Steph

About Me

I offer Creative Writing, English and French tutoring online ONLY.
Do not hesitate to get in touch for a chat and to discuss any requirements or questions you may have.
See details about the different lessons I offer below.

*We have witnessed the caring, kind, respectful, knowledgeable, and timely demeanor with which Steph approached working with our daughter specifically and children more generally.* - Bryan

*Steph navigated home schooling and creating an environment that our son could really excel and thrive in with great ease. Her unique background as a children’s writer meant that she can apply herself to children’s schoolwork with complete fluency but also make any subject fun and engaging to a child’s specific needs. Steph’s superpower was really storytelling with our son and his reading, writing and spelling thrived as a result. He is also now, thanks to Steph, a very avid Harry Potter fan, the books captured his imagination perfectly and he is now reading book 3 with great fluency - very advanced for his age!* - Rosie

*Stephanie was an exceptional, pro-active educator of my son. She took the initiative to take him to the town library, to use songs and games to introduce him to French, and to take him on various learning adventures. She clearly had a high, aspirational vision for the ability of children to learn in their earliest years, and she implemented this vision with passion. * - Naomi

*Stephanie is undoubtedly a talented writer - not only of fiction, but also of analytical essays. Her writing style is clear, concise and imaginative; there is always some powerful descriptive writing in her work and she skillfully employs sensory detail to allow the reader to share the experience of her characters. Stephanie is also adept at giving and receiving constructive criticism, keen both to help others achieve their maximum potential and produce first class work.* - Steve

A native French and English speaker with a BA degree in French, Italian and European Studies and an MA in Creative Writing for Children, I worked as a bilingual nanny and governess in private households across Europe for 10 years. I also taught creative writing to primary school-aged children with Chelsea Young Writers in London. I now work as a freelance translator, children's author and tutor.

Creative Writing lessons
I have written for as long as I can remember and as a child I would have LOVED for my parents to sign me up for a creative writing course. Unfortunately I lived in a rural area and there was no such thing as zoom, so I did most of my writing alone and occasionally emailed authors for advice (the nicest ones even responded!) Looking back on the highly-imaginative child that I was is what drives me to offer to children what I couldn't have: one-on-one creative writing lessons with a "real life writer" who would take my imagination and ambition seriously.

I teach creative writing to children aged 4 and above. Please remember that the purpose of Creative Writing is FUN. While I can correct your child's spelling and grammar if you desire, the main purpose of a creative writing class is to stimulate the child's imagination and give them the confidence to write their own stories.

I have a degree in Creative Writing for Children and have written three children's books, one which is currently being submitted to publishers by my literary agent. During my time with Chelsea Young Writers in London, I taught creative writing to primary school-aged children and also wrote a good deal of the course content.

My Creative Writing lessons are split into three age categories:

LITLLE DREAMERS - Ages 4 to 8 - £25 per hour
Lessons will mainly include drawing story boards, creating characters and building simply story structures to teach the child that each story has a beginning, middle and end. I will provide some short written feedback to parents following the lesson.

LITTLE WRITERS - Ages 9 to 13 - £30 per hour
The first 3/4 of the lesson will be spent discussing a writing-related topic (plot, setting, characterisation etc). We will discuss ideas for a story and perhaps work on a character sheet or plot structure together. Then the child will try their hand a writing a story with my help and feedback. I will provide some short written feedback to parents following the lesson.

YOUNG WORKSHOPPERS - Ages 14 to 18 - £40 per hour
For older students, lessons tend to be more structured but can also be tailored to suit the students needs and interests. We will begin by discussing a writing-related topic and looking at how we can apply that to our own writing. Next, I will give detailed feedback on a piece of writing of max 1000 words that the student will have submitted to me 1 WEEK PRIOR. If the student wishes, this time can be followed by a writing chat where we can discuss anything from writing goals, to where to get ideas, to how to pursue writing as a career or through higher education. These lessons are meant for older children and teens who are serious about their writing and are able to commit to submitting work in advance.

French lessons - Ages 4 to 18 - £30 per hour
Born in Britain, I moved to France as a young child and speak both languages fluently. I offer French tutoring to children age 4 and above. For younger children, vocabulary and pronunciation will be taught through games and songs. For older children, tutoring lessons can be tailored to suit their specific needs, whether that's improving their French conversation skills or preparing for exams.

English lessons (as per the UK national curriculum)- Ages 4 to 18 - £30
These lessons can be entirely tailored to what your child needs some extra help with. That could be improving reading skills, grammar and punctuation, comprehension and composition or literary analysis and essay writing for older students.