 4.0 Patience

    • HOW 5.0 Respect to Parents

    • HOW 6.0 Establishing Salah

    • HOW 7.0 Hadiths related to the Coronavirus

    • HOW 8.0 Honesty and Trustworthiness

  • 6

    Term 1 Module 1: Why you gotta crush English!

  • 7

    Term 1 Module 2: Speak with Confidence

  • 8

    Term 1 Module 3: Grapple with Grammar - and win!

  • 9

    Term 2: Autobiography

    • 5.1 Dramatic Monologue (live session of 24.10.19)

    • 5.2 Planning a Recount

    • 5.3 Opening paragraphs of a Recount
  • 10

    Term 2: MACBETH BOOK CLUB Week 1

  • 11

    Macbeth - Act 1 Scenes 3-7

    • 4.6 - Act 1 Scene 3 Analysis

    • 4.7 - Act 1 Scene 4 Analysis

    • 4.8 - Act 1 Scene 5 Analysis

    • 4.9 - Act 1 Review & 1:6 (LS)

    • 5.0 Act 1:7 Macbeth's soliloquy

    • 5.1 - Act 1:7 Soliloquy Annotated - download and print this to help with your notes from lesson 5.0

    • 5.2 - Act 1:7 Lady Macbeth's Persuasion

    • 5.3 - Quiz on Act 1:7
  • 12

    Writing about Macbeth - Weeks 5 & 6

    • 5.4 Act 1 Summary Worksheet - We will go over answers in the next live session

    • 5.5 Writing about Act 1 - How to use the worksheets

    • 5.6 Act 1 Review Worksheets

    • 5.7 Writing PEE Paragraphs about Macbeth

    • 5.8 Preparing for Assessment - Guide to the essay plans (Live Session)
  • 13

    Term 3: POETRY ANALYSIS

    • 1 - Poetry is what?

    • 2 - 'Poetry is what' Comprehension Exercise

    • 3 - Review of Figurative Language

    • 4 - Poetry features & Rhyme

    • 5 - Quiz on Poetry Module

  • 14

    Term 3: PUBLIC SPEAKING (Debating Club)

  • 15

    Term 4: The Phantom Tollbooth BOOK CLUB

    • Book Club Announcement

    • L1 Introduction to The Phantom Tollbooth

      FREE PREVIEW

    • L2 - Phantom Tollbooth Chapter 1 (Live Session)

    • L3 - Quiz for Chapters 2 & 3 (You must read these chapters first!)

    • L4 - Review of vocab and humour in chapters 2 & 3 (Live Session)

    • L5 - Chapters 4-7

    • L6 - Chapters 7-8 (LS 21 March)

    • L8 - Final Lesson - completing the novel (LS)
  • 16

    Term 4: Proper Punctuation

    • 1. SPAG Review of Term 1 work

    • 2. Basic intro to commas

    • 3. Commas Worksheet (after watching video lesson 2)

    • 4. Sentences, clauses & phrases

    • 5. Main and Subordinate Clauses
  • 17

    Term 4: Creative Story Writing

    • L1 Planning your story

    • L2 Planning re-cap from Autobiography module

    • L3 Plan based on Phantom Tollbooth & describing boredom (LS)

    • L4 - Introducing characters and dialogue
  • 18

    Term 5 - DEBATING CLUB - Team Competition

    • L1 - Warming up to Public Speaking (Review from Term 3)

    • L2 - Overview of Debating Unit Term 5

    • L3 - Researching your topics

    • L4 - Lightening Debates & forming teams (LS)

    • L5 - Competition Rules

    • L6 - Preparing to Win

    • Review from Term 3 - Planning your Speech

    • Review from Term 3 - Features of a Great Speech

    • Review from Term 3 - Preparing and rehearsing

  • 19

    Term 5: Analysing Non-Fiction

  • 20

    Term 6: Summer Book Club - 'Theodore Boone'

