About us

Written and developed in 2002 by native English speakers, Spellzone was initially designed to fill the need for an English spelling course that caters for older learners. At the time the author Shireen Shuster found that her teenage and adult students wanted to use computers to help overcome their spelling problems but were reluctant to use the software available as most of this was too childish for them.

Shireen a qualified teacher and dyslexia specialist had written many books on spelling and phonics for dyslexic students and for mainstream classes. She had also delivered in-service courses for teachers on several aspects of special needs and in training teachers on assessment. She decided to put this experience into planning an online spelling course.

The result was Spellzone, an online interactive English spelling course that is clear and uncomplicated to follow but is non-patronising in its teaching style and vocabulary content. It is now widely used by students aged seven to adult including those learning English as a foreign language and those with dyslexia.

The development of Spellzone continues, largely driven by the input of its student and teacher users. If you have any feed-back on how we might improve the resources please do not hesitate to contact us.

Find out more about Spellzone.

Shireen Shuster - 10/10/1941 – 30/04/2019

Meet the team:


Barry Perks - Development Director

Barry has been involved with Spellzone since its inception in 2002 and is responsible of customer support and business development.

Barry trained as a graphic designer and has experience in educational publishing, interpretative design, theatre and new media. He has also worked in the international development sector devising and managing projects and in the delivery of creative and education workshops to children and young adults in West Africa and South America.


Tarot Conway - Technical Director

Tarot is a web developer who is passionate about using technology and online learning to help students of all ages in their education.

Tarot is responsible for the technical development of Spellzone, keeping us at the cutting edge of online learning. He comes from a background in web development and usability as well as data analysis in international development.


Avani Shah - Content Creator

Avani has a BA and MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia and has been writing for Spellzone since 2013.

In 2017, Avani became an apprentice at Word Factory, a national organisation supporting excellence in short fiction, and was also shortlisted for the Guardian and 4th Estate Short Story Prize.

Avani also works in a library where she shares her love of books and helps members of the community use technology to access information and education.


Ross Georgeson - Illustrator

Ross is an educator and artist with over twenty years’ experience working with Governments, Ministries, NGOs and communities across the world.

Ross has expertise in devising and implementing development projects, training programmes and curricula in the fields of creativity, therapy, formal and informal education and disability. In 2005 he was the winner of a Human Rights Global Volunteer Award.

Try Spellzone for free

We find Spellzone to be an extremely useful resource. Its multi-sensory nature, together with the regular reinforcement of spelling patterns, make it ideal to use both with dyslexic students and those students who need extra support with spelling. We particularly appreciate the facility to personalize the programme by creating the students' own word lists. The regular Spelling Ability Tests give feedback to both tutor and student. Spellzone is now an important part of the resources we use to support our students.

Liverpool Tutoring and Dyslexia Centre

Dictionary

"Thank goodness for Spellzone during this remote learning phase. The site is easy for students to navigate independently and they're really enjoying the activities and spelling games. You get an awful lot for your money with Spellzone. Really reassuring is the very prompt response with helpdesk queries. I've very rarely needed the helpdesk, but when I have, the issue has been addressed and sorted within a very short time."

Sarah Taggart, Oasis Academy Lord's Hill