Our Teachers
Ms. Zhi Xu
Principal
Ms. Xu graduated from a military academy in China. She has served as a lecturer at a military university and held executive roles in the corporate sector. She has focused on comparative research in Chinese and British education and culture since relocating to the UK.
She is the author of several books published in China, including A Different Kind of Growth, Please Don’t Educate Children This Way, and Chinese Orphans and Their Western Parents, examining British education, family upbringing, and cross-cultural understanding.
In 2006, Ms. Xu founded Real Chinese Academy with a strong commitment to high teaching standards. Under her leadership, the school has grown steadily and earned the trust of parents and the love of students. RCA has achieved outstanding success, especially in Chinese language learning, creative art, public speaking, and mathematics.She is determined to live up to the support and trust of the parents and their children.
Ms Xue Zhang
Head of Native Chinese Language Department
Ms. Zhang graduated from Tianjin Foreign Studies University and holds a Master’s degree in Law from Yokohama National University in Japan. With nearly 30 years of experience teaching Chinese as a foreign language in both Japan and the UK, she is a highly respected teacher known for her dedication, teamwork, and warmth and care.
Her dynamic teaching combines traditional and modern methods to inspire student engagement. She teaches Chinese at Newstead Wood School full time, covering Years 8 to 11 including GCSEs. Under her guidance, Real Chinese Academy’s GCSE native language classes have consistently achieved top results, with all students gaining A* (Grade 9).
Mr Ziyang Liu
Head of Mathematics Department
Mr. Liu graduated from Roehampton University with a degree in Early Childhood Studies. He has extensive teaching experience in nurseries, mainstream British schools, and Chinese schools.
He excels at integrating Eastern and Western education principles into Chinese language teaching, precisely assessing and effectively motivating students, and transforming their attitudes from “I’m learning because my parents say so” to “I want to learn.”
Known for his structured yet engaging teaching style and humorous classroom atmosphere, he is well-loved by her students. Mr Liu has many years of experience teaching mathematics and is well versed in the UK primary math curriculum. He also teaches 11+ preparation and math enrichment classes with outstanding results.
Ms Xinyun Wang
Financial Director
A certified public accountant, Ms. Wang has many years of experience in accounting, finance, taxation, and internal control for private companies, PE-backed firms and M&A.
She has served as financial director for both the Clarks group and the European headquarters of a listed gaming company. Her expertise in accounting reports and consulting covers such diverse areas as corporate registration, capital restructuring, equity transfer, M&A, liquidation, asset swaps, and debt restructuring.
Ms. Mingfang Liu
Chinese Teacher
Ms. Liu graduated from Tianjin Normal University with a degree in Chinese Language and Literature. She currently teaches Chinese language at Real Chinese Academy. She regularly attends professional training to refine her teaching.
She uses a variety of teaching methods to motivate pupils and improve their language proficiency through well-structured, activity-rich lessons. Her classes focus on developing skills in reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Her class is rich and intensive, but also relaxed and enjoyable, resulting in remarkable student progress.
Ms. Wei Gu
Chinese TeacherMs. Gu graduated from Beijing Sport University and the Communication University of China. Having worked as an editor and journalist for a provincial-level media organisation in China, she is now immersed herself in childhood learning in England and adopting new learning methods in Chinese language teaching, partly inspired by her own child’s education. At Real Chinese Academy she has taught non-native Chinese immersion classes for nearly a decade, using multimedia and interactive teaching to spark students’ enthusiasm for learning Mandarin, with notable success.
Ms Xinyang Zhang
Assistant Headteacher
With a BA in English from Central South University and an MBA from Durham University, Ms. Zhang worked as a translator and interpreter before joining Real Chinese Academy in 2017.
She has participated in numerous teacher training programmes run by the Chinese Language Promotion Council and international education centres.
Ms. Zhang teaches the lower-year native Chinese classes, focusing on developing students' listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills and laying a solid foundation for long-term learning. She also incorporates multifaceted Chinese culture into her lessons to boost student interest in learning Chinese. Her classes are precise and rich in content, and lively and vibrant, leading to clear learning and love in the Chinese language.
Ms. Zhang assists the principal in planning, organising, and coordinating major school events, including the Spring Festival celebrations and the lead-up and preparations for the UK-wide Mandarin Recitation Competition. Thanks to her and the exceptional efforts by all teachers, RCA's Spring Festival celebrations presents new highlight every year, and our pupils have won numerous medals for the recitation competitions, maintaining a leading position for several years.
