Teachers for our University Pathways and Gap Year programmes

Our academic teaching staff are experienced and highly skilled in teaching in an international environment. They specialise in a range of intellectually engaging subjects including Art, Business, Economics, English Literature, Film Studies, History, International Relations, Philosophy, Photography, Politics, Psychology, Sociology and many more. Some teachers are examiners in their specialist area. Also, many teach at the University of Oxford and Oxford Brookes University, as well as universities in London.

Our academic programmes benefit from small class sizes. This high staff-to-student ratio provides greater levels of support to develop academic literacies in essay writing, debating, critical thinking, researching and presenting. Many students comment that our programmes really prepare them for further study at university and beyond.

Our teaching approach extends beyond the classroom with engaging Study Visits; utilising some of the many academic resources that Oxford has to offer. One of the benefits of selecting us as your study destination.

The latest inspection report highlights our education quality ‘Teaching is excellent and results in high levels of student engagement and motivation to learn.’  – ISI PFE March 2019

Amelia Farber

Amelia teaches Educational Studies at St. Clare’s while completing her DPhil in Education at the University of Oxford. Her doctoral research explores how children in the Galápagos Islands learn about their environment, with wider interests in environmental education, equity in learning, and ecological knowledge. She holds a Master’s in Latin American Studies and dual Bachelor’s degrees in Anthropology and Music from Stanford University. Outside academia, she enjoys baking, photography, and travel.

Anna Castriota

Anna is Italian and came to Oxford in 1994 following her Italian doctoral degree in Philosophy with a research fellowship at Oxford University. In 2001, Anna was awarded with a MA in History of Fascism at Oxford Brookes University with a dissertation on post-fascism in Italy. She joined St Clare’s in 2006 as a Politics instructor. Since then, her academic interests have focused mainly on the study of the far right and ideological radicalism. Since 2014, Anna has become involved in academic projects like the Radicalism Forum at the University of Northampton where she has been awarded with her PhD in political history with a thesis on fascist mysticism and neo-fascist terrorism in 2023. Currently, Anna is writing a book on Italian far-right terrorism to be published in 2027.

Barbara Spence

Barbara teaches Business and Society at St. Clare’s, drawing on over 20 years of experience in international development, human rights, and corporate social responsibility. She holds Master’s degrees in Development and World Economy Politics from the London School of Economics, alongside a Law degree from Universidad del Rosario. Founder of Fundación Sello Social in Colombia, she has led initiatives promoting ethical business practices and continues to research and teach on CSR, political economy, and business ethics.

Cecilia Neil-Smith

Cecilia studied English (BA) and Victorian Studies (MA) at Royal Holloway, University of London, before working as an English teacher in London whilst completing a Postgraduate Certificate in Art History at Birkbeck, University of London. She then went on to study a PhD at Exeter University on mermaids and sirens as androgynous figures in Victorian literature and art. She taught Art History undergraduate modules at Exeter University and tutored English privately and in local schools. Her research has been published in scholarly journals such as Victorian Studies, The Pre-Raphaelite Review and Shima Journal, and she is currently working on publishing her PhD as a monograph. Other interests include art, music (singing and folk violin!), wildlife and all things Victorian!

David Chaplin

David Chaplin has been a member of the St Clare’s community for twenty years. He teaches Theory of Knowledge on the IB and Photography on our Pre-IB, summer school, and senior courses. He also teaches our History of Art course, which makes full use of Oxford’s rich cultural heritage. In 2015 he began working as a Personal Tutor, and also works in the library where he recently set up an educational e-video platform for staff and students. He was awarded his first degree by the University of Wales in the Humanities, gained his PGCE in Oxford, and has studied Art and Design. He also has a certificate in teaching basic literacy and numeracy to adults with learning difficulties, which was inspired by his work prior to St Clare’s in the mental health division of the NHS.

Émilie Hauzay

Émilie was educated in France and went on to complete a master’s in education at Oxford Brookes University. She began her teaching career in Athens, Greece, where she taught French for eight years before moving to Oxford in 2013. Since then, she has taught at Oxford Brookes University, Imperial College London, and the Oxford University Language Centre. In 2023, she was delighted to join St Clare’s. Émilie enjoys spending time with her multicultural family and keeping active with different outdoor activities.

Esmeralda Frances-Martinez

Esmeralda Frances-Martinez was born and raised in Spain, where she studied Education and the Psychology of Education at the University of Alicante. She moved to Oxford in 2002 and began teaching Spanish and French. After completing a PGCE in Modern Languages, she taught in secondary schools before focusing on adult education. She currently teaches Spanish at the University of Oxford and has been working at St Clare’s since 2018. Outside of teaching, she enjoys dancing and spending time with her partner and two sons.

