English Tutoring - Finnian Fitzpatrick

Tutoring Creative Writing for GCSE, 13 plus and 11 plus entrance exams

Teaching creative writing starts with planning and encouragement, modelling and discussion. If these tenets can be brought to each session, then progress can be made.

I also find that the children become better at comprehension once they understand what the author is trying to achieve.

Prep schools should spend so much more time on creative writing, especially when fifty percent of the marks are from that section of the tests.

Here are some testimonials from the clients that I have worked with to illustrate that kindness is the greatest tool to encourage children to reach their potential and be the best they can at certain tasks.

My son has thrived under Finnian’s tuition.

Parent of online 11 Plus student (Wilson's School)

Monday, 13th June 2022

A patient, engaging, and kind tutor who gets the very best out of his students.

Parent of 11+ student

Monday, 20th June 2022

I think (and more importantly my son thinks) that Finnian is amazing!?

Parent of student preparing for 11 plus to Alleyn's

Tuesday, 8th February 2022

Mr Finnian tutored my son for his 9+ KCS assessment. He was easily accessible, flexible and courteous in his communication.

He encouraged my son in his creative writing ability, and I noticed a dramatic improvement in this regard. Very pleased with the outcome! Thank you, he comes highly recommended!

Parent of 9 Plus student

Monday, 7th February 2022

Finn tutored our son every week for over a year in preparation for his 11+ pre-test which included maths, English, VR and NVR. He tailored his lessons to address the areas which needed more practice, worked on exam technique and provided interview practice on Zoom which was obviously a completely new way of being interviewed. Finn kept in regular contact with us usually by a weekly telephone call to discuss progress and targets. He was very encouraging and was equally delighted when our son received an offer from his chosen school.

Parent of online Pre-Test student

Monday, 9th August 2021

He was wonderful. Very positive and encouraging but still interesting and challenging. My daughter learned a great deal with him, and she enjoyed it!

Parent of 11 Plus student

Monday, 2nd August 2021

Finn has successfully tutored our eldest and middle son through their 11+. He is incredibly patient, kind and developed an excellent rapport with them both. The 11+ process is not a very pleasant one and yet Finn managed to find ways to engage with the boys and get the best out of them. I’m certain that without his help, our sons would not have achieved the results they did.?

Parent of 11+ students

Monday, 26th July 2021

Finn helped prepare my son for secondary school interviews. The outcome was excellent! Finn took the time to listen to our aims in advance, he discussed and prepared him for a wide array of questions and lifted his confidence. He also provided constructive feedback that we were able to address prior to the interviews. The interviews went really well, and I am pleased to say that he got offered a place! Finn was professional and high-quality – I would highly recommend him for interview prep.

Father of online 11 plus student

Tuesday, 12th January 2021

Finnian was a great tutor for our son. They quickly built a strong rapport and Finnian provided great support in unlocking new approaches to problem solving. Finnian was also terrific at encouraging our son and it was clear he instilled a deeper sense of confidence for the learning road ahead.

Parent of 11 Plus student in Battersea

Monday, 7th December 2020

Finn was fantastic we were really happy with him. Our son’s work has improved dramatically.

Parent of online 11+ student

Monday, 14th September 2020

Thanks ever so much Finnian. You have been an absolute star and I know that working with you has made a massive difference to our son's confidence. We really appreciate your flexibility, patience and all the help you have given so far. We feel the time with you has been extremely worthwhile and are very grateful for your help.

Mother of online 11 plus Student in Singapore

Wednesday, 17th June 2020

Finnian was a great tutor! He was very well prepared and sent work prior to the lessons to avoid wasting time. He would never leave work pending even if the hour was over. My daughter thoroughly enjoyed her lessons, and he challenged her every step making sure she worked with different materials all the time. Thanks for all your help.?

Parent of online 13+ English student

Tuesday, 14th April 2020

Finn is an excellent tutor, my son benefited hugely from him. The only criticism I’d level is the expense! We will look to use him again in the future if needs be.

