Fay

I am presently reviewing my availability. Please message me directly for up-to-date information regarding current spaces.

I am an experienced Geography teacher with almost 20 years` experience working in education, supporting students across a wide range of abilities and learning needs.

I graduated from the University of Wales, Aberystwyth with a BSc (Hons) in Geography before completing my PGCE at the University of Southampton.

My own interest in Geography began well before entering the classroom. In 2005, I was awarded a scholarship to study Geography after completing two essay-based entrance examinations, achieving 100% in Geography and 98% in Biology.

My approach to Geography tuition

My approach is not simply about teaching students more geographical content. I want students to understand how to use what they know effectively, particularly when answering examination questions.

Support can therefore include:

Developing and extending geographical knowledge
Understanding command words and what a question is really asking
Structuring extended responses
Developing chains of explanation and geographical reasoning
Applying knowledge to unfamiliar contexts
Using case studies and evidence effectively
Developing evaluation and justified conclusions
Improving geographical and data-response skills
Identifying why marks are being lost and how to address this
Building confidence with examination technique

I continually undertake my own professional development and keep my geographical knowledge current, particularly in relation to contemporary examples and case studies. This allows me to help students move beyond simply memorising textbook material and develop a more secure understanding of the subject.

Alongside traditional Geography support, I use a diagnostic approach to examination performance. This means looking beyond an overall mark to identify the specific areas that may be limiting a student`s performance. The diagnostic can be completed as a stand alone service.

For some students, the difficulty is subject knowledge. For others, they know considerably more Geography than their examination answers suggest.

Identifying that difference allows support to be much more targeted.

My wider professional background includes SEND, educational assessment and senior leadership, which influences how I approach individual students and adapt teaching to their needs.

I am a Level 7 qualified CPT3A and a British Psychological Society Registered Test User – Educational.

I also have experience teaching students from a range of EAL backgrounds, including students whose first languages include Spanish, Polish, Russian and Bulgarian. I have successfully developed bilingual resources to help students access geographical content while developing their confidence with the English language.

Ultimately, my aim is not simply to help a student complete another Geography question.

It is to help them understand why an answer gains marks, why another does not, and how they can apply that understanding independently in the examination.

Availability: I am presently taking enquiries for the following types of Geography support:

General Revision and Exam Preparation
Individual sessions tailored to the student’s current needs, whether they need support with subject knowledge, examination technique, extended responses, geographical skills or particular areas of the specification.

Holiday Intensive Sessions
Two- or three-hour block sessions designed to provide focused support over the school holidays. These can be used to build subject knowledge, address specific areas of weakness, develop examination technique or provide concentrated revision ahead of assessments and examinations.

Diagnostic Geography Support
For students who are working hard but are unsure where they are losing marks, I also offer diagnostic assessment of Geography performance. This can help distinguish between gaps in subject knowledge and difficulties with application, command words, depth of explanation, evaluation, evidence, geographical skills or examination technique.

Online Tuition – Microsoft Teams/Zoom
Available by arrangement, including one-to-one tuition, targeted exam support and follow-up sessions arising from diagnostic assessment.

I am presently reviewing my ongoing availability. Please message me directly for the most up-to-date information regarding session availability and to discuss your child`s individual requirements.

Willing to travel: 30 miles

Experience: For the past three years, I have worked as a Deputy SENDCo within a mainstream secondary school, following several years in senior leadership, including Deputy Headteacher and Head of Department roles.

I have extensive experience teaching and supporting young people aged 11–19 across mainstream and specialist/alternative educational settings, with Geography as my principal subject specialism.

Throughout my career, I have taught and supported students preparing for GCSE and A Level examinations, delivering targeted revision, intervention and examination-preparation sessions alongside classroom teaching.

My approach to tuition is particularly influenced by my experience in SEND and educational assessment. Rather than assuming that a student simply needs to learn more content, I look at the barriers that may be preventing them from demonstrating what they know.

For example, a student may have secure geographical knowledge but lose marks because they struggle to interpret command words, apply their knowledge to an unfamiliar context, develop sufficiently detailed explanations, integrate case-study evidence or construct a well-supported evaluative judgement.

Identifying why marks are being lost allows tuition to become much more focused.

I am also a Level 7 qualified CPT3A and a British Psychological Society Registered Test User – Educational, giving me additional expertise in assessment and the interpretation of individual learning profiles.

Alongside Geography and SEND, my wider leadership experience has included literacy, adaptive teaching and inclusion, all of which inform the way I adapt tuition for individual learners.

I have experience supporting students with a wide range of additional needs and students for whom English is an additional language, including creating bilingual resources where appropriate.

As a former Head of Department and current Deputy SENDCo, I am particularly experienced in:

GCSE and A Level Geography
Revision and examination preparation
Diagnostic assessment of examination performance
Extended-response and essay technique
Command words and question interpretation
Developing geographical reasoning, analysis and evaluation
Case-study application
Catch-up and targeted intervention
Adapting learning for SEND and EAL students

My aim is ultimately to help students become less dependent on the tutor, not more: to understand how to approach Geography questions independently, recognise what an examination question requires and make better use of the knowledge they already have.

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