Wycombe Abbey Pupil Continues to Support English learners through MaBi English
17 March 2026 - All
After recognising how essential the English language is in opening doors to future study, work and global opportunities, Italian‑born LVI pupil Matilde, was inspired to create her own English‑teaching initiative. Her project aims to address the educational gap she observed in her home community, offering children in her native city the chance to learn English and gain a stronger foundation for future success.
Mati shares more about why she feels this project is so important:
‘In December, I began brainstorming ways I could give back some of my summer to my city of origin, Catania, Sicily. There, educational poverty is unfortunately very common. This means that schools fail to meet education targets and some pupils choose to not attend school altogether, leaving them at a later point in life having had a very basic education and lacking fundamental skills. The government is working towards fixing these problems, but I felt as though I could do something to help.
I created an English‑teaching scheme called ‘MaBi English’ and invited a friend, who is from also Catania but currently lives in New York, to join the project. With our idea written up and carefully prescribed, I contacted the mayor of Catania and presented the project. Our aim was to create a collaborative teaching space, where fun, outdoor games and group activities were used and appreciated. We certainly did not want it to feel like a boring classroom, instead we wanted to encourage confidence with the language, and inspire them to want to achieve more.
We were met with immediate enthusiasm and were supported by the council of education who put us in contact with Save the Children. This charity, who works with children from difficult backgrounds, gave us three groups: with ages ranging from nine to fourteen. We spent two weeks mentoring and teaching these children and growing our connection with Save the Children.
Since finishing lessons in July, MaBi English has only grown and expanded. We have set up our website where we talk about our mission, big picture goals and post our mentoring hours. These are virtual meetings where anyone is free to join to ask for bespoke advice on living and studying in English-speaking countries and ask for individual English tutoring. Alongside this, we have also set up our own social media (@mabienglish on Instagram) where we post weekly videos, and flashcards to accompany them, teaching the basics of English to Italians.
Finally, for our biggest project yet we are working to raise funds (GoFundMe profile) to send two deserving children of middle and high school age to an English immersion experience camp over the summer. We will be running selections alongside principals of schools in underserved communities to choose two willing and able students for this opportunity. This will be an extremely rewarding chance for students to not only practise their English, but to experience the value of a global education and give them that extra bit of confidence that could make the difference.
At its heart, the project is driven by a simple belief: that education, encouragement and opportunity can change the course of a young person’s life, and that those who have been fortunate enough to receive these advantages have the power, and perhaps the responsibility, to pass them on. I am very excited to see where this project may go, and I am especially proud of its success thus far. I am looking forward to continuing to grow MaBi English and to return to Catania this summer for more lessons!’
Well done Mati, we can’t wait to see what you do next.
To find out more, head to MaBi English’s website: Homepage – mabienglish.it
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