Francine

I was born in Australia and grew up predominantly in Melbourne. I was always a good student and attended the only selective entry school for girls in Melbourne between 2003-2006. I attended the University of Melbourne between 2007-2012 and completed two concurrent degrees in Music and Arts (majoring in Social Science). In 2013 I moved to Queensland where I worked as a music teacher in several different schools until the end of 2016. In 2017 I moved to the Netherlands where I worked as a bilingual nanny for a family with two girls. I then moved to the UK in 2018 where I again worked as a nanny for two families in Reading and in Cambridge, before taking a job in 2019 at the Cambridge Steiner School where I taught instrumental and classroom music. I then decided to formalise my educational qualifications so enrolled in the Masters of Teaching (Primary and Secondary) course through Deakin University (Australia) as well as completing the Masters of Educational Leadership and School Improvement Course at the University of Cambridge. In 2022 I took over the Head of Music position at Falcons Pre-Preparatory in Chiswick until the school sadly closed in 2023. I currently split my time between private violin teaching (I teach at Ravenscourt Park Prep School) and my tutoring.

My approach with students across the board has been to try and create an environment which is sufficiently supportive and positive enough that they are motivated to challenge themselves. I don't believe children do well in overly stressful or negative environments and that this impacts on their ability to learn and retain information. However I also don't believe in allowing students to continue with bad habits or not put in their best effort, so I set my standards high without making it a negative experience. In all my teaching I have tried to create a climate where students are motivated to succeed because they see the benefits of hard work, and I am always very upfront about what is required in order to succeed.

I have worked with a range of students with different learning needs over the years and have worked hard to build my knowledge and qualifications so that I have an in depth understanding of how different pedagogy and approaches work for students. I am also very conscious of each student's goals and work to tailor my approach so it is suitable for the individual while still following a well thought-out plan which I know works. The benefit of tutoring is that students are able to be taught at their own pace in a style that works for them, so I keep this in mind in all my work.

I am currently completing the final six months of my Masters of Music Performance at the Royal College of Music in the study of violin. I have a group The Great Bear Ensemble, which specialises in the performance of 17th and 18th century repertoire on period instruments. At the same time, I work as a peripatetic violin teacher at Ravenscourt Park Prep School and have a large private teaching studio and tutoring practice.