About the Founder

Emily Ripley graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2005 with a degree in Cell Physiology. To supplement her study, Emily regularly acted as a private tutor, working with students undertaking GCSE and A-level subjects – predominately in the sciences. Relocating to London after her degree, she went on to work for the BBC and ITV Current Affairs, before deciding to pursue a tutoring career. Emily began tutoring English, maths and the sciences, before taking on a number of home-schooling and international assignments. With a high frequency of her tutees preparing for Common Entrance Examinations, Emily began to recognise the growing demand for help in this sector.

Emily was later offered a training opportunity to work alongside an esteemed educator in London, preparing students for the 7+, 8+ and 11+ entrance examinations. It gave her an invaluable insight into the process, the schools, the material, whilst working alongside families and students during this time. Emily built a strong reputation on the circuit, along with teaching weekly classes at a Saturday School. Developing her own vision for a tutoring company – one that encompassed all aspects of the process – Emily set up Ascent Tutors, recruiting the colleagues she knows and works alongside. Emily remains an active tutor – specialising in comprehension and composition technique.

In her spare time Emily is a fiction writer, completing her third novel in 2019. With a passion to inspire a new generation of writers, Emily set up Stage Story in 2016. Stage Story runs creative writing workshops that are unique in their formula by using actors and theatrical performance to teach children the essential components of story writing. And when inspired tales are crafted, parents and children watch as their written pieces are performed by Stage Story’s talented acting team.