In 1881 her grandparents died, and she moved to England to live with her uncle and guardian, the violinist Ludwig Straus well known as a member of the Joachim Quartet and leader of the Hallé Orchestra (1875–88).

[3] She enrolled in Girton College, achieving a first class honours in the Natural Sciences Tripos course[3] despite having previously had only school level English language skills.

Freund published one paper entitled "The effect of temperature on the volume change accompanying neutralization in the case of a number of salts at different concentrations" and two chemistry textbooks.

The book was later edited for publication by colleagues and friends, including Mary Beatrice Thomas, Director of Science Studies at Girton College.

[13] In the preface for the book, editors A. Hutchinson and Mary Beatrice Thomas suggest that in writing it: "Miss Freund was attempting to bring to the notice of other teachers her views as to the manner in which students may be helped to realise that chemistry is a science-based on experiment, and that logical interpretation of experiments leads directly to the generalisation known as the laws of chemistry."

At the time, in Cambridge, women could not work in the same laboratories as men so Freund taught special classes in the Chemistry labs at Newnham College.

[15][16] Freund experimented with different teaching techniques, favouring Wilhelm Ostwald's approach, in which "[t]he main facts of chemistry are dealt with in the form of a dialogue between a teacher and a pupil".

She insisted that her students read original research and test the validity of published work[17] – a revolutionary approach for the time, for which she was criticised.

She created boxes of chocolates with pictures of scientists and a large periodic table with each element represented by a cupcake decorated with its name and atomic number in icing.

[3]Based on her original idea, periodic table cupcakes have become a popular and fun way to celebrate chemistry at school bake sales and events aiming to promote public engagement with science.

[1] The Ida Freund Memorial Fund was set up to raise the standard of women teachers in the physical sciences by giving them opportunities for further study.