I am from the North-East of England and was educated at the local Grammar School. I then went to the University of Manchester, where I gained my degree in French Studies with English and Linguistics, as well as my PGCE qualification.
I have always loved languages and am fascinated by how they work. My first experience of teaching was as an English Assistant in a Lycée in France, as part of my degree course. I taught in the UK for several years before moving to Greece in the late 1980s to work at an international school in Athens. During my time there, as well as French, I taught ESOL and first language English, and since returning to the UK in 2008 I have taught English from Secondary to GCSE and A level. I have many years’ experience of tutoring, both online and face to face, and I love being able to guide young people to achieve their full potential.
As well as traditional teaching, I also mark GCSE and A level exams for one of the the leading UK exam boards and am one of the senior team of examiners for the spoken paper tests for ESOL.
Away from the classroom, my free time is taken up with walking in my beautiful home county of Northumberland, and I also enjoy live music concerts, of most genres, as well as going to the theatre and cinema. I am an avid reader, mostly of contemporary fiction, but also non-fiction and poetry. I am a member of the local poetry group and book club and enjoy the discussions in both groups.
I have three grown-up children, all bi-lingual, who currently live in three different countries; I visit them as often as I can. I appreciate the different cultural perspectives gained from living in different countries and am always interested in new developments in international education.
I look forward to working with you and supporting you on your learning journey.
