About

About Judy

Maths teacher.  Performance coach.  Mindfulness teacher.

I'm Judy O'Grady, and I am a teacher of Maths.

Many students think that they are “not a maths person.” I don't believe there's any such thing. Maths isn't a fixed talent you're born with or without — it's a mental fitness, something any willing student can develop over time. Maths is a skill that just needs to be practiced with appropriate support and guidance. Many times what stands in the way isn't the Maths at all. It's the fear of Maths. It's the self-doubt. It's a panic that can set in before exams. I think it is important to address all of this.

Before I was a Maths teacher. I spent thirteen years as an Officer in the Irish Army, as a Captain in the Corps of Engineers, at home and on overseas deployment. When teaching, I sometimes draw on experiences from my military career to help students understand the importance of finding ways to work under pressure, and how to stay calm. 

Over the last 12 years, since I qualified as a Maths teacher, I came to understand that performing in Maths is about more than the Maths itself. It's a mindset. Since then, I trained as a Performance Coach and as a Mindfulness Teacher. I don't just teach a student the Maths. My aim is to teach them to stay calm while they do it, and to give them confidence in their own abilities.

While a significant increase in Maths grades is extremely important, my mission it’s more than that. I want to show young people they are more than capable of doing the difficult Maths — to replace self-doubt with self-belief, and to teach them to stay calm under pressure. My aim is to teach my students to become calmer and more confident during their exams, and long after the exams when faced with similar challenges.

The Formal Details

 Judy O'Grady MEd, MSc, BE, EMCC Dip, ITEC Dip, Capt (Rtd.) is a registered member of the Teaching Council of Ireland and holds a Post-Primary Master of Education, awarded with Distinction. On graduating from Hibernia College she was named Student of the Year and awarded Dissertation of the Year. She has experience teaching Maths for over 12 years. She currently holds the position of Assistant Principal in a Cork City school and also                            works with University College Cork (UCC) as a Maths Tutor, where she supports, assesses and mentors student Maths teachers during their degree — in effect, helping to train the next generation of teachers. Alongside Mathematics she is a qualified teacher of Physics, Applied Mathematics, Engineering, Graphics and Science.

Judy is a fully registered Mindfulness Teacher with the Mindfulness Teachers Association of Ireland (MTAI) and adheres to the Association's Best Practice Guidelines — a commitment that includes daily mindfulness practice, regular retreats, and ongoing development. The qualities this practice cultivates feed directly into how she works with teenagers.

She is also a registered coach with the European Mentoring and Coaching Council (EMCC), having qualified with a Diploma in Coaching, awarded with Distinction, from the EDelia Group. Coaching, at its heart, is a partnership — here, between teacher and student. Through active listening, effective questioning and proven coaching models, it creates the room for a student to develop and grow, and Judy draws on it at every opportunity in her sessions.

Judy first qualified as a Civil Engineer at UCC in 2000 and worked in consultancy for three years before joining the Defence Forces, where she served as an Officer in the Corps of Engineers. Over thirteen years she held leadership roles as both Platoon Commander and Company Commander, at home and on demanding overseas deployments. During her service she became a Chartered Engineer and completed an MSc in Fire Safety Engineering with the University of Ulster — graduating, once again, with Distinction and being awarded Dissertation of the Year.