Madeleine

I am a tutor who cares deeply about helping students grow in confidence, curiosity, and independence. I offer calm, focused support in languages, humanities, and academic writing — always tailored to the individual student.

I am passionate about languages, travel, and widening access to higher education. I am sympathetic to the struggles of learning a foreign language. My sessions are fully tailored to the individual and followed up with detailed notes to enable easy revision. I am always happy to check work between lessons and answer any questions. I aim to challenge, using authentic material to push my students out of their comfort zones and beyond what they encounter in the classroom. I provide progress reports and homework tasks as required.

Beyond French and German, I teach History (with a particular personal interest in 20th century German history), and English (Literature, Language, and as a Foreign Language) at all levels beyond primary teaching and across exam boards, as well as Oxbridge and 11+ applications advice. All lessons are conducted online unless you live very nearby.

I edit personal statements, essays, and prose more generally - you can choose to book me for the time taken to read and edit your piece, or we can schedule a session to go through it together in detail.

Availability: Please do just get in touch!

Willing to travel: 30 miles

Experience: My love for tuition was sparked by tutoring for the Coronavirus Tutoring Initiative, a project which provided disadvantaged pupils with free tuition during the pandemic. I have since been tutoring for some years, and am deeply motivated by helping students achieve their academic goals.

I am a starred-first graduate in Modern and Medieval Languages (French and German) from the University of Cambridge with a Master`s degree in European Studies with a German specialism (Distinction) from King`s College London and the Humboldt Universität zu Berlin.

I worked for a multinational consulting firm in Paris from 2020 - 2021, where I headed the translation of financial documents from French to English. I have au paired in Austria twice, teaching teenagers English, as well as teaching English as a foreign language in two Austrian secondary schools for the British Council. I was responsible for planning and delivering lessons on British culture with a focus on coherence and effectiveness of communication.

I was an editor for a student-led policy think tank at King’s College London, and have worked as a volunteer researcher for the COVID-19 Domestic Violence Task Force UK/EU, a student-led project researching the structures exacerbating abuse and violence against women to advocate for policy change on gender-based violence in the UK and EU.

Whilst at Cambridge, I participated in several Oxbridge roadshow `tours` of northern secondary schools with my college, St Catharine`s, and sat on panels discussing what makes a successful applicant and undergraduate in languages. Likewise, I was twice an executive member of the panel organising a Cambridge-based international conference in undergraduate German studies. A key part of this role was engaging with secondary school pupils to inspire them with enthusiasm for continuing German post-18.

Alongside tuition, I work with non-profits on strategy, impact evaluation, and research. I also produce pedagogic materials for French and German learners.

DBS Check: Yes