Our Tutors

English

Dr. Kat Patrick now resides in her home state of Texas with her four children, all of whom are Dreaming Spires students. Before that, she lived for 25 years in England. Her background includes an MA from Durham (UK), a PhD from Delaware (US), and a UK PGCE teaching certificate, all in the subject of English. She continues to examine for both the Cambridge Assessment International Education and Oxford, Cambridge, RSA examinations boards for both IGCSE and A-level. Her revision guide is available to purchase via Amazon.
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Creative Writing (summer only)

Jackie Pavlenko graduated from Oxford University (BA Hons) in English Language and Literature, before becoming a screenwriter (MA in screenwriting, London College of Communication). Her plays have popped up on BBC Radio 4, and she once found herself being photographed by paparazzi who must have mistaken her for someone important at the premier of a film she'd written. She teaches creative writing online to adults, teens, and children, takes pride in fostering student confidence, and is passionate that we all have the "right to write." Now settled in Scotland, she home educated her two children on the road while traveling in Europe for five years.
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French and Spanish

Joel Baker, known to students as Maestro B or Maître B, lives in Somerset, England with his five children whom he has been educating at home for the last 14 years. He is a linguist with a passion for delight-led learning, specialising in Romance languages, speaking and teaching French, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. After completing his degree in Spanish and Portuguese at King’s College London in 2006, he trained as a secondary school teacher of French and Spanish, taught at a prep school in Dorset, was employed as a youth worker and ran café language classes for adults for several years. He joined Dreaming Spires in 2017 and currently teaches French 1, 2 & 3 and Spanish 1, 2 & 3, as well as IGCSE crammer courses in French and Spanish. Outside Dreaming Spires, Joel gives private tuition and coaching, including for the US college AP exams, and he conducts GCSE speaking exams at an international school. He also works as a barista-missionary in a nearby Christian café project!
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Mathematics

Dr Robert Leese has taught mathematics at one of the most prestigious universities in the world for over 25 years, and is CTO in a systems engineering company. He sees a role for himself in conveying mathematics as a set of analytical skills instead of a collection of facts and formulae that few students know what to do with. He's the father of four children whom he has homeschooled for over a decade, and is an avid collector and repairer of antique fountain pens.
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Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Anatomy & Physiology, and General Science

Kimberly Jones holds a BSN from the University of Texas at Austin and an MEd in Secondary Education from Texas State University. She is currently working on a second master’s degree in Educational Technology with plans to complete her doctorate once her youngest graduates.  Kimberly served in the military as a medic and behavioral health specialist before taking posts in pediatric and post-partum nursing. Since 2001, she has been teaching science in homeschool co-ops while homeschooling her own children -- one of whom attended university, another of whom served in the military, and two more of whom are still at home.
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Geography and Astronomy

Sandra Bird has a degree in Combined Science from Sheffield University and taught geography for a number of years before home educating her two daughters. She has 27 years of experience as a geography examiner, including being principal examiner for 15 of them. Her Blog About Britain project is a free resource for UK geography. Links to the 40 booklets of lessons and activities can be found by searching Blog About Britain on Facebook.
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Art History and Theater Studies

Jenny Wells holds a degree in History of Art and English from the University of York, and an MA from the Open University. She home educated her children, and has been teaching History of Art and English GCSE and A Levels at an independent Oxford sixth form college for over twelve years, including being an A level examiner for History of Art. She has a special interest in teaching and encouraging students with specific learning needs.
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Classical History

Alison Samuels is a former home-educating mum and a graduate of St John's College, Cambridge. She was one of the first women admitted to her alma mater, when it stopped being for men only. Her long teaching experience includes more than 20 years as a Classics lecturer with the Open University.
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History

Yvonne Mason took her undergraduate degree in English Language and Literature, then an MA in Medieval Studies from Royal Holloway in London while working as a costumed historical interpreter at the Tower of London. She has been working as an online tutor since 2001 in both English and History. She home educated her daughter for ten years, and is a card carrying member of the Tolkien Society as well as being an avid embroiderer, singer and movie watcher in her spare time. She has plans to study for a PhD in Medieval Studies very soon.
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Economics

Helen Harrold completed her Economics degree at Lancaster University and then did a post graduate teaching qualification. She currently tutors GCSE maths, AP Economics and is a UK consultant for an American high school program . Whilst living in the UK, she has homeschooled her own 7 children using the American curriculum: so has straddled both the UK and US systems.
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