Online GCSE Tutoring in Canning Town
One-to-one lessons for Year 10, Year 11 and resit students, £30 per lesson
Online GCSE tutoring in Canning Town, with every main subject on offer. A history essay can get the argument right, the evidence right and the structure right, and still drop marks that have nothing to do with history at all.
Those are the marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar, and they sit in more GCSEs than most families realise. Students tend to think of them as an English problem and let them go everywhere else.
This page sets out which subjects carry them, where on the paper they appear, and why they are among the cheapest marks to win back. The first session is free.
What Canning Town parents ask
- Which subjects mark spelling and grammar.
- How many marks are at stake.
- Which questions carry them.
- Whether science and maths count.
- How to fix it without endless drills.
Which GCSEs mark spelling, punctuation and grammar?
Four subjects outside English Language, each at the same rate, set by the regulator rather than by the boards.
The rule goes back to 2011, when the government announced that spelling, punctuation and grammar marks would be restored to GCSEs in English Literature, Geography, History and Religious Studies. It survived the move to 9 to 1 grading.
Ofqual’s subject level conditions for GCSE History put it precisely: the marks available for accurate spelling, punctuation and grammar, together with the use of specialist terminology, must equal 5% of the subject’s marks. The other three subjects follow the same rule.
English Language is different. It assesses technical accuracy as one of its own objectives, across the writing sections of both papers, so it carries far more weight there than the flat rate elsewhere.
Where the accuracy marks sit
| Subject | Accuracy marks |
|---|---|
| English Literature | 5% of marks |
| History | 5% of marks |
| Geography | 5% of marks |
| Religious Studies | 5% of marks |
| English Language | A full assessment objective |
Ofqual subject level conditions. Includes use of specialist terminology.
Where on the paper are those marks?
Usually on the longest answers, and the paper normally tells you which ones.
Boards do not usually spread the accuracy marks evenly. They attach them to a small number of extended questions, and the question paper typically flags which ones, often with a note about spelling, punctuation, grammar and specialist terms beside the mark allocation.
That is good news, because it means the effort can be concentrated. A student does not need to proofread every short answer with the same care. They need to know which two or three answers on each paper carry the extra marks and leave a couple of minutes to read those back.
It also explains a pattern we see often in marked mocks: a strong essay answer, a full mark for content, and the accuracy marks missing because the student ran out of time and never reread it.
Long written answers in science and the humanities, and why they cost so many marks, are the subject of our East Finchley page.
Finding the accuracy marks
Look at a past paper
From the right board and specification.
Find the flagged questions
Usually beside the mark total.
Note how many per paper
Often only a few.
Plan a reread
Two minutes per flagged answer.
Check the mark scheme
It describes each band.
How do you stop giving those marks away?
Fix the handful of errors a student repeats, learn the subject vocabulary properly, and build in the reread.
Most students do not make a hundred different errors. They make five or six, over and over: a missing apostrophe, sentences joined with commas, a technical word spelt three ways in one essay. Finding those patterns in a few marked answers is far more useful than general grammar practice.
Specialist terminology is the other half of the mark and the part students underrate. A geography answer that says the river wore away the bank is less creditworthy than one that names lateral erosion. Building a short list of terms for each topic, and using them in practice answers, pays twice: once in accuracy and once in content.
Then there is the reread. In a timed paper it feels like a luxury, but on the questions carrying accuracy marks it is the best use of two minutes on the paper.
Students here are spread across Rokeby, Eastlea, the Royal Docks Academy and schools nearer Stratford, each using its own boards. The 5% rule applies whichever board the school uses.
The usual repeat errors
- Comma splices in long sentences.
- Apostrophes for plurals.
- Subject terms spelt inconsistently.
- Capital letters on names and places.
- Everyday words where a technical term fits.
Which GCSE subjects can your child get help with?
Written accuracy gets attention in all of them, not only the four that formally mark it.
Maths
Including the written reasoning marks. See GCSE Maths tutoring.
English Language and Literature
Where accuracy carries the most weight. See GCSE English tutoring.
Combined and Triple Science
Extended answers included. See GCSE Science tutoring.
Computer Science
Precise technical terms. See GCSE Computer Science tutoring.
Business Studies
Evaluation answers. See GCSE Business Studies tutoring.
History, Geography and RS
Subject to a specialist being free.
What about English Language resits?
Accuracy is often the single biggest lever for a student sitting just under grade 4.
English Language rewards technical accuracy across both writing sections, so a resit student who already writes with reasonable ideas but loose punctuation can often move up a grade by fixing a short list of habits.
The 16 to 19 maths and English condition of funding explains why the resit happens at all: a grade 3 at 16 means continuing towards the GCSE in college, and grade 2 or below allows Functional Skills level 2 instead.
For resit students
- English Language can be sat in November.
- The college chooses who is entered.
- Accuracy habits move fastest.
- Evening and weekend slots available.
See GCSE resit tutoring and the exam dates page.
How does an online lesson run?
On video with a shared document, so written answers can be marked up line by line as they are discussed.
Free first session
Bring a marked essay if you have one.
Repeat errors listed
Usually five or six.
Weekly lesson booked
At a time that suits.
Written practice marked between sessions
Accuracy and content.
Timed answers in the final months
With the reread built in.
The details are on how it works. Newham’s school term and holiday calendar for 2026 to 2027 applies to community schools; academies in E16 publish their own.
What does a GCSE tutor in Canning Town cost?
£30 a lesson, one to one, with marking between lessons included.
Accuracy work is unusually efficient. A few lessons spent finding and fixing repeat errors keep paying across four or five subjects, which is rare for anything a tutor can offer.
Our guide to GCSE tutoring costs covers the rest of the market, and the online and in-person comparison explains the trade-offs between formats.
What £30 covers
- A full lesson with a subject specialist.
- Written answers marked for accuracy and content.
- A personal list of repeat errors.
- No sign-up fee.
- A tutor switch if the fit is wrong.
Tell us which written subjects are slipping
A marked essay from any subject is the quickest way in.
- Year group and subjects.
- Exam boards, if known.
- Recent grades in written subjects.
- Any feedback mentioning accuracy.
- Days and times that work.
Rather talk? WhatsApp us or use the contact page.
Send an enquiry
Frequently asked questions
Which GCSEs give marks for spelling, punctuation and grammar?
English Literature, History, Geography and Religious Studies each set aside 5% of their marks for it, alongside the use of specialist terms. English Language assesses technical accuracy far more heavily on its own terms.
Are SPaG marks spread across the whole paper?
No. They are usually attached to particular extended answers, and the paper normally says which questions carry them. That makes them easy to target.
Does a spelling mistake lose marks in Maths or Science?
Not as SPaG, but a misspelt technical word can lose the mark if it becomes ambiguous, and long science answers are judged partly on how clearly they are written.
Is 5% really worth worrying about?
On a paper where a handful of marks separate grades, yes. Across four subjects it adds up, and these are some of the most reliably recoverable marks on the paper.
What does specialist terminology mean here?
Using the subject’s own vocabulary correctly: a historian writing about causation, a geographer naming a process, a religious studies answer using the right terms for beliefs and practices.
What subjects do you teach?
Maths, English Language and Literature, all the sciences, Computer Science and Business Studies. History, Geography and RS depend on specialist availability.
What does it cost?
£30 a lesson, one to one, with written work marked for accuracy too.
Do you have premises in Canning Town?
No. Every lesson is online, and the business is registered in Feltham, not E16.
Book a free GCSE session for your child in Canning Town
One free one-to-one session, no card details and no obligation. Send a marked piece of writing beforehand and we will show you which errors are costing the most.