Mother of 11 plus student

Friday, 6th March 2020

Finn was great with our son, he identified the issues quickly and gave him some great hints and tips which meant he was able to pass his exams with flying colours! I would recommend him to anyone.

Parent in Dulwich

Tuesday, 18th February 2020

Hi Finn - I hope you are well! Our son asked me to let you know he has offers from all the schools he applied for (just waiting to hear back from Brighton!). He is of course delighted, as are we, and thank you for all your help! Best wishes

Mother of 11 plus student

Thursday, 6th February 2020

We were very happy with Finn. Harry found him very helpful and said he was kind and interesting. Our area of concern was English Comprehension and I think Finn’s help gave Harry much needed confidence in this area.

Mother of 11 plus Student

Monday, 13th January 2020

Finnian is wonderful teacher who helped my son in preparing English exams for Grammar and Private school (10+). My son successfully got in Private school with a scholarship.

Parent of 10+ student

Saturday, 7th March 2020

We have just received the outcomes from grammar schools and happy to let you know that our son passed for all three of them! Thank you so much for preparing him so well!?

Mother of student in Streatham

Friday, 18th October 2019

Finnian has been an amazing help to my son and his elder brother before. He is enthusiastic, positive and encouraging. As well as providing exercises and feedback for my son, he has also given him the confidence and tool kit to approach his English scholarship papers with vigour. He achieved an A in his paper, and this is a boy who hated English. I put this down to Finnian and would thoroughly recommend him to anyone who needs help and support in this subject.

Mother of 13 Plus English Scholarship student

Monday, 25th March 2019

Finn's an enthusiastic and encouraging tutor who can pinpoint deficiencies quickly and correct them, while also highlighting strengths to give confidence. He was extremely attentive and diligent which rubbed off on my daughter who thoroughly enjoyed the lessons. The change over a few lessons was remarkable. Finn showed here where marks can be easily achieved or lost. He made the difference between passing and failing.?

Father of 11 Plus student, London?

Tuesday, 5th March 2019

Finnian is a truly fantastic English teacher who really manages to bring out the full potential in his students. He shows them how to be creative, he gives them confidence and he teaches them how to pass exams. He is absolutely brilliant!

Parent of 13+ student

Wednesday, 20th March 2019

Finn is an outstanding tutor that has worked with both of my children. He is not only tremendously experienced in the core subjects (English, Maths, VR, NVR...) but is also excellent at helping them build their self-confidence.?

Father in Westminster

Monday, 14th January 2019

Finnian was very warm and easy to get on with. My son being very quiet, Finnian helped him to develop his communication skills and knowledge base so that he would have the confidence to have a successful interview. There was lots of encouraging feedback at the end of the sessions, and we could see a big difference in our son’s ability over the course of a few weeks.

Parent in Stanmore

Wednesday, 17th October 2018

Finnian is not only a lovely person, but he is extremely encouraging and kind. He is enthusiastic about what he does and manages to get the best out of his student. Our daughters ability in creative writing drastically changed, as well as her understanding of comprehensions, how to tackle them and what to look out for. He explains things well and the student is left with a lot more confidence in their ability to write and understand. The vocabulary is much enhanced and far greater use is made of adjectives, descriptions etc.

We were extremely happy with Finnian.

Monday, 10th September 2018

Excellent, targeted help, which made a big difference in a short period of time.

Parent of 11 Plus student in London

Tuesday, 20th February 2018

Finnian is an exceptional teacher. Our son looked forward to his sessions and was encouraged by the progress he himself could see he was making. Not only did Finnian work on his overall literacy and preparation for the challenge of the 13+ exams but he ensured our son was confident and well equipped to tackle the papers. We would wholeheartedly recommend Finnian.

Mother of 13 Plus student in London

Tuesday, 20th February 2018

Finnian has been great. He is always very encouraging, and our son has found Finnian’s tips and tricks in particular very useful.

Mother of online 11 Plus student

Tuesday, 13th February 2018

Finnian is professional, reliable and enthusiastic. He developed a great relationship with my child, always challenging and reassuring him.

Mother of 9 Plus Tutor in Chelsea

Tuesday, 13th February 2018

Finn was very helpful and made an immediate impact in our son’s English. We are grateful for the time he has spent with us.

