Established in 2016
About Us
Ellendel School started with one small class in South London in 2016. From one school, Ellendel has grown to offer speech and drama and effective communication classes in Fulham, Wimbledon, Beckenham and online to students worldwide. While we have expanded our services and classes that we offer, our strong relationship with students and their families remains at the core of Ellendel. We are proud to be one of London's leading speech and drama schools, preparing students for LAMDA exams each year with outstanding results.
About Ellendel School
Laura McHale - Co-Founder and Principal
Laura began Speech and Drama lessons at the age of five, completing all exams with the Leinster School of Music and Drama and performing regularly in local festivals. She holds a degree in English Literature, a Bachelor of Education in English and Theology, and a Masters in Education from Dublin City University, where she specialised in educational leadership. Laura also has an Associate Diploma in Speech and Drama Teaching form the Leinster School of Music and Drama.
Laura co-founded the Ellendel School in 2016 and leads the school with a strong focus on high quality teaching, communication, and student development. Alongside running Ellendel, she teaches English in a secondary school, where she is Head of KS4 English and plays a key role in raising GCSE attainment.
In addition to her work in English and Drama, Laura has completed accredited Speech and Language Support training, including specialist training in supporting children with unclear speech. This allows her to further support children's communication, language development, and speech clarity though evidence-informed, practical strategies.
Laura's approach combines her expertise in education, speech and drama, and language development to help children build confidence, express themselves clearly, and succeed both academically and socially.
She is a trustee of the Croydon Festival of Speech and Drama, part of the British & International Federation of Festivals where she contributes to the development of speech programmes and supports young performers.
Laura is passionate about ensuring every child develops the confidence and communication skills they need to thrive, and continues to expand her expertise in speech, language, and communication to enhance the provision at Ellendel.
“I am immensely proud of Ellendel and the high standard of quality lessons we provide. I truly believe in the importance of Speech and Drama and literature in the development of young people. It is such a joy to work with so many students and become part of their educational journey. Ellendel is now at the age where we are starting to say goodbye to some of our older students as they finish secondary school, which is bittersweet. We know that they leave with life skills that will support them in what ever career path they choose.”