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!

Now that’s what I call English by Canterbury Principal, Pat O'Donoghue

It’s hard to believe the summer is already here, but Monday morning was the beginning of our summer school and we welcomed new students from 16 different countries.

With the summer come lots of Great British summer traditions and nowhere is this more noticeable than in that great passion of the British, sport. Our number one sport, football, enjoys a rest from mid May to mid August but that just allows us to turn our attention to many other great events. If you are in the UK studying English with us this summer you may be able to experience some of the following great British sporting events.

From Tuesday to Saturday this week is a personal favourite of mine, Royal Ascot. This is one of the highlights of the horseracing calendar and it is attended every year by members of the Royal Family, including the Queen, a great supporter of the sport. This event receives a lot of Press attention and usually the racing is overshadowed by the attention paid to what racegoers are wearing. There is a strict code of dress in the Royal Enclosure, where men must wear Top Hats and Tails and the TV cameras are always out in force on Ladies’ day to report on the latest dresses and hats.

Following straight on from Royal Ascot we make the short journey up to London for the tennis at Wimbledon. British fans will be wondering whether Andy Murray can make this the year that the first Briton wins a Championship since Virginia Wade in 1977. Strawberries and cream anyone?

Midway through Wimbledon fortnight we have the British Grand Prix at Silverstone and I will be cheering on Lewis Hamilton, who studied at our sister college, CATS Cambridge.

But if you want something even more English then I invite you to tune into cricket. This summer England hosts the ‘Ashes’ series against Australia. For English and Australians alike, this is the must win series, played only once every two years, alternating between England and Australia. It’s not a quick affair; there are five ‘Tests’ (matches), each one lasting up to five days. So it’s just as well that unlike other sports which have a short half-time break of 15-20 minutes, Test matches stop for lunch and for afternoon tea! Now that’s what I call English.

 

A Walk on the Wild Side with Brighton Principal, David Burgess

David Burgess

On a fine June day there is no place I would rather be than walking on Brighton Beach. Ice cream in one hand to sustain me as I gently walk my way along this iconic strip of living British seaside history. Please come join me on my walk!

Our Brighton school is just a two minute walk from the beach.  First landmark to surprise you will be the ruin of the old West Pier. Destroyed by fire and ravaged by storms it is now home to a colony of starlings famous for their mass flight formations. There is no need to worry this is not a Hitchcock film, but seagulls will gladly fly away with your ice-cream so better hold on tight.

Leaving the old pier a must see at sunset, we pass the Victorian splendour of The Grand Hotel.  A white wedding cake of a building serving a very fine Afternoon Tea.  It was here in 1984 that terrorists tried to murder Prime Minister Thatcher. Fortunately they were not successful and The Grand continues to serve a very fine cup of tea.

Brighton Pier beckons with rides and the sweet aroma of fish and chips. It was built by the Victorians and remains one of the UK’s most popular tourist attractions. A walk up and down the pier is highly recommended and we do need to walk off those calories from that large portion of fish and chips. If we had a little more time we could have a look at SeaLife, the oldest scientific aquarium in the world or hop on The Brighton Wheel and see panoramic views of the city and sea. But I must hurry us along as I am eager to show you Rottingdean home of Jungle Book writer Rudyard Kipling.  Though part of Brighton it remains firmly a traditional Sussex village. Here we will end our walk and enjoy a Cream Tea of fresh scones washed down by gallons of strong Darjeeling tea.  Our walk has ended and we are content as Kipling said:

“God gives all men all earth to love,

 But since man’s heart is small,

Ordains for each one spot shall prove

Beloved over all.

Each to his choice, and I rejoice

The lot has fallen to me

In a fair ground - in a fair ground -

Yea, Sussex by the sea!”

Stafford House teachers get together to share expertise

Continuing our commitment to excellent teaching, last week we held our first ever Stafford House Teacher Conference.

More than 50 delegates from our schools in London, Brighton and Canterbury attended the event, held in the brand new teaching block of Stafford House’s sister college CATS College Canterbury.

The conference was organised by Vicky McWilliam, Director of Studies in Canterbury, and different talks were given by a variety of teachers from all three schools.

Vicky said “It was a very inspiring day. It was really rewarding to see so many of our colleagues volunteer to give talks.”

“We wanted the conference to be an opportunity for our teachers to get together, share ideas and be inspired. Everybody, including the visiting speakers, felt it was a very worthwhile way to spend a Saturday!”

Two well-known guest speakers from the world of English Language teaching gave plenary talks. Pete Sharma, author of ‘Blended Learning’, gave an insightful presentation into the use of technology in the classroom.

Jim Scrivener, author of Learning Teaching, gave the closing Plenary which was a provocative questioning of how teachers might review their teaching to see whether they could be even more demanding of their students.

The conference was enjoyed by all who attended and it was unanimously agreed this should become an annual event.

Summer in London!

Despite not really having true summer weather so far this year, London is still in full swing! We have already had the fantastic celebrations for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics are just around the corner.

Running alongside the sporting events, London is in the middle of the "Cultural Olympics" which is a programme of performing and visual arts taking place all over the city. There is even  more music, theatre, art, food and fun in London this summer than usual. All very exciting! Check it out here: http://festival.london2012.com/events/index.php

Stafford House London is also celebrating its first summer and we also have an exciting cultural mix. We have students from 29 different countries from 4 continents at the moment! Here is a photo of our students outside the school. They are about to go and enjoy the the Jubilee celebrations on the Thames.