Hélène grew up in a French naval family so, like many of our students, she moved a lot as a child, predominantly in France and Germany where she first learned German. This led her to become a translator, earning a Degree in English and German Translation, specializing in Public Relations from the Institut Supérieur de Traduction et d’Interprétation in Paris (ISIT), after having first earned a Diploma of Higher Education in German History and Literature at the Sorbonne, also in Paris. She has also acquired Certificates in Business English and Business German from the Franco-British and Franco-German Chambers of Commerce, respectively.
Her first job was in publishing where she spent time in New York and Paris fact-checking articles, editing and translating a book. Marrying another globetrotter, her international journey continued. With her husband she lived in French Guiana, Melbourne, Paris, Brussels, and London. Their 4 children were all born in different countries, all bilingual French-English. Along the way, Hélène taught French language and literature and German language at a state secondary school following the French curriculum in Kourou, French Guiana, and also worked as a tour guide at the European Space Center in Kourou, and then later in Australia she worked as a temp turning her hand to a variety of tasks. She has also taught French and English to adults in French Guiana and France. She has also taught in the IB Primary Years Programme at the Brussels English Primary School in Belgium, and has had private German students along the way.
When they moved to the UK Helen began teaching German at the Collège Français Bilingue de Londres (CFBL), Secondary School in London, (French school system curriculum), and more recently at an IB World School in London where she teaches French A and B to MYP and IBDP students, and she has had further professional development for teaching IB French B.
Hélène is a wonderful model of how multilingualism, fueled by a passion for language learning, can facilitate so many opportunities in so many parts of the world and we are delighted that she is available to work with our students.