Ms. Feng Huang
Chinese Teacher
Ms. Huang holds a Master’s degree in Strategic Human Resource Management from the University of Salamanca in Spain and a teaching certificate issued by the Chinese Language and Culture Education Foundation of China.
She has taught Chinese at several language schools in Spain, covering students from nursery to Year 6. Her lively and engaging style has earned wide praise from parents and pupils alike.
At Real Chinese Academy, she teaches in the native language department. Treating language learning as a joyful and insightful journey, she is dedicated to providing a relaxed learning environment in her class to facilitate student making steady progress. Her approachable style is highly popular with her students.
Ms Nian Lan
Chinese Teacher
Ms. Lan holds a degree in English and has a solid foundation in language and cross-cultural communication. After moving to the UK, she obtained her Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language certification and completed professional training at Jinan University’s Chinese Language and Culture College.
Thanks to her strong teaching skills, professionalism, and caring approach, she has quickly earned the appreciation of both students and parents since joining Real Chinese Academy.
Ms. Lan also serves as an official GCSE exam invigilator at two local secondary schools and holds an examiner certificate from the UK Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ).
Ms Pei Pei
Chinese + Early Art class teacher
Miss Peipei holds a degree in illustration from the University of Portsmouth. She works as part of the management team at Pony & Panda Bilingual Nursery as well as teaching at RCA.
With a deep understanding of British early years education, she has achieved impressive results through practical application. As the lead teacher for RCA’s preschool class, she has successfully inspired young children to love learning Chinese.
She also teaches the early childhood art class, combining strong artistic skills with creativity and passion. Her lessons encourage pupils to think outside the box and express innovative ideas, laying the foundation for future artistic development.
Ms Huihui Lin
Chinese Teacher
Ms. Lin graduated with a degree in Journalism and Communication from Nanchang University and earned a Master's in New Media and Society from the University of Leicester.
She has worked for more than a decade in a UK-based Chinese media organization, publishing over a hundred news articles in Chinese. Her journalism career has enabled her to gain insights into both Chinese and British education systems through interviews with UK private schools and their principals.
As a mother, Ms. Lin has also studied extensively in early childhood education and successfully applied these insights in the classroom. Since joining Real Chinese Academy, she has achieved notable success in teaching practice.
Miss. Zhenying Jiang
Chinese Teacher
Ms. Chiang (Jiang) holds degrees from National Taiwan Normal University and UCL and is a certified Chinese teacher (PGCE).
She taught Chinese at Sevenoaks School for nine years and currently serves as a Cambridge IGCSE examiner.
Ms. Chiang has taught all levels including IGCSE, IB Ab Initio, IB Language B, and IB Language A, with consistently excellent learning results.
Her teaching is inspirational and her style is encouraging and engaging, to build independent learning skills through creative, challenging and diverse activities. She strongly believes in immersive language use in class for both native and non-native learners, focusing equally on listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Her teaching style has already born fruit at Real Chinese Academy.
Ms Xiaoyan Ye
Head of Non-native Chinese Language Department
Ms. Ye graduated from South China Normal University, where she also taught for several years. In the UK, she earned a PGCE in Child Development and Education from UCL’s Institute of Education and holds NCFE Level 1 and 2 Teaching Assistant Certificates. She has been working at Darrick Wood School as a teaching assistant and GCSE Chinese oral examiner.
Since 2014, she has led the non-native GCSE classes at Real Chinese Academy, with outstanding student outcomes. Passionate about education, Ms. Ye continuously explores new teaching strategies to enhance student interest while reinforcing foundational knowledge. She has also taken part in multiple international Chinese teacher training programmes and Edexcel’s GCSE reform workshops.
Ms. Ye also teaches RCA math enrichment classes, with years of experience tutoring primary-level students in mathematics and verbal reasoning.
Mr Qi Sheng
Director of Art Education
An internationally acclaimed artist, Mr. Sheng holds a BA in Art from the Central Academy of Arts and Design in Beijing (now Tsinghua Academy of Arts) and an MA from Central Saint Martins, London. While teaching at Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology – Raffles International College, he trained numerous students who were later admitted to Saint Martins and became leading designers.
He joined Real Chinese Academy in 2015 and, thanks to his profound artistic accomplishment, extensive teaching experience, and open-minded educational approach, has enabled students to make significant progress within a short period of time. Each year, many of his students' works are selected for the prestigious Young Art exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts.
