Nature walks near Brighton

Brighton is a busy city.  But just a short bus ride and you can find yourself in beautiful scenic open countryside.  One of the most popular places for our students to visit is the Seven Sisters, which forms part of the South Downs, this always has the most numbers of students sign up as part of the social programme we offer.  The Downs are chalk cliffs which cover 260 miles of the English coastline. The name Downs is from the old English word Dun, meaning hill. The South Downs became a National park in 2009 and contains a number of nature reserves.   An alternative destination is Devils Dyke, again a short bus journey to what John Constable ( one of the greatest English landscape painters)  called “The greatest view in the World” At nearly a mile long, The Dyke valley is the longest and deepest in the UK. Legend has it that the Devil dug the chasm to drown the parishioners of the Weald. (Although scientists believed it was formed 10,000 years ago in the last ice age).

One of my favourite places after the cliffs to visit is near Patcham where you can find Jack and Jill, one black and one white windmill standing side by side, you will also be able to walk to the Chattri Memorialwhich marks the spot where the bodies of Indian soldiers were cremated. During the First World War, (1914-18) over one and a half million Indian army soldiers saw active service alongside British troops. Twelve thousand Indian soldiers who were wounded on the Western Front were hospitalised at sites around Brighton. These included York Place School, the Dome, the Corn Exchange and the Royal Pavilion.

The fifty-three Hindu and Sikh soldiers who died in Brighton were taken to a peaceful resting place on the Sussex Downs near Patcham for cremation, after which their ashes were scattered in the sea, in accordance with their religious rites. The nineteen Muslim soldiers who died were buried in a purpose built burial ground near to the Shah Jehan Mosque in Woking. Built in 1889, the mosque is the oldest of its kind in north-west Europe. 

Written by David Burgess, Principal, Stafford House Brighton

Shopping in Brighton

The Laines in Brighton

Brighton is famous for the variety and quality of its shopping.  Churchill Square is a shopping Centre / Mall with all the usual high street names, but Brighton also offers a vast array of independent traders and unusual second hand shops. SnoopersParadise is my favourite, it is a collection of stalls, clothes rails and cabinets all overfilled, many of them themed.  Full of retro video games, old toys, vintage clothing, cameras, telephones etc.   This shop amongst many others is located in the lanes, (spelt "laines") which is a network of historic  twisting narrow lanes and cobbled courtyards in the city centre.  On our weekly  orientation tour which all students receive at Stafford House School of English, the laines will be pointed out to you, but it will be up to you to go and wile away the hours just looking at the vast selection of unusual gifts, designer fashion,  retro-Fifties wear, oriental and Balinese furniture and many jewellery shops,  and even  specialist shops such as the one  just offering kites. And the list goes on. Even when you leave the laines the streets are full of other weird and wacky shops, so it does not just resemble the usual British high street with all the usual retailers. 

Written by David Burgess, Principal, Stafford House Brighton

October in London

After the most fantastically sunny summer, we are now getting our jumpers, coats and umbrellas ready for the Autumn.  It’s a lovely time of year in England as the leaves on the trees change colour and the crisp cool mornings wake you up as you leave home in the morning. At Stafford House London October means two things in particular this year:

Firstly, our Cambridge Exam courses are underway! This autumn we have a full (First)  FCE class, a full (Advanced) CAE class and 7 students taking the (Proficiency) CPE. These are fantastic 11-week preparation courses for the B2-C2 levels and we are delighted to have so many students aiming for excellence in these exams! These are exams that are a lifelong certification that you have achieved a certain standard of English and are often asked for by employers and academic institutions around the world.

The classes themselves are intensive preparation for the exams which test Reading, Writing, Listening, Speaking and Use of English. They are not easy exams and the students studying together usually have a wonderful shared sense of purpose that can lead to some close and lasting friendships between the students on these courses. For more information about these exams visit the links above or this page on our website.

We wish all our Cambridge Preparation Course students the best of luck with their studies and the exams in early December!

Secondly, at Stafford House this October, we have a “Halloween themed social programme”! There will be the “Jack the Ripper Walking Tour”, the “Haunted London Walking Tour” and a visit to the “London Dungeons” in the last 2 weeks of October. Spooky!

We also have some other new additions on the social programme, suggested by the students. We have a visit to St Paul’s Cathedral next week, the “Classic Duck Tour” on 10^th October and a Sunday Roast lunch on October 27^th. Finally, we have managed to get some great discounted tickets for our students to see The Lion King! Lots to look forward to! This along with our all our usual popular events to help you enjoy London and keep on speaking English! To check out the social programme in London visit our site here. You can even add the calendar to your phone.

Football at Stafford House Brighton

Stafford House Brighton have a weekly football match at the local park, just put your name down on the sign up sheet and you are in, no matter what level you are. Its great to mix practicing your English with doing exercise. We even have our own Stafford House kit! 

