Newcastle & online · Years 5–12
One-to-one sessions with an English Head Teacher of fifteen years. We build reading and writing skills that transfer to any text — rather than rehearsing answers that only work once.
What makes it different
The large providers sell classes, or one-to-one delivered at scale by university students. Every Rethink Learning session is one-to-one, taught by a qualified teacher who has run an English faculty.
Years 5–9
Building the reading habits that everything later depends on — active, strategic and critical reading, alternating fortnightly with writing routines.
Years 10–11
Where reading turns into writing — integrating active, strategic and critical reading into a framework that produces a genuine argument.
Year 12
Critical writing and HSC content, individualised to the student — Standard, Advanced, and Extension I & II.
The approach
Most students who struggle with English are being asked to analyse a text while they are still working out what it says. The model separates those jobs into three layers of reading.
Reading 01
Decoding for meaning.
Engaging with the language, identifying and describing key words and challenging phrases, summarising key ideas.
Reading 02
Selecting what matters.
Finding the most valuable examples that demonstrate your interpretation, annotating them and reflecting on their effect.
Reading 03
Connecting and evaluating.
Bringing existing knowledge and other texts to bear, so you can evaluate a text and appreciate its value against what else you have read.
Layers, not levels. When a text gets harder, the move is often to peel back to active reading — describe before you evaluate — then build up again.
What families say
5 out of 5
John from Rethink Learning provided me with the support I needed to succeed when I found English really challenging.
5 out of 5
John has encouraged her, improved her ability to start a task and keep organised, encouraged good research skills and improved her English ability which has been reflected in her marks since we engaged John in her learning.
5 out of 5
John definitely made an outstanding contribution in providing my daughter with the skills necessary in answering the difficult questions that are asked in years 11 and 12. John definitely made a massive difference to her marks!!
Resources
17 February 2026
The students who do best in the HSC are not the ones who study most, but the ones who build small, consistent habits early. How to set them up in Term 1.
26 January 2026
Research-based guide for parents creating collaborative technology agreements with teens aged 12–15. Focus on positive use, not just limits.
25 January 2026
Practical tips to ease your child’s back-to-school transition. Research-backed strategies for managing anxiety, resetting routines and starting Term 1 calmly.
We review past work and results, run a short assessment, and build a learning plan before the first session.