Francesca Magnabosco

Dr Francesca Magnabosco graduated from the University of Turin, Italy (BA; MPhil) and obtained her DPhil in Italian literature from the University of Oxford. For the University of Oxford, she works as a lecturer in Italian Renaissance literature (Pembroke College) and in Italian language (sub-Faculty of Italian); she is tutor in Italian at Oxford Lifelong Learning. She is also a writer and translator.

Francesca Shakespeare

Francesca Shakespeare is a practising artist and Art teacher. She has worked part time for St Clare’s for nearly a decade and teaches on the Pre IB program, the senior courses and the summer schools. Francesca did a Fine Art and Italian degree at Exeter University, living and working in Italy before and during her course. Before moving to Oxford over twenty years ago, she ran a mural and decorative Art business in London with a studio in Notting Hill and commissions all around the country. She then started painting and teaching and exhibits both locally and further afield.

Francesca is an active member of the local art community. She co-ordinates Summertown Artweeks (part of the big Oxfordshire Art Festival) and is a founding committee member of Young Art Oxford, a county-wide children’s art competition that exhibits at The Ashmolean Museum. She also works regularly with the Ashmolean’s education department to create interactive artworks for the galleries.

As an illustrator, she has produced the decorative map of St Clare’s as well as ones of the River Thames and Cherwell. Francesca is married with three children in their twenties.
Website: www.francescashakespeare.com

Ian Freeth

Ian holds a degree in Immunology from King’s College, London and draws on a varied career across Private banking, HR systems, systems integration and digital consultancy. His transition into education has spanned 20 years, including the development of postgraduate business modules for UK Universities, where his senior management experience has been invaluable. Alongside teaching, Ian continues to consult as an analyst, supporting organisations through operational change. Although recently, he’s begun exploring beekeeping, a quiet counterbalance to his structured professional life.

Julia Gutierrez

Julia has taught EFL since 1998 in Uganda, Australia, China, and Europe. She currently teaches English for Exams and has also taught on the University Foundation Programme and teacher development at St Clare’s. Early in her career, she volunteered in rural Uganda and later became Head of Foreign Teachers at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Middle School in China. Julia holds the Trinity Diploma TESOL and is a Trinity-approved Teacher Trainer. She has worked in management for schools in the UK and has been an author/editor for Oxford University Press’s ELT Division since 2012.

Julie Bolitho

Julie teaches Literature and Creative Writing at St. Clare’s. She holds a Master’s in Literature and Medicine from King’s College London and is a Truman Scholar. An accomplished writer with over 50 publications in poetry and nonfiction, her work has appeared in Vogue Italia and The Best New British & Irish Poets. She also guides meditation on Insight Timer, where she shares mindfulness practices with a global audience of over 30,000 followers.

Karen Patricia Heath

Karen Patricia Heath is a modern and contemporary historian, and she has taught at St. Clare’s since 2012. She holds a 1st class BA (Hons) in Modern History from London Guildhall University, an MPhil in Historical Studies from the University of Cambridge, and a DPhil in Modern History from the University of Oxford. She taught for many years at the University of Oxford, and prior to that, at Queen Mary, University of London. Her research specialism is 20th and 21st Century US history, although her teaching interests extend to 20th Century Europe and Britain, all with a focus on politics and policy, culture and the arts.

Kay Alty

Kay Alty is a marketing professional with over 30 years’ corporate experience in Publishing, IT and Marketing Services. She has been teaching Marketing courses at the International College since 2008 and advocates the application of business theory to actual business case studies and creative assignments to encourage interactive learning.

From 1996 to 2015 Kay was founder and MD of Data Print & Mail Ltd, a marketing services agency specialising in consultancy; database management; telemarketing and desk research; event management and CRM. Prior to setting up in business Kay was Client Services Director at ABC Promotional Services and Special Projects Manager at Pergamon Press. In 1982 she graduated from L’École Supérieure de Commerce, Reims (linked then to Middlesex Polytechnic, now with Lancaster University) on completion of the 4 year Diplôme des Etudes Européennes de Management/BAEBA programme.

Kay is a volunteer with The Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock and New Yatt Riding for the Disabled Group.