Stafford House Brighton FC

If you were looking for a more serious approach then you could watch Brighton & Hove Albion F.C , our local football club, founded in 1901. They play in the Football League Championship which is the division below our Premier League. They are unsurprisingly given our location, nicknamed “The Seagulls”. They play at the Falmer Stadium but as American Express sponsor them it is also called the Amex stadium which was opened in 2011 and cost £93 million and is located a 30 minute bus ride from Stafford House Brighton. The average attendance for home games is around 25,000 and ticket prices start at around £30.

They enjoyed a short spell in the early 80’s in the top flight of English football winning against sides such as Manchester United and Arsenal and even reaching the F.A. cup final. Since those heady days Brighton have faced many ups and downs with a precarious financial position and moving further down the different leagues. As I write this we are currently mid table, but I dream like all football fans have to, that maybe one day  we can reach the top flight of English football and once more beat the Arsenals and Manchester United’s of this world.   But for now our Stafford House Brighton team is happy to meet and play in the park. If you are interested in studying English in Brighton then check out our website: www.staffordhouse.com/brighton 

Summer in London 2013 – The Highlights So Far…

Afternoon trip on the London Eye

July in London- typically 21 degrees with a little sunshine- but July 2013 has seen daily temperatures close to 30 degrees and not a cloud in the sky! This has had a tremendous impact on London- making us all as cheerful and smiley as we were last year at the Olympics. I wonder if we could win an award for Europe’s happiest city right now?

Stafford House London has also been having a fantastic summer- the number of our students getting excellent IELTS scores on their way to UK universities and foundation programmes has been the highlight academically. Nearly every IELTS student has had a success story to tell this month.

  

Seiga got a 5.5 in IELTS and is going to study at FoundatiONcampus London in September

Outside Thorpe Park

Socially, the activities programme has never been so popular- and the photos below certainly show how much fun has been had. Highlights have definitely been day trips to Oxford and the theme park, Thorpe Park, but the wonderful weather has also encouraged a record number of students to take part in our walking tour­ of Westminster and Buckingham Palace.

The Sunday trip to Oxford

Next month, students have even more to look forward to as we take them to the world-famous Notting Hill carnival. Music fans will be delighted to attend the Canary Wharf Jazz festival, and our students from South America will surely feel at home when London hosts “Carnaval del Pueblo“ ­- Europe's largest celebration of Latin American culture.

You can follow all the events and photographs from the London social programme on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StaffordHouseLondon

Waiting for the Royal Baby in Brighton

Currently the UK is experiencing some of the best summer weather in over 230 years. Its a great time of the year to come over to study English in Brighton, London or Canterbury.  Brighton is fortunately located to benefit from cooling sea breezes and our students can be found most afternoons enjoying the beaches and swimming in the refreshing waters of the English Channel. But the real hot topic is not the balmy weather it is babies!

Brighton Beach

Will it be a boy or a girl? Royal babies are the topic of conversation in the UK this week. The Duchess of Cambridge lovingly known as Kate is about to give birth to a royal prince or princess! Britain will have an heir to the throne.   Street parties are being planned to celebrate the arrival of the new baby. In Brighton at Stafford House we will be organising a special Brighton Beach BBQ to welcome our future King or Queen. Kate decided with Prince William to not ask the gender of the baby. They wanted to keep it a surprise for themselves and the world.  Many names have been suggested for the new royal baby: George seems to be a popular choice if it is a boy and Edwina a possibility for a princess.

The Laines in Brighton

The UK is expecting a great boost to the economy when the baby is born. In the shops in Brighton’s fashionable Laines we will see many beautiful souvenir gifts to commemorate this happy event.

Prince William the soon to be proud father is planning on being very involved with the upbringing of the royal baby. He has always enjoyed a close relationship with his own father Prince Charles and will want the same for his child. The UK changes and evolves but the royal family remains forever popular.  Stafford House shares the excitement of this historic birth!

A Sketch of the Stafford House London teachers… Archetypes and stereotypes (just a bit of fun!)

Here are some images and associations people make with some of the teachers at Stafford House London.

Peter is “The IELTS Wizard”

Take a look at Gandalf:

Now take a look at Peter:

See any similarities? Well Peter also has the ability to make IELTS classes FUN! Now that is magical!

Sarah is “Little Miss Sunshine”

Frequently described as “a ray of sunshine” and  “one of the most positive people I have met” and “an inspiring natural teacher”. Sarah knows that happy students learn better!

We don’t often get a lot of this:

…so it’s great to have a teacher who makes you feel the sun is always shining!

John is “The Actor”

John is one of the few members of our team actually born in London, and his dramatic leanings make him and excellent pronunciation teacher.

John likes to take centre stage, but he also likes pushing his students into the limelight and helping them to improve their performance.

Sean is “The King of Comedy”

Sean loves teaching but he also has a real passion for stand-up comedy.  Sometimes he manages to combine the two!

After classes Sean can be seen performing or being the compere at comedy nights across the capital. Sean knows that laughing when you are learning makes the lesson memorable!

These are just 4 of the teaching team at Stafford HouseLondon. If you have any memories or sketches of other teachers on the team- leave a comment below!