The vantage point
Private Education & Consultancy
A Place of Liberated Learning
Helicon View works with families who value depth, discretion, and real intellectual progress. Whether in the home or online, we mentor our students, striving to nurture confidence and foster success.
Whether their goals are academic or artistic, and whether they wish to access new schools, universities, or creative horizons, we support our students with rigour, along with the families that surround and enrich them. Greater clarity, growing confidence and renewed momentum follow.
Our work may include:
Private tuition in academic subjects and the creative arts
• Bespoke consultancy and educational strategy
• Mentorship understood as a family journey
Helicon View is based in London and integrated deeply into the UK education network. We work tirelessly with students here and around the world to guide them on their academic journeys.
Our Philosophy
Mount Helicon was the place where the muses lived in the ancient mythology of Greece. These denizens of learning and inspiration surveyed the landscape around them, secure in their ability to bestow knowledge and wisdom to those who sought it.
Mount Helicon was a place where intelligence and creativity could meet.
At Helicon View Learning, the highest levels of academic consultancy combine with creative and intuitive teaching.
Mentorship and personal development are central to our ethos, and adults will find as much to interest them as younger students.
Helicon View opens a vista over the changing educational landscape, to help you chart a course for yourself and your family.
We believe that, through adventures of the mind, we fulfil our potential.
Our Founder
Helicon View was founded by award-winning author, poet and photographer Matthew Smith, who has worked as a tutor, mentor and consultant in London for over 16 years.
Matthew is at the heart of a network of tuition specialists and consultants who understand the terrain that children and adults need to cross, whether working towards academic, creative or personal goals.
He works closely with school consultant Dee Francken – the former head of North London Collegiate Junior School – and many other advisors, to guide families in London and around the world.
Matthew is the father of two girls, based in Hampstead, London. He read English Literature at Christ Church, Oxford University.
You can find out more about him at Matthew Smith Works
matt@heliconview.com
Private Tuition
All subjects, arts and age levels are covered. We have specialists in school entrance, Oxbridge and university entrance.
Over the years, we have come to understand the unique ways in which private tuition can support class-based learning or, in the form of immersive tuition and homeschooling, provide a programme of education in its own right.
Every engagement begins with a conversation to understand the student, the family, and the wider context. We use our experience to provide an intelligent link between the needs of students and the capabilities of the tutors we work with.
We work with families in the UK and internationally, including those navigating relocation, travel, or schooling overseas, recruiting tutors for both short- and long-term roles as needed.
The majority of our tutors went to either Oxford or Cambridge. The rest have attended the best universities in the world, from the Sorbonne to Harvard. They all have a proven ability to teach.
Consultancy
We work closely with families who think deeply about their own and their children’s progress, helping them to align their education with their values, heritage and culture. We believe that a family’s greatest legacy is potential. There are many ways to begin.
Academic
Assessments
Full academic assessment with written report and follow-up discussion
Ideal for those embarking on school entrance preparation, or wishing to gauge progress at any academic level
Prepares a path for the student to be ready for their new school or university, after successful navigation of the exams
Orientation
& Clarity
Focus on educational vision, key subjects
Curated reading and learning guidance, school/university mapping
Deeper psychological insight into creative/gifted profiles, hindered skill development and/or confidence blockages
Unfolds over a few focused sessions
Pathway
& Vista
Full pathway guidance for a child (or family)
Monthly or fortnightly sessions
Coordination with tutors, school advisors
Working closely on the student’s academic and cultural confidence
Placement support for private schools, art schools, schools overseas, Oxbridge and international universities, as required
Includes strategic support and bespoke reading plans
Legacy & Inheritance
Deep coaching for families and students looking to build an intergenerational legacy
Sessions may take place with parents, children, and extended family where desired
Harmonising cultural heritage with new beginnings
Full mentorship for working with UK culture is combined with academic tuition and strategic planning
Concierge-level service at the heart of a network of academic and cultural expertise
Bespoke
Guidance
We are able to combine various advisory strategies to ensure that you have the guidance you need to help you and your family with any specific educational needs you may have
After discussion of your circumstances we will be able to suggest an effective pathway forward
