Reading, writing, grammar, spelling and comprehension — live sessions with real tutors, aligned to the Australian Curriculum. Small groups or 1-on-1. With games built in so kids actually engage.
Online English tutoring is less searched than maths — but it's just as important, and parents often realise they needed it sooner than they thought. English is slower to show its gaps than maths. A child who struggles with reading comprehension in Year 3 might still be producing adequate work by relying on memorisation and guessing. By Year 5 or 6, when inferential reading and persuasive writing become core skills, those foundations matter.
Spelling and phonics struggles are usually visible early. Grammar gaps and writing weaknesses tend to surface later. Merit works across all of these — not as separate drills, but as part of a coherent, year-level-appropriate programme.
Merit tutors work through the Australian Curriculum's English strands: language (grammar and vocabulary), literacy (reading and writing), and literature (understanding texts). Here's what that looks like across each year band.
In Years 1 and 2, the foundations are phonics and phonological awareness: blending and segmenting sounds, words with consonant blends (bl, cr, str), vowel pairs (ee, ai, ay), and reading high-frequency words. Students also begin writing — complete sentences with capital letters and full stops, simple recounts, and short stories with a beginning, middle and end.
Year 3 English moves into more complex territory: homophones (break/brake, ate/eight), apostrophes in contractions (don't, won't), modal verbs, subject-verb agreement, and the difference between literal and inferential reading. Writing in Year 3 involves planning narratives, writing persuasive texts with reasons, and editing for spelling, punctuation and meaning.
For younger students, Merit uses Reading Race to build reading speed and fluency — students read passages and answer comprehension questions against a timer. Word Hunt builds vocabulary by asking students to find and identify target words in context.
Years 4 and 5 are when students begin writing in more sophisticated ways. Year 4 introduces complex sentences with conjunctions (because, when, although), direct speech and how to punctuate dialogue, formal and informal language registers, and literary devices like simile and metaphor. Students also read persuasive texts and begin distinguishing fact from opinion.
Year 5 extends this: Greek and Latin word roots, narrators and point of view, how text structure varies across genres, and supporting opinions with evidence rather than just stating them. Figurative language — simile, metaphor, personification — becomes a tool students are expected to use in their own writing, not just identify in someone else's.
Year 6 rounds out primary English with embedded clauses, building complex sentences, identifying bias and persuasive language, and understanding how characters and events are shaped by historical and cultural context. Students are expected to plan and write informative and persuasive texts independently, with clear structure and technical vocabulary.
In high school English, the expectations shift significantly. Students are expected to analyse texts, not just summarise them. Writing needs to be purposeful, structured and stylistically aware.
Year 7 and 8 English at Merit typically covers formal essay structure, analytical writing about literature, persuasive writing techniques, and vocabulary precision. Year 9 and 10 students work on extended analysis, author's craft, comparing texts, and the kind of writing that appears in high-stakes assessments.
The gamification for older students is more about progress and mastery tracking — completing a writing task that meets the criteria unlocks the next level, which keeps motivation up even when the tasks are genuinely challenging.
NAPLAN tests reading comprehension, writing, and conventions of language (grammar, punctuation and spelling) for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Merit's curriculum-aligned English tutoring covers all of these areas as a natural part of working through the Australian Curriculum. Students preparing for NAPLAN aren't doing anything separate — they're building the same skills, just with good tutoring support.
See our NAPLAN preparation page for more detail on what each year level is tested on.
Tell us which year level and which English skills your child needs help with — the free trial session will be tailored to them.
Every Merit session is 60 minutes, live with a real tutor, on Merit's custom-built platform. English sessions are structured around the specific skills your child needs — not a generic class that covers whatever's next in a fixed sequence.
The tutor might spend the first 15 minutes on vocabulary using Word Hunt, then move to a reading comprehension activity, then spend the final 20 minutes on a writing task. The balance depends on the student's weak areas and the tutor's assessment of what will move the needle most.
After each session, homework tasks are unlocked on the Merit platform — short, levelled activities that reinforce what was covered. Completing them unlocks more content. Parents can see what was assigned and what was completed.
Years 1–6: $29/week
Years 7–10: $35/week
Max 5 students per group. Live tutor every session. Australian Curriculum-aligned.
Years 1–6: $59/week
Years 7–10: $69/week
Full focus on your child. Best for students with significant gaps or who prefer individual attention.
No lock-in contracts. Cancel anytime. The free trial is a full 60-minute session — assessed and tailored to your child.
"My daughter has been with Merit Tutoring for a while and genuinely enjoys every session. She's more motivated, has won an improvement award at school, and her reading has improved a lot."— Amritpal K, parent of Year 3 student
Yes — English is well-suited to online tutoring because most of the work (reading, writing, discussing texts) translates naturally to a screen-based environment. Live sessions with a real tutor are far more effective than recorded video lessons, because a tutor can read your child's writing, give immediate feedback, and adjust what they're working on in response to what's not landing.
The best option depends on your child's year level and what specifically needs work — phonics and reading for a younger student is very different from analytical essay writing for a Year 10 student. Merit offers live, curriculum-aligned English tutoring from Year 1 to Year 10, starting from $29/week, with a free trial session so you can see how your child responds before committing.
Private English tutors typically charge $50–$100+ per hour. Merit's group tutoring sessions start at $29/week (Years 1–6) and $35/week (Years 7–10), which works out to a fraction of the private rate. One-on-one sessions with Merit start at $59/week for Years 1–6 and $69/week for Years 7–10.
Merit covers reading comprehension (literal and inferential), creative and narrative writing, persuasive writing, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, phonics (for younger students), and literary analysis (for older students). All content is aligned to the Australian Curriculum for the student's year level.
Tell us which year level and English skills your child needs help with. The trial session is 60 minutes, fully tailored, and completely free.
Or call us: 0468 229 358
No lock-in contracts · From $29/week · Cancel anytime