About us

Cambridge School, quality teaching

Cambridge School, with over 5.000 students and almost 90 teachers, is one of the largest and fastest-growing language schools in Catalonia. Our team offers high-quality language teaching to children, teenagers and adults across our 10 centres as well as in local companies, primary and secondary schools.  As well as English, we offer Spanish, Catalan, German, French, Italian and Chinese courses.

We have been an approved CELTA training centre since 2002 and a Delta centre since 2008.  We are also a Cambridge English Exam Preparation Centre and the only school in our area to be accredited by the School of Modern Languages of the University of Barcelona.

Our school has a friendly, dynamic atmosphere and we enjoying welcoming CELTA and Delta candidates.  Many of our current teaching team are graduates from our training courses.

To find out more about our school, visit our school website www.cambridgeschool.com

Granollers

Granollers is a safe, friendly city of 60,000 people located about 25 kilometers inland from Barcelona.  It has an attractive historical centre focussed around the ‘Porxada’, an unusual Renaissance building which looks something like a Roman temple. In fact, it was built as a grain store – hence the name of the town, Granollers.

Our school is around the corner from the ‘Porxada’ in the heart of the city’s large, pedestrianised shopping area.  As well as an impressive selection of shops, the city centre has lots of great places to eat and drink including many pavement cafes where you can take a break from the course and watch the world go by.

Granollers has a multiplex cinema, a bowling alley, a swimming pool and a selection of gyms as well as many other facilities you would expect in a small city.  It has three public parks and a popular running and cycling track along the river that passes to the west of the city.

Granollers is only half an hour from Barcelona with trains running every twenty minutes so most trainees take the opportunity to visit.  In addition, sun-worshippers can head to the beautiful beaches of the Costa Brava and climbers and hikers to the stunning scenery of the Montseny National Park and Vall de Núria.  All of these destinations are easily accessible using public transport.

Our trainers

Maria Wern

Moved into the field of teaching in 2005 in Germany, when she realised life as a translator would be too monotonous. She joined Cambridge School in 2009, and has since taught a wide range of levels from one-year-olds to proficiency. She joined the academic management team in 2012. In her current role as Director of Teaching and CELTA/DELTA, she provides academic support for teachers and adult learners, and is responsible for CELTA/DELTA candidate interviews, course timetables and tutor support. Maria is a CELTA and DELTA teacher trainer and especially interested in the use of technology in the classroom and interference phenomena in language acquisition. In her free time she enjoys learning languages, music and photography.

Anna Owsiany

Is both a CELTA and DELTA teacher trainer. Having obtained her master’s degree in teaching English from Gdansk University, Poland, Anna moved to Oxford where she tried her hand at being a nursery assistant and worked as an administrator at Oxford University. Since 1997 she has been working in the field of English language teaching, including as teacher, examiner and teacher trainer. Anna’s interests in the field of ELT range from using translation in class to emotional and psychological factors affecting the learning process. In her free time, Anna enjoys classical music, long walks and video games.

Denise Thompson

Has over 30 years of experience as a teacher, teacher trainer and has led CELTA courses in the USA, New Zealand and Spain. Originally from Liverpool, she started working at Cambridge School in 2002 and is a tutor on our CELTA and DELTA courses and a CELTA assessor. She has a master’s degree in education and has a wide range of interests including English grammar, language acquisition and teaching young learners. Denise enjoys cinema, reading and spending time with her family in her leisure time.

Philippa Cairncross

Has more than 20 years of experience as an English teacher, teacher trainer and school director. Born and raised in Argentina by British parents, she lived in Denmark and Ibiza before joining Cambridge school in 2002. Philippa is a CELTA trainer and a strong believer in Communicative Methodology and the pivotal role of speaking practice in language acquisition. In her free time she likes horse-riding and hiking.

Aileen O’Connor

Aileen is the Director of In-company at Cambridge School, and has over 8 years’ experience in EFL. She decided to join Cambridge School in 2016 after completing her DELTA and then trained to become a CELTA tutor. Shortly after she became a centre director and is now responsible for Cambridge’s in-company services. She has taught a wide range of ages, and levels as well as being an official speaking examiner. In the classroom, she has a particular interest in improving learner autonomy, and incorporating the use of blended learning. Outside of school, Aileen is an enthusiastic free-diver, and an avid artist.

Adam Beale

Adam is the Assistant Director of Studies at Cambridge School and has recently trained to be a CELTA tutor. He joined Cambridge school in 2017 after five years in Madrid and a previous two-year spell in Santander. Adam’s duties at the school include mentoring new teachers, delivering seminars for experienced teachers and overseeing academic action research projects. He likes to experiment and try out new methods and ideas in the classroom and reads extensively about what is new in the world of ELT. Outside of the school, Adam likes to explore the mountains in Catalonia and collects vinyl records and comics.

Steve Norman

Is an educational consultant for the Cambridge School. Steve has over 35 years of experience in the world of ELT as a teacher, teacher trainer and academic manager. He has had numerous articles published in EFL magazines and has given seminars at conferences all over Spain. He enjoys investigating the complexities of English grammar and has a special interest in phonology. Before coming to Spain, he was a secondary school teacher in the UK. In his free time he enjoys playing the keyboards and guitar and writing the annual Cambridge School pantomime.

Rod Earnscliffe

Has been a teacher and teacher trainer for more than 25 years and has worked in Britain, Ecuador and the Middle East as well as Spain. He joined Cambridge School in 1999 and has specialised as a teacher of adult and professional learners as well as teacher training. Before moving into TEFL, Rod obtained a Geography degree and also worked as a Careers Officer. Rod is a CELTA trainer and senior teacher of in-company (Business English) and official exam preparation classes. When not at work, Rod is a keen walker, music fan and family man.

Noel Danaher

Has 25 years’ experience as a teacher in Ireland, the UK and Spain. Noel joined Cambridge School in 2004 and since then has specialised in teaching both older teenagers and adult learners. Noel completed the Delta in 2012 and is now a Celta trainer. In his free time he enjoys cinema, music, reading and playing badminton.

Margo Shepherd

Margo came to Cambridge School to do the CELTA in 2014 and forgot to go home! She is the school’s External Exams Manager and also teaches Business and General English. Previously, she spent over 20 years as an administrator and manager in Further and Higher Education in her native Scotland. Outside work, Margo is a Reiki practitioner and enjoys relaxing with her friends and her cat. She also hosts CELTA and DELTA trainees who use the homestay accommodation service.

Enri Garcia

Enri Garcia places our CELTA trainees in homestays and acts as a liaison between trainees and their hosts for the duration of their course. She is always happy to help trainees settle in and to answer any questions about Granollers and the local area. Enri has worked at Cambridge School since 2001 and is also responsible for placing Spanish students in English programmes in the UK and further afield. She divides her free time between her family and being the lead singer of a rock ‘n’ roll group.

See all our trainers