Mr. Sheng’s artworks are collected by several world-renowned museums, including:
● Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York
● International Center of Photography, New York
● The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
● National Gallery of Victoria, Australia
● Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark
● Johnson Museum, Cornell University
● Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago
Ms Helen Hobson
Public Speaking Teacher
Ms. Hobson is a leading star at London’s West End who performs on the stage as well as teaching public speaking and holding coaching masterclasses. She graduated from Mountview Academy of Performing Arts and holds both LAMDA teaching qualifications and an LRAM Teaching Diploma in Speech & Drama from Middlesex University. She is also a LAMDA member.
Her creative and effective teaching methods have earned her great popularity among students. Many have shown remarkable improvements in vocal strength and confidence, discovering their true voices through her guidance.
Ms. Helen has taught at leading drama schools including Mountview, the London School of Musical Theatre, Performers College, and London Studio Centre. She is also a celebrated West End performer with over 20 years on stage, currently in Phantom of the Opera (as Madame Giry) and having starred in MAMMA MIA! (Donna), BLOOD BROTHERS (Mrs. Johnstone), PASSION (Clara), HEATHCLIFF (Cathy opposite Sir Cliff Richard), MY FAIR LADY (Eliza), and ASPECTS OF LOVE (Rose Vibert), among many others. She has also played roles in CATS, TOMMY, LES MISERABLES, MR CINDERS, EDUCATING RITA and STEPPING OUT.
Ms Xinyuan Fan
Chinese Teacher
Miss Fan holds a Master's degree in Economics from Cardiff University and previously worked at HSBC and ICBC.
Her passion for education - especially Chinese language education led her to join Real Chinese Academy. She believes interest is the key to learning and advocates for a fun, engaging approach to teaching.
Miss. Fan is active in professional development and adaptive and persistent in refining her teaching, with excellent results. As a keen observer of individual progress and enthusiastic believer in building a lively ambience for her classes, her teaching is student-centered, highly adaptive, and well-received.
Ms Liying Zhang
Chinese Teacher
Ms. Zhang earned her BA and PhD from the Faculty of Arts，University of Hong Kong.
She has over ten years of experience in Chinese language teaching and is skilled in classroom management, encouraging independent learning, and applying advanced educational technologies.
She holds multiple teaching qualifications, including a Mandarin teacher qualification and Mandarin proficiency certification.
Since joining Real Chinese Academy six years ago, her students have made comprehensive and significant progress in Chinese language skills.
Ms.Lili Jiang
Chinese + Math teacher
Ms.Lili Jiang graduated from Suzhou Institute of Tourism and Finance. Since moving to the UK, she has dedicated herself to Chinese language education, with special attention to teaching methods for non-native learners.
At Real Chinese Academy, she teaches the non-native preschool class, tailoring her instruction to the developmental needs of young children. Her classes focus on listening, speaking, and reading, using multimedia tools and picture books to spark student interest—with excellent learning outcomes.
Ms. Jiang also has extensive experience in teaching mathematics. She currently leads the Year 1 Math Enrichment class, where her rigorous yet approachable teaching style has helped students significantly improve their math performance.
Ms Ellen Jiang
Math and Pre/11+ Reasoning Teacher
Ms. Jiang graduated with a Mathematics degree from Imperial College London and holds a postgraduate certificate in Education from UCL.
She previously taught mathematics at a secondary school in Bromley and has extensive experience preparing students for the full range of 11+ subjects.
At Real Chinese Academy, she teaches the Pre/11+ English and Verbal Reasoning courses, using both internal and external motivational strategies to foster concentration and academic comprehension of subject matters. She also teaches Math Enrichment classes with outstanding results.
Ms Jing Liu
Chinese Teacher
Ms. Liu holds a degree in Art Education from Anqing Normal University and has taught in early education institutions in China for many years. She has had professional training in pinyin and literacy and has extensive experience teaching young children. Currently teaching at Pony & Panda Bilingual Nursery, she closely follows the UK early years curriculum and has developed deep insight into the emotional and cognitive development of young learners.
With a strong background in music, dance, and the arts, Ms. Liu is bringing her unique creative energy to her teaching. She integrates music games, crafts, and dancing movements into language lessons, creating engaging and enjoyable learning experiences. Her classes are lively and highly popular among children.
Ms Angel (Anqi) Zhang
Chinese teacher
Graduated with a BA in English from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and an MA in Advertising and Marketing from Leeds University, Ms. Zhang has been engaged in education for many years, accumulating experience in coaching students for higher levels and career paths. At the same time, she has also been trying in the field of Chinese language teaching, and after obtaining the "International Chinese Teacher Certificate" issued by ICA, she officially joined Real Chinese Academy. She is now our non-native class teacher.