Matthew Birtchnell

Hi, my name is Matthew and I’m Assistant Headteacher and Director of Sixth Form at St Olave’s Grammar School in South East London. Having qualified as an MFL teacher in 2006, I have since taught German, French and Spanish in secondary schools across South East London and Kent. In my first school, I was responsible for delivering languages to the wider community and then became Second in Charge of Languages. In 2012 I moved on to be Head of MFL in a grammar school on the Kent Coast. In 2014, I became Head of MFL at a large IB school where all students took two languages for GCSE and all Sixth Form students also studied a language. I have experience examining at the GCSE level, and also for the IB Diploma.

Throughout my career, I have mentored trainee teachers and new entrants to the profession and continue to do so, proving my passion for providing high-level and high-quality teaching to students across the UK. I now teach German across all key stages at St Olave’s and I am particularly passionate about curriculum design and educational visits.