    • L1 - Introduction to John Grisham and Theo Boone

      FREE PREVIEW

    • L2 - (LS) Theo Boone - Start of Book

    • L3 - (LS) Theo Boone - Quiz on ch 1-3

    • L4 - Chapters 4-7 Discussion Points and Writing Activities

    • L5 - Chapters 8-11 Comprehension & Discussion

    • L6 (LS) - Complaint Letter HW Review & Ch 12

    • L7 - Chapters 12-15

    • L8 (LS) - Quiz & Chapter 16

    • L9 - Chapters 16-19 Newspaper Front Page Lesson

    • L10 (LS) - Final Lesson of Book Club & Academic Year
  • 21

    Term 6: Persuasive Writing

  • 22

    BONUS CONTENT

Engaging Learning

You don't need the whole curriculum. You need support in the most challenging topics. That's why we focus on the 80/20 of English - those topics you need an expert to guide your child.

  • Bite-sized recordings which keep your child's attention

  • Self-Assessment quizzes & Learning Support Tests

  • Confidence-building speaking units incorporating public speaking, debating & current affairs

Bonus material

Our clients love our Islamic perspectives!

  • Hadith of the Week

    Drawing on his many years of teaching Islamic Studies to children, Tushar will also be providing inspiring weekly lessons on Hadith especially selected for youth.

Instructor(s)

Tushar (Mohammed) Bhuiya

Tushar (Mohammed) Imdad-ul-Haque Bhuiya is one of the UK's leading Muslim English teachers. He trains Muslim teachers from Islamic schools all round the country on behalf of AMS UK and has extensive experience in teaching Muslim pupils of all ages in leading state schools, private Muslim schools and homeschool groups. His public profile can be viewed here: https://www.firsttutors.com/uk/tutor/mohammed.english.maths.entrance-exams.english-foreign-language/

Your Investment

This unique self-study programme is unique in supporting homeschoolers or schooled children who want expert support in English. The lessons are bite-sized and bring to you the value of high-class English tuition

FAQ

  • Do you cover the whole curriculum?

    This programme is designed to supplement a school or homeschool programme - not entirely replace it. That being said, we cover the most vital topics and skills which are the hardest to master such as complex grammar topics, creative writing and literature analysis. Additionally, we have three units which we emphasise that are often neglected: book club, debating & the bonus Hadith of the Week.

  • When are the live sessions?

    Registration for the Academy opens for a limited time two or three times each year. We poll all registered parents and choose live session times that suit the majority. In general, there are 3-4 sessions a month: one/two on a weekday morning/afternoon and one/two on a Saturday. However, the programme is designed and priced so that live sessions are optional. Missing one or two sessions a month isn't a problem.

  • How do you cater for all ages between 9 and 15?

    From over 15 years of teaching English to all ages, Tushar discovered that Upper KS2 pupils (Y5/6) were equally capable as Lower Secondary (Y7-9) and often more so! Homeschoolers often find this as well. Since 2016, Tushar combined ages 9-15 in his online book clubs, debating clubs and English classes with excellent outcomes.

  • Is this programme only for homeschoolers or UK based parents?

    No. The skills covered in this programme are so comprehensive and important they are relevant for students who attend school or not, whether based in the UK, US, Canada, Australia or an international school. From Tushar's bio you'll see he has experience teaching students from different systems around the world.

  • What if I want to prepare my child for the GCSEs?

    This course is not designed for specific exam preparation. Rather, the aim is to strengthen the child's foundations in English so that they can have the best chance to succeed in public exams. That's why we go up to age 15 as even Y10 students - especially homeschoolers - are better off catching up on core skills in a programme like this, than taking a GCSE exam prematurely.

  • Do you offer a sibling discount?

    Yes. First enrol your first child and then email [email protected] for a coupon code to get 10% off the second child.

Testimonials

"I was amazed..."

Mrs Anila Ali

"I was amazed at how much my son took from the class. The classes are interactive and purposeful. Who would have thought a child aged 8 could enjoy Dickens' work at such a young age. I can't thank Tushar enough for setting this up. I wish my literature classes had been this much fun. Thank You.”