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okay, so
early with we were are talking about long-term programs and now for short term academic
I think it's important to understand how they work. So,
we work closely both with agents but also with schools,
because a lot of schools also refer students to us
especially when they want them to be well-prepared for entry, if they are more academic
more selective schools.
So that's why, because also we are a tier 4 sponsor
with the Home Office, with all the UKBA, as it used