Our Team
Principal
Laura Chen
BSc, MBA
Arriving in the UK over 30 year ago, Laura has been through the British Educational System herself as a foreign student and can offer a clear perspective on the challenges overseas students encounter. Over 20 years Laura has held a number of positions in the UK EFL industry. She has built up considerable experience and has developed particularly strong contacts with partner schools in China and Turkey, Italy.
Since becoming the managing director of the Cambridge Centre for Languages in 2007, Laura has gained overall experience of running a British Council Accredited school in the UK.
Centre Director
James Berkley
MA, Dip. TEFL, PGCE (QTS), Dip. Teaching Literacy Skills
James has considerable teaching and managerial experience in both EFL and language teaching in mainstream British and overseas education.
He is passionate about teaching and learning and is interested in the sharing of ideas and concepts for progressive and broader learning both inside and outside of the classroom.
Welfare, Accommodation and Student Services Manager
Dan Taylor
Dan is the school’s safeguarding and prevent lead, having undertaken level 3 safeguarding training.
With more than 5 years of experience in similar roles and having lived in Cambridge his entire life, he is in an excellent position to assist students with their needs.
Senior Teacher & Project Manager
Maria Gulczyńska-Baci
BA, MA, MSc
Also a EFL teacher and translator, Maria studied TESOL at ASUonline, USA, Socio-Cultural Studies (MSc) at Edinburgh University, UK, and Literary Studies (MA) as well as TEFL (BA) at Poznań University, Poland. She has been teaching English for 20 years, working with university students, individuals and corporate clients, including Cambridge Exams (PET, KET, FCE), IELTS, and TOEFL preparation in Poland, Senegal, China, The UK, Cameroon and Italy. Now she lives in Italy, works as a court interpreter/translator and lecturer at Poliarte Academy of Fine Arts, writes dramas and occasional poems or social criticism essays, and country line dances in her free time with a group called Mad Boots.
Academic Manager
Alex Walls
LLB, PgDL, CELTA, Delta
Alex has been involved in teaching English for over a decade working in Uzbekistan, China, Oman and Russia in addition to the UK. He holds the Cambridge CELTA and Delta, and also delivers CELTA courses for teachers in the UK and overseas. He has had articles published in several magazines and has spoken at over 20 conferences for teachers, including at IATEFL - the largest international conference for English teachers.
As a teacher, Alex is a great believer in the Lexical Approach - a way of looking at and working with language holistically to help students speak fluently and naturally. Outside of work, Alex is always keen to travel to a new place and try something new whether it’s swimming with sharks or adventuring into the arctic circle to see the northern lights!