The founder of tutoring service Your English Tutor is preparing to expand the business after filling all available teaching slots and attracting national recognition for her approach to English tuition.
Rising demand for personalised GCSE support has prompted the development of a new Revision Platform designed to help students prepare for the summer examination period.
Founder Claire Fennelly said: “The Revision Platform is something I am bringing in ready for the GCSEs and will look to do that every year thereafter, although that is something my current cohort already gets for free as part of the service. But I am at the point that I have no more live slots, I just don’t have room.”
With students joining from across the country, Fennelly is now planning to recruit additional teachers through her professional network.
She added: “I love teaching, I love English, it is what I do but I couldn’t go on like I was and we know many others are in that position. This is the narrative that’s happening on social media at the moment. From my own story I am showing that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing, you don’t have to give up teaching, there is another way. And I have teachers that want to work for me, so that will be the next step. But I am not bringing them in to do it for me, I won’t stop teaching – that is the point of this business.”
Fennelly previously spent 15 years in full-time education, progressing to Head of English. Extended working hours led to significant health issues and major surgery in 2020, after which she returned to work within two weeks.
“My consultants all said, you’re not going to last as a teacher. You’ll just keep coming back if you continue, and obviously that’s the kind of narrative around teaching at the minute. It’s not a rare scenario,” Claire said.
In 2023, while still leading her department, she travelled to Ireland to care for her mother. Following her mother’s death, a personal letter encouraged her to prioritise her health.
“My mother left me a letter and in the letter she’d said ‘Please start looking after your health, if you ever need me step into the brightest light in the room.’ And that’s when I decided I’m going to quit teaching fully.”
Fennelly then established Your English Tutor, drawing on the success of small-group sessions she had previously delivered.
“When I was Head of English, my dream job, I ran these afterschool groups, it was free and my team did it for free, but these small sessions completely transformed the results. In one year we proved that the results improved by 20%.”
Since launching, the business has received Biz4Biz Best New Business in Hertfordshire and holds a five-star Google rating.
The next phase will focus on expanding teaching capacity while maintaining a direct, student-centred model.
