Hello everyone,

As every week we have a visit to a School.  This week we were in British Study Centres London which in near Baker street and close to Bond Street.

This school belongs to a group, having school in Brighton, Oxford and Bournemouth. They offer courses for Adult Learners (from 16 on) and Young Learners (from 8 to 16).

We have met Santi who works as marketing manager in the school and he has showed us around.

Tell us more about the history of the school...

British Study Group has a long path, they started in the 50s as a family. At the beginning they did correspondence courses being the biggest group in England, later they founded schools, the first one was West London College, however this school doesn’t offer English courses.

It was in 1996 when the English School were founded. The first school was in Oxford, the second one was in Brighton in 2002, the school in London opened in 2004 and the last one in Bournemouth in 2009.

How is one lesson in British Study Centre? Do the students need a book?

Yes, we use a book which is included in the course price, this means the students don’t have to buy an extra book or pay more for the book. Furthermore, the teachers also use photocopies in the lessons for doing exercises or theory.

All our teachers are native speakers.

The building where the school is settled

Do students need to take a level test before enrolling a course?

Yes they have to take a level test but the first day they come to the school not before. You can start every Monday and when you start you have to do a grammar test with 40 questions all of them multi options. Then, you have to do a short writing and to finish we speak with you to test your speaking level. The good thing of this test is that for example if your level of speaking is higher than the grammar you will go to a different lesson depends on the level, therefore you will not be in the same level for everything, we place you in the correct level for each part.

However, we don’t offer beginning courses or proficiency courses.

How many students do you have per classroom?

The maximum 14 students, but the average is 11.

This is the library

Do you have exam preparation courses for IELTS, Cambridge, TOEFL, TOEIC, etc?

Yes of course. We offer this kind of course. IELTS is very popular for Universities. For Cambridge we only offer FCE and CAE, not PET or CPE. However, if a student wants to prepare the PET exam we give him extra material. Besides we have what we call study centre which is open from Monday to Friday and where you always will find a teacher to help you and more material for the exam preparations. Therefore students can use it even if this is not included in the course price, it is for free. It is recommended for TOEFL and TOEIC exam preparation.

What we normally do for TOEFL and TOEIC is a combination between the general lessons in the morning and 2 private lessons for these exams in the afternoon per week.

One of the classrooms

Do you have a social programme or extra activities for students?

Yes, we have a football team and we plan minimum 3 activities per week, sometimes we have 4 or 5 and in summer we have activities every day. We think they are important as it helps the students to know the others deeper and therefore they have a better integration.

In summer for example we have a party in a boat which is very popular. We also visit the tourist places in London and organise parties in the school such as the international food party in which students bring typical food from their countries.

The cafeteria 

And the last one, why do should choose British Study Centre?

There are a lot of schools in London and in UK, but we have gained experience during these years which is important in order to offer a good quality and service to our students. Another important point for me is the average of the age, here the average is between 20 and 25. Also our students come from different countries, having in the school 92 nationalities, so you will meet people from all around the world.

The party on the boat

If you want to know more about the offers and prices of this school contact us at: education@polarchoice.com

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Hello, hello.!! :)

Once again we visit a school. It is Bell International. This school is in the same area than Klapan and Bloomsbury (you can find the visits below this one), therefore you can compare different school which are in the same zone : Holborn.

We have interviewed Silvina the Marketing Manager at Bell London. This school has another one in Cambridge.

Entrance of the school

Hello Silvinia, can you tell us a bit of the Bell’s History?

Yes, of course. Bell was founded in 1955 by Frank Bell, now you know why the name of the school. Frank Bell was a teacher of Spanish and French, he was a war prisoner in the Second World War. It was with his partner in prison when he founded a clandestine university.  After the war he founded what today is Bell school which before was called Bell Language School.

How is one lesson in Bell? What about teacher’s methods? do the students need a book?

Well, it depends on the course you are. We have programmes for young learners from 7 to 17. This group doesn’t need a book. It is the teacher who plan the lesson through excursion, activities, etc..

For adult programmes, they need a book, however, when they enroll the course we give for free the book, they don’t have to buy it.

In our classrooms we have the interactive blackboard, which is really good for students so the lesson is more dynamic.

One classroom

How many students do you have per lesson?

The classrooms can have a maximum of 14 students but the average is between 7 and 8.

Do you have exam preparation courses like IELTS, Cambridge, TOEFL, TOEIC...?

Yes, we prepare IELTS and all the exams for Cambridge, being specialist in BULATS on of the Business exam for Cambridge. Unfortunately we don’t prepare TOEFL or TOEIC as a course, but people can prepare it by one-to-one (individual lessons)

One of the computer's room

Do you have a social programme or extra activities for students?

Yes in both programmes. In the adult programme the have one which is included with their programme, this is 2 excursions : one is all day, the other one it is only half of the day, but they have these both excursions every 2 weeks. However every day we suggest an activity and on the weekend they can have an excursion during a whole day to Cambridge, Oxford, or Bath...

And the last one, why do we should choose Bell International?

As you can see apart from the zone, which is central London, Bell is high quality in teaching with a very personal treatment for the students. We are special because our treat with the students.

Study centre of the school

This was everything, I hope you like it.

This school also offers:

- University Foundation Courses

- Pre master courses

- Diploma in Business

If you are interested in this school you always can find us at: education@polarchoice.com

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Hello again!!

This week we have visited Bloomsbury International. This is school is in the center of London, near Holborn (tube station).

We have interview Marc the Sales Executive of the School.

Tell us more about the history of the school...

We are the first school here in this area, we open in 2004. The reason why started was to offer a really good, high quality, lots of choices, different courses and flexibility for students and a good price for central London.

How is one lesson in Bloomsbury?

Well, we have 26 classrooms and 22 of them have interactive blackboard which is really good for students as they can participate and interact with internet, different links, etc, through the blackboard.

So, it is very interactive a lesson here.

Entrance of the school

Do the students need a book?

Yes, we supply a book depending on which class they are going to. We use different books for each language level. Whenever you come in, you will need and use a book.

Then, the students need to take a level test, right?

Well, what we usually do is when we have an enquiry, we send them an English test just to get an idea of the level before they arrive. Then, once you arrive to the school on Monday we test them again, this time we will speak with them and check their speaking level, thus we make sure to place them in the correct level.

One of the classrooms with the interactive blackboard

How many students do you have per lesson?

We have a maximum number of 14 students, however the average is about 8 or 9.

Talking about lessons, I see that you prepare specific exams like IELTS, CAE, FCE, is this right?

Yes, correct. Probably our most popular course is IELTS. We also prepare TOEFL and TOEIC as we are a test centre.

A classroom

Well, to finish the interview, do you do extra activities or have a social programme?

Yes of course. In the summer we run a social programme everyday as we have a lot of students and in the lower seasons we do 2 or 3 activities weekly such as going to the pub, walking around the city and visiting museums.

Why do we should choose Bloomsbury International for studying?

Because we give a great experience to the student as we are an independent school so it is easier for us to give a more personal service to students.

We are friendly and the atmosphere in the school is relaxed and fun. Also, the zone is absolutely good, in central London with a tube station very close to the school.

This was everything. If you are interested in this school, feel free to contact us at : education@polarchoice.com

Or check our web page, soon it will be new with a fresh look J

Also, you can find us on the social nets:

Facebook and Twitter: polar choice

Have a good beginning of the week, we will come back soon J

REMEMBER you will ALWAYS GET A DISCOUNT.