Fiona’s passion for driving began during her first driving lesson in December 1999. Having passed her driving test at the first attempt in April 2000, she went on to pass her advanced driving test with the Institute of Advanced Motorists 3 years later at the age of 20. Although Fiona’s goal was always to become a driving instructor, so she could share her passion for driving and road safety with others, she felt she needed to gain more experience in driving and other areas before pursuing this.

During her 15 years as a nanny, she has gained a wealth of driving experience on the island roads as well as in various European countries and further afield and has encountered many different driving conditions and situations during this time, Fiona believes that her experiences in driving and childcare have given her many of the qualities needed to be a great instructor. She is calm, patient and friendly, enjoys meeting new people and has the ability to relate to people of all ages and walks of life.

The opportunity to realise her ambition finally arose in 2015, when she was able to begin the intense training and qualification process to become and DVS Approved Driving Instructor. She qualified in June 2015 and set up XLR8 Driving Academy. Fiona tailors each lesson to suit the student she is teaching, giving them all the knowledge, skills and most importantly confidence in themselves and their abilities to be a safe and responsible driver.

She enjoys helping people learn and achieve, whatever their age and background. Since qualifying as an ADI, she has gone on to gain all her licence categories, meaning she can drive any vehicle. She has also completed the level 4 qualification in Adult Education and Training and the Professional Certificate in Driving Assessment and Outdoor Mobility at the University of Chester. As well as teaching for JC’s & XLR8, Fiona also works with the charity, DriveAbility Jersey providing tuition and assessment for islanders with physical, cognitive or neurodiverse needs.