Parent of 11 Plus student in London

Tuesday, 13th February 2018

I feel my daughter's written English and comprehension skills have improved tremendously. I have been really happy with Finnian. He is very flexible and has a lovely manner.

Mother of 11 Plus student in London

Tuesday, 13th February 2018

Finn is always timely. His teaching style and manner is very conducive to learning and we have been very pleased, as has our son, with the progress made.

Mother of 11 Plus student

Tuesday, 13th February 2018

Finnian was an amazing tutor for both our children, and we have recommended him to friends - see my earlier comprehensive review in which I describe him as being like a Head Teacher - he was great!! Our daughters scores in test papers improved by over 10% in each subject and she attained really great marks in the Wandsworth test - see my earlier comprehensive review. Thanks Finnian!

Mother in Clapham

Friday, 13th October 2017

Finn has been a fantastic help to our son in preparing for the 13+ assessments. He has such charm and a wonderful manner. The focus in our house was on creative writing and Finn really helped our son to articulate a really broad range of ideas and vocabulary and to spark his thinking for vastly improved descriptive writing! Finn is a very experienced and knowledgeable man, and this really sets him apart.

Mother of 13 Plus student

Tuesday, 12th September 2017

Very happy with Finnian. He is an excellent and patient tutor.

Father of Wandsworth Test student in Lambeth

Wednesday, 23rd August 2017

Finn is an exceptionally skilled English tutor, my son enjoyed his lessons. The few lessons he had from Finn made him confident in understanding of text/essay and I must say I will happily go back to Finn in the future for more help.

Mother of 11+ student

Thursday, 29th June 2017

Finn was extremely reassuring for our daughter and for our family. He methodically set about correcting basic problems while providing stimulation and fun during the lessons. Our daughter looked forward to her lessons and definitely raised her standards and expectations as a result of his kind and positive approach.?

Finn was always punctual and careful to be clear about arrangements for lessons and plans for each week.

Mother in London

Monday, 13th March 2017

Finnian is an utterly brilliant literacy teacher. He has helped both of my boys, at different stages, reach their potential and to enjoy literacy rather than dread it. He has definitely worked his magic on them both.

Mother of 13+ student

Monday, 6th March 2017

All good things must come to an end. We are extremely saddened to say good bye to Finn. His professionalism, his mannerisms and his endless human qualities will be and already are missed by all here. Thanks once again for having boosted (my son)'s confidence and knowledge. Thanks to your efforts, the sky is now the limit for him.?

Unfortunately, due to family circumstances, we are unable to continue engaging Finnian's services, but it is our firm intention to engage in further tuition with Finnian in years to come.

Mother in Wimbledon

Monday, 13th February 2017

Finn was brilliant. My son's confidence has really improved, and he had fun and that's what we were looking for.

Mother of 11 Plus student in South West London

Thursday, 2nd February 2017

Finnian has been an excellent tutor for both my boys preparing for pre-tests and common entrance exams in English. He has an excellent combination of being friendly and positive whilst getting through a lot of material. My eldest said that he had learnt more with Finnian in 4 weeks than in a whole year at school. He seems to provide an invaluable recipe which allowed my boys to make sense of comprehension and tackle creative writing with an undaunted, logical approach.

Esther, mother in South London

Thursday, 12th January 2017

I was reluctant to buy into the tutoring process, but realised that English is such a specialist subject, I couldn't, with any great confidence, help my daughter prepare for 11+ exams. Finn was recommended to us by Owl Tutors and has been fantastic from the start. He has helped our daughter develop and refine the techniques needed to tackle the various aspects of 11+ English. Most importantly, he has helped our daughter feel confident in her ability in a friendly supportive environment; tutoring sessions have not felt like a chore.

