Dr. Fiona Winston

I am Dr Fiona Kezia Winston, an educator, writer and creative writing mentor with a PhD in English Language and Literature and over six years of teaching experience across IB, Cambridge, IGCSE, ICSE and other international curricula. My academic background in English Language and Literature allows me to bring both depth and rigour to the teaching of language, literature, reading, writing and critical thinking, while my experience as a writer and mentor helps me connect academic learning with creativity and authentic communication. At the heart of my teaching is the belief that every learner needs a learning pattern that is built around them. I customize my approach according to a student's reading level, interests, strengths, challenges, pace and learning habits rather than expecting every student to respond to the same curriculum in the same way. I work towards building consistent reading and learning routines, setting achievable goals and gradually developing the confidence and independence needed for meaningful language acquisition. My teaching begins with reading. I believe a strong reading curriculum creates the foundation from which listening, speaking and writing can naturally develop. Through carefully chosen texts, guided reading, discussion, vocabulary building, comprehension and literary exploration, I help students develop the language, ideas and confidence they need to communicate effectively across all four LSRW skills. I see reading not simply as a skill to be assessed, but as an ecosystem through which students learn to think, question, interpret, articulate and ultimately write with greater clarity and originality. Alongside my classroom experience, I have mentored 52 young writers in creative writing and publishing, supporting them in developing ideas, finding their individual voices, refining their work and understanding the journey from writing to publication. My work with young writers has strengthened my belief that good teaching is not about producing one kind of successful student, but about helping each learner discover the way in which they learn, think and create best. I bring together academic rigour, personalized learning, reading-led curriculum design and creative practice to create classrooms where students are encouraged not only to perform well academically, but to become confident readers, thoughtful communicators and independent writers.