Keith Ibsen

Keith Ibsen is currently the Programme coordinator of the University Foundation course and Director of Studies of the English language courses. Before joining St Clare’s in 2014 he taught in many schools and colleges in Spain and Japan. He grew up in Oxford and studied Modern Languages at the University of Westminster. As well as teaching he has worked as a restaurant manager, waiter, barman and lifeguard. He is a keen traveller who has spent time in several countries over five continents.

Lucrezia Rizzelli

Lucrezia Rizzelli is a graduate of Oxford University and John Jay College, where she studied psychology before specialising in Criminology during her doctorate. She has taught at Brookes University, while she is now a Research Officer with the DPRU at Oxford. In this role, she investigates capital punishment in the Global South and is hoping to expand her research endeavours to encompass mental health and torture. She lives with her best friend and, in her free time, enjoys baking, doing custom puzzles, and playing board games.

Magnus Moar

Magnus Moar is a graduate of Oxford and Sussex universities. After graduating from his Theology degree, he went on to complete an MA in Literature, Religion and Philosophy and a DPhil in Philosophy on the work of the Danish thinker Soren Kierkegaard. Magnus began teaching in 2001 and has been teaching Philosophy and Religion courses at the International College since 2007, working on all of the academic programmes. Beyond his work at St Clare͛s, Magnus also works for Oxford University͛s Department for Continuing Education teaching adult learners in Philosophy in Oxford and Reading. As a former departmental head at another college, Magnus has been involved in tutor recruitment and training. He has a published article in the volume ͚Despite Oneself: Subjectivity and Its Secret in Kierkegaard and Levinas͛ (Turnshare, London) and is no stranger to the conference circuit. Magnus is currently working on an interdisciplinary text that examines the philosophy of human nature in literature.

Paul Sinclair

Paul Sinclair is the Director of Studies for the Academic Programmes at the International College and enjoys both working with our university partners in the USA and advising students who apply to American Universities, a role he has fulfilled since 2007. He studied Medieval History at the University of St Andrews and also completed a year of study abroad at Queen’s University, Canada, and an MA in History at the University of Washington in Seattle before moving to Oxford to research thirteenth century England on a British Academic Scholarship at St John’s College, especially kingship, knighthood and the reign of King Henry III. Paul teaches Liberal Arts courses on history and art history and gives seminars on a range of medieval topics, J.R.R. Tolkien and Victorian medievalism; he is currently researching the utopian writings of William Morris. In his spare time, he likes to explore eighteenth century English landscape gardens and listen to 1960s American soul music – although rarely at the same time. 

Roald Morgan

Roald Morgan studied history and economics at Brasenose College, Oxford. He has worked as a teacher of economics for over 20 years, including several at St. Clare’s. He has also worked in the “real world”, as a marketing manager for a machinery manufacturer.
Roald is half German and grew up speaking English and German. He also speaks Spanish, having lived and worked in Spain for over a decade.

Sarah Stretton

Sarah has been a teacher for over 11 years, working in Spain, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. She currently teaches English, Academic subjects on the Undergraduate Programme and Teacher Training at the International College. Sarah has a History degree from the University of York, a Master’s from Oxford Brookes University and the DIPTESOL which she completed in Barcelona. 

Before her teaching career, Sarah worked in the heritage sector, specifically historic and rare libraries. She began her teaching career teaching young learners in Andalucía in Spain where she was a centre Very Young Learner specialist. She then moved on to teach university students in Tokyo, Japan. Following this, she spent several years teaching English to international students in schools in Sydney, Australia and Wellington, New Zealand. After 6 years living and working abroad, she returned to work and live in the UK and first worked for St Clare’s in 2016 on the Summer School Programme.  

Since then, she has taught on several summer school programmes, taught English for Life and Exams and a Gateway to Foundation course at the International College. In the last couple of years, Sarah has moved into teacher training and has taught several teacher development courses for St Clare’s, including online courses for teachers in Argentina and Mozambique. She also teaches Children’s Literature for the International College’s Undergraduate programme to American education students from Elon University. 

Outside of her work at St Clare’s, Sarah is a writer and won an international writing award in 2019 and has had several works of short fiction and poetry published. In her role as a writer, she also works as a Creative Writing tutor and mentor for local charity Fusion Art Oxford. Sarah is a very keen reader and regularly reviews books. She has organised a women’s book club in Oxford for the past four years. 

Victoria Staveley

Victoria Staveley works at St Clare’s in various capacities. In addition to teaching Theory of Knowledge, she is the Academic Office manager. She also teaches Liberal Arts courses in Renaissance Studies, European Crime Fiction, and Jane Austen. She studied English and French at Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada before coming to do postgraduate research at St. John’s College, Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar and a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada doctoral fellow.