Irene Zachariou

Irene Zachariou is a visionary, award-winning teacher-artist, researcher and school owner. Her mission is to invent and implement new teaching strategies to motivate students, enhance their learning experience and instil values, thus helping them meet future challenges and lead a prosperous and blissful life. In 2019 she won the Gold Award for Innovation in Teaching at the Education Leader Awards for her holistic method, "A Course of Action!". It combines drama education, theatre and technology with second language acquisition, aiming not only to teach foreign languages but also to educate the whole child as it improves the emotional, creative, social and cognitive abilities.

She was born in Kallipoli, Piraeus, and has two children, Addie and Angelos. She holds a degree in English Philology from the University of Cambridge and a Master’s in Drama in Education from Trinity College, University of Dublin. She has also received specialized training in Teaching Foreign Languages to Preschool and Early School-Age children from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She is a member of the International Drama/Theatre and Education Association (IDEA) and a certified Tomatis Practitioner, capable of addressing auditory issues in children and adults struggling with foreign language acquisition. She has also served as the Drama & Literature SIG Coordinator for the international TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) community.

She is a philanthropist. Her love for children has guided her to Elpida Hospital for Children with Cancer which she supports yearly by donating a proportion of the school's annual income. In 2014 she decided to stand by the children of Elpida Hospital even more actively. She became a bone marrow donor and began a campaign to raise awareness among the people of Piraeus regarding this gift of life. Ever since she has successfully recruited many donors. In 2018, with the help of her students, she raised 250 books which she donated to Chatzikiriakeio Childcare Institution along with two scholarships for the orphaned or homeless girls it shelters.

Her origin, the Greek island of Santorini, can account for her love of the sea and sailing. She has participated in many sailing regattas and has won numerous medals. She is also taking traditional Greek dancing lessons to keep Greece's culture and traditions alive. Teaching is her passion. Art, Literature, Music, Dance, Theatre, and Poetry are her sources of inspiration which she has integrated innovatively and successfully into Zachariou Language School's programme. Solidarity, Acceptance, Equality, Honesty, Justice, Respect, Teamwork, and Love are the values she lives by.