Hi all, my name is Ellie Dennis and I'm a qualified and experienced science teacher (chemistry specialism), senior examiner and I also write the BMSAT questions for Oxford University.
My evening and weekend lessons currently have a three year waiting list but I occasionally have spaces during the school day for students with free periods, students resitting and home educated students.
My email address is
efmdennis@gmail.com if you'd like to get in touch.
Here are my FAQs and testimonials:
- Which qualifications do you teach?
For the last 20 years I've taught:
GCSE Combined Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) for AQA, OCR and Edexcel
GCSE Separate Sciences for AQA, OCR and Edexcel
IGCSE Chemistry & Biology for Edexcel
BTEC Level 2 Applied Science
A level Chemistry for AQA, OCR and Edexcel
International Baccalaureate (IB) for Cambridge
BTEC Level 3 Advanced Science
Key Stage 3 Science (Year 7-9)
- What are your qualifications and experience?
I have a Masters Degree in Chemistry with Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (MCHEM) and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) with Qualified Teacher Status (QTS).
For the last 20 years I have taught in schools, tutored one to one lessons and worked as a Senior Examiner. I've held positions of responsibility such as Head of House and I've been responsible for training and developing student teachers.
- What does being a Senior Examiner involve?
Each exam period I work with the other Senior Examiners to write the Chemistry mark schemes. I'm responsible for supervising a group of around 70 examiners and team leaders, ensuring they apply the mark scheme consistently. Examining has been instrumental in my teaching and my advice to students. I am responsibile for the A level Chemistry Mark Reviews each August and I write the BMSAT Chemistry questions for Oxford University
- What does a typical lesson involve?
This completely depends on the individual student! I'm very lead by the aspirations, ability and talents of all the wonderful students I teach.
In general we go through the specification of their particular qualifications in detail and then attempt the relevant exam question booklets I put together. Kinaesthetic learners love my box of molecules! Every lesson has a positive and productive atmosphere to boost my student's confidence and help them achieve their individual potentials.
My students can tell you best in their own words how they feel about lessons and the kind of things we do, thank you so much for all their kind reviews below:
S
All that I can say is that Ellie is fantastic. When she was teaching myself and my brother A Level Chemistry, she always gave short, concise explanations of concepts in a way that we easily understood. Also, she gave us past paper questions after each topic so that we had plenty of practice at exam technique. She marked these and sent us feedback on what to improve on. This meant that when it came around to do our exams, we were fully prepared for them and confident that we could do well. During lockdown, she was very flexible as she either had online lessons with us or set us exam papers that she marked and sent back to us with details on how to improve. Ellie’s tutoring gave us routine Chemistry revision that alleviated pressure and allowed us to balance our time on other A Level subjects. We are very grateful to have had such an amazing tutor who was always cheerful and upbeat. Thank you! -S and S.
T
My daughter needed an A level chemistry tutor. We had other tutors but I would firstly say my daughter was very particular about the type of tutor she wanted . She wanted someone very knowledgeable and someone to help tackle exam questions. My daughter is quite shy and due to her teacher at school had lost confidence. When my daughter had her first lesson with Ellie, she knew she was the right type of tutor. Ellie instantly put my child at ease. Ellie is extremely knowledgeable and knows and knows exactly how to adapt to the style of teaching she required. My child gained confidence and improved greatly. I couldn’t recommend Ellie enough. I wouldn’t hesitate in recommending her to anyone. She is absolutely brilliant.
A
Ellie is such an amazing tutor and has helped my daughter so much with her A-Level Chemistry. She has a reassuring and supportive approach that immediately puts you at ease and makes each session both educational and enjoyable. She is extremely organized, with well planned sessions, ensuring she sends through any useful material or questions in advance of the session. Her understanding of the curriculum and marking scheme, coupled with her brilliant ability to explain topics in detail and with patience, gave my daughter so much more confidence in going into her A-Levels and I’m sure her results will reflect this. Ellie is by far the best tutor we have ever used and we’re so grateful for all her help. I couldn’t recommend her more highly.
R
Ellie has been a very caring and helpful chemistry tutor, without her i wouldn’t have the grades I have achieved now, and thanks to her help I have improved massively. Ellie has constantly been patient and understanding with me, even when i have found myself overwhelmed with exams or even don’t understand something, she has always been very supportive and encouraging to carry on. Ellie has made learning chemistry so much easier to learn and i looked forward to our lessons every week. thank you Ellie! Love R xxxx
C
Ellie has been working with my daughter in GCSE Biology and Chemistry. She is such a great teacher and was able to engage with my daughter in such a way that she felt supported and believed in her own ability. Ellie has great in depth knowledge in the syllabus and armed with focussed exam questions and answers for her students. I would highly recommend Ellie, she is an amazing tutor and a really lovely person.
D
Ellie is an excellent chemistry and biology tutor - she helped two of our children achieve great GCSE grades. She is patient and uses her oustanding knowledge about content and exam technique to explain the most challenging aspects of the sciences in a clear and memorable way. We 100% recommend Ellie as she will bring the best out of any student regardless of their initial grasp of the sciences.
S
I think Ellie is really helpful in all aspects of biology and chemistry. This is because I always understand a topic after Ellie has taught it to me. Also she gives lots of helpful exam practice so I can apply all the knowledge I have been taught so my tests always went well. I always knew the information inside out because Ellie tests me and makes sure I know a certain topic before moving on.
K
We asked Ellie as she’d already come highly recommend by friends. She has been instrumental in deepening my son’s grasp of chemistry A level and undoubtedly made all the difference in his gaining an A grade. Excellent communication with us about his progress and the areas he needed to focus on. Such a lovely lady too, a gem!
A
Highly recommend!!! Ellie has genuinely been the best chemistry teacher I have had, she is also an examiner which is a great help as her knowledge is always up to date not only with content but also exam questions and mark schemes. She explains the chemistry in as much detail as you need as opposed to the majority of teachers who focus more on memorisation and wrote learning. So you have a good understanding (which is the best teaching style as exam questions can require a lot of application.) Ellie is also extremely kind and understanding, she has offered so much support from a mental health perspective. She truly goes above and beyond for her students
J
Ellie is both an experienced and knowledgeable tutor and a really lovely person. She has been helping my family this year with GCSE and A level exam preparation after all the school Covid disruption. Both children have found their 1:1 lessons with Ellie really beneficial - they have learnt so much and have really grown in confidence. We are very glad to have found you Ellie, thank you
K
Ellie is a wonderful Chemistry tutor and has always gone above and beyond to help me. I appreciate how she is able to make Chemistry simple and easy to understand. Ellie is a very positive and lovely person, well organised and is always prepared to help me in whatever way I need so I definitely recommend Ellie as a Chemistry tutor.
Ellie has been tutoring my children for the last 7 years. My children admired the way she taught, they really enjoyed her lessons and the results they achieved in the end would not have been possible without Ellie. I highly recommend Ellie for anyone who is struggling with Biology or Chemistry or needs help with exam technique. Thank you very much Ellie for all your support over the years, you are the best tutor I have ever worked with.
Thank you to my students for all their wonderful reviews, they mean the world to me
