Fiona Hennessy

I am an effective, passionate and experienced geography teacher with 11 years of formal teaching experience and many more years of coaching and tutoring. I most recently served as the Head of Geography at a secondary school in Nottingham but have recently relocated to Norwich. I currently also work as a Lead Exam Writer for a major exam board and as a writer of published revision materials for a leading support service for A-Level, GCSE, and Vocational students and teachers. I have a full and current DBS so that you can be confident in a safe and professional learning environment.

Results: The goal of tuition is to make significant progress with your pupil, wherever their starting point is. The mark of a good teacher is how much progress a pupil makes in comparison to the expected progress for their age and ability. This is often measured by comparing a pupils exam results with their expected grades that they receive when entering secondary school. By this metric, GCSE pupils that took my class achieved 2.42 grades higher they would have with an average UK teacher. 89% of my classroom A-level students have received A*-B and none have failed in the history of my teaching career.

Tutoring Results (A-Level):
65% A*–A
100% A*–B
Average Improvement (grades): +1.67
All students either maintained or improved their grades, over half (55.6%) of my students increase their outcomes by 2 or more grades; no students have declined, none have failed.

SEND students: all improved by at least 2 grades: +2.2 grades average improvement
Non-SEND students: +1.4 grades average improvement

Tutoring Results (GCSE):

GCSE 7–9 83.3%

GCSE 6–9 100%

GCSE Avg Improvement (grades) +2.33

SEND students: +2.5 grades

Non-SEND students: +2.25 grades

(Full results below)

Head of Geography and Curriculum Writing:

In my time as Head of Geography I made a culture of progress the top priority in my department. The resources and routines I developed to do this will be accessible to and tailored to your child’s needs. In my time in this role I also trained both beginning and experienced teachers. I have also been employed in the private sector (Bromsgrove School) to plan and deliver revision intensive courses to ensure short term progress before the exam season. I can offer personalised schemes of work, for homeschooled students using my experience; an Ofsted inspector during a 'deep-dive' has recently graded the 7-year curriculum overhaul in Geography in my former department as 'phenomenal'.

Published Resources Authoring Experience and Examiner Training: I work with outside agencies to create and deliver exam revision content and have presented both in online and in-person workshops nationwide. I have also written published content guides on answering exam questions at A-level and have trained as an examiner.

Teaching approach: Coaching, questioning, and effective modelling and feedback, as well as metacognition (how to help pupils transmit their knowledge and understanding across tasks and contexts, and linking prior learning to be successful in future learning) and study skills throughout the process, are the strengths to my teaching and to success for your child. In this current climate (and with the right educator with the right tools) online sessions can be as equally effective to in-person sessions.

Quality Geography education is more important than ever, the increased pressure on children in to excel equally in these subjects, and with additional context of the pandemic, may mean that they require additional support. I would be happy to supply friendly, creative and dynamic 1-1 or group tutoring time to build their confidence and academic success. Homework, grading/feedback and assessments can be included in your tutoring plan if that is what suits your needs.

Education: I hold a 2:1 BSc (Hons) in Geography from the University of Nottingham and studied a range of Geography topics and a PGCE (with Merit) also from the University of Nottingham. Previously I attended Bexley Grammar School in London, studying A-levels in Geography, English Literature, Drama and Theatre Studies, and Biology whilst voluntarily opting to study a GCSE in Geology to satisfy personal interest.

In the year following University I worked as an au-pair teaching English in Italy, travelled South Africa and worked as a Nanny and tutor in Central London. Throughout University and school, I worked as a swimming teacher and coach for 2 to 18-year-olds. I believe that my fresh and successful teaching knowledge, experience with a wide variety of learning needs and difficulties, and expansive and effective resources will allow us to arrange the experience that best suits your needs.

Editable Personal Learning Checklists (PLCS), Glossaries and personalised Homework available for each student. Online and in-person tutoring available. Intro video chat (free) and shorter demo sessions (small fee) available.

A Level Results History:
Student A +2 grades: C → A

Student B +1 grade: C → B

Student C +3 grades: E → B (Dyslexia diagnosis).

Student D +2 grades: B → A* (One of the highest Paper 2 scores in the country - 98%).

Student E +1 grade: B → A

Student F +1 grade: B → A*

Student G +1 grade: B → A

Student H +1 grade: A → A* (high achiever fine-tuning).

Student I +1 grade: B → A Student J +1 grade: B → A (ADHD diagnosis).

Student K +2 grades: D → B (With ADHD + anxiety diagnosis).

Student L +2 grades: C → A (with anxiety diagnosis).

Student M +3 grades: E → B (with ADHD + autism diagnosis; required online homeschooling due to school refusual and needed reteaching Y12 content from scratch and new Y13 content, as well as guidance on NEA).

Student N + 2 grades C → A

Student O + 2 grades D → B

Student P +1 grade C → B

Student Q +1 grade A → A* Student R +2 grades C → A (slow processing diagnosis)

GCSE:

Student A +3 grades 5 → 8

Student B +3 grades 3 → 6 (slow processing diagnosis)

Student C + 2 grades 5 → 7

Student D +2 grades 5 → 7 (slow processing diagnosis)

Student E +2 grades 5 → 7

Student F +2 grades 5 → 7