Mary-Lou, mother of 11 plus student

Thursday, 8th December 2016

Finnian has been an excellent tutor for our daughter as she prepared for the Wandsworth Year 6 Test and 11 plus exams for independent schools. We credit Finnian for enabling our daughter to attain an excellent grade in the Year 6 Test, well beyond our expectations, as he provided clear explanations and helpful discussion during lessons, with an encouraging manner. It is like having a Head Teacher in your home, providing full attention to your child. Our daughter looks forward to Finnian's lessons. He expected our daughter to regularly practise test papers prior to each lesson and he provided helpful feedback on test papers during each lesson. Finnian is also very knowledgeable and gave us good advice about options for state and private secondary schools. We highly recommend his tutoring!

Mother in Wandsworth

Thursday, 24th November 2016

Finnian was excellent; easy going but focused, he made an instant connection with Tara and worked so well with her that she always looked forward to her lessons with him. She made progress easily under these conditions. I would recommend Finnian without reservation.

Mother of 13 Plus student

Friday, 21st October 2016

Finn has helped enormously, both with technique but most of all confidence. I had been told this was what he was brilliant at, and I'm delighted to report this has definitely been our experience. Allowed my daughter to work in a much calmer, more focussed and less panicked way in her recent exams.

Mother in London

Tuesday, 28th June 2016

Dear Finnian,

I wanted to let you know (student's name)'s results were fantastic! I’m so pleased for her as she was disappointed by her Autumn ones, having never cared in the past. She got 82% in her comprehension! 75 in her writing and 86 in her grammar. She is so pleased, and I wanted to let you know and thank you. She got above average in all of them which is fantastic.

Mother in London

Monday, 27th June 2016

Finnian proved the perfect tutor for our ten-year-old daughter. Exceptionally calm, positive and encouraging, he helped her crack verbal and non-verbal reasoning. Each session added to her understanding and contributed to an amazing score in the Wandsworth Test. Money well spent.

Parent in Wandsworth

Tuesday, 23rd February 2016

Finn is a truly inspirational teacher who manages to bring out all the potential in his students. Totally brilliant and life changing.

Parent in Lambeth

Tuesday, 9th February 2016

Megan was extremely happy with tutorial sessions via skype and would recommend his service. Very responsive when we requested mock papers thanks fingers crossed for results of her exams!

Mother of 13+ student

Monday, 8th February 2016

Finn is a truly fantastic tutor for my daughter. He was a tremendous help, and his real strength is in assisting with literary skills. An inspiring tutor.

Parent of 11+ student

Tuesday, 2nd February 2016

Finnian was excellent - kind, patient, encouraging, but also ambitious. He was everything we hoped a tutor might be.

Parent of 11+ student

Tuesday, 26th January 2016

Finn was a very kind and gentle tutor and extremely helpful in encouraging my son’s confidence prior to London independent day school entrance exams.?

My son recalls that he was very helpful with exam technique and also helped strengthen pre-existing skills. We would strongly recommend him.

Parent of 11+ student

Thursday, 14th January 2016

Finnian tutored my twin boys August - November 2014 and he was nothing short of fantastic. His warm, gentle yet encouraging approach immediately caught the attention of my nervous and not so focused 7-year-old boys.?

He was very attentive for both their needs (which were extremely different) and he worked with them in a calm and productive manner. Finnian immediately understood their strengths and weaknesses and helped us prepare for their 8+ entrance exams. At the time, both boys were needing an extra support and boost in Maths and English and he gave them (and me) amazing support and guidance. Each session was spent working on their individual needs and we couldn't have wished for a better tutor.

I would highly recommend Finnian.

Parent of 8+ students

Wednesday, 13th January 2016

We thought Finn was really excellent. Our son actually looked forward to him coming and always enjoyed their meetings.

Parent of 11+ student

Wednesday, 2nd December 2015

Finn tutored our son in the run up to the Wandsworth test. He helped fine-tune his performance with helpful and in-depth knowledge. As a result, our son made the 1st selection for Graveney with ease. Thank you so much.

Parent of Wandsworth Test student

Wednesday, 2nd December 2015

I would like to thank Finn for the help he has given Luis, I think it has made a real difference to his understanding of Maths and also increased Luis's confidence generally.?

Finn is a great tutor and Luis has really enjoyed the sessions with him.

Parent of 11+ student

Wednesday, 2nd December 2015