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MANAGEMENT TEAM
Our Directors
Marianne Siegfried-Brookes
Founder and Managing Director
Marianne founded the German Academy in 2015 as a non-profit organisation with the aim of offering active German to everyone through lessons, events and a large German-speaking community.
Marianne has an MSc in Secondary Education from the University of Zurich and an MBA from the University of Warwick (UK).
She can look back on more than a decade of management experience in the UK, Sweden and Switzerland, setting up and organising various Saturday Schools, Kindergartens and language initiatives. She is deputy head at the VDSS (Association of German Saturday Schools UK).
Anne Honsel
Teaching and Learning Director
Anne has been director at the German Academy since 2015. After studying German and literature, Art and Textile Design at the universities of Osnabrueck, Vienna and Heidelberg, Anne completed her teacher training in Aachen. She continued her studies with a Masters in Teaching and Learning at the University of Leicester.
Anne focuses on the development approach to learning and the role of teacher as an mediator. Creativity and sensitivity to the needs and interests of the child are the focus of her work at the German Academy.
Our Exams Team
Frauke Shiells
Exams Officer
Frauke joined the German Academy in 2015 as a teacher of adult classes initially, however moved into GCSE and A-Level exam classes subsequently. As one of the German Academy’s telc examiners licensed to assess all six levels (A1-C2) she has also contributed to many years’ of telc examinations taking place in Leicester. In addition to this she has taken on the role as exam officer to support the German Academy with administrating and co-ordinating GCSE, A-Level and telc examinations.
Frauke completed her degree in Language Teaching at the University of Giessen, Germany. In the past two decades she has gathered wide-ranging experience in both teaching as well as examining. The classes she currently teaches at the German Academy range from GCSE and A-level preparation for teenagers to general language lessons for adults and are always tailored to the learners’ specific needs.
Our Admin and Finance Team
Stefanie Kreibich
Finance Manager
Stefanie joined the German Academy in 2025. She gained a diploma in banking and finance, and completed a banking apprenticeship at Commerzbank. Since 2021, Stefanie has managed the operations of a university research institute, including budget planning and being a member of the institute’s management group.
Stefanie gained her PhD in German from Prifysgol Bangor University in Wales researching cultural memory of former East Germany. She has taught German at undergraduate level and in adult evening classes for nine years, and has experience in private tuition in key stages 3 and 4 German.
Maria Steel
Admin Manager (DBS)
Maria has been teaching at The German Academy since 2020, in person and online. Since 2021, Maria has focused on teaching German to SEND children and has developed her own reading program. This program aids in the SEND children's development, who often require an alternative approach to learning how to read and write.
Our Digital Team
Adam Brookes
Digital Manager
Adam was among the first students at The German Academy and later briefly worked as a teaching assistant at the Saturday School in Leicester, while regularly supporting the Academy with filming and photography.
Raised in a bilingual household, he completed his German A-level at just 14 and has since pursued various German-speaking professional roles. With a degree in Computer Science and experience running his own digital companies, Adam now acts as the Digital Manager for The German Academy, overseeing the website and contributing to digital media efforts.
Winstanley House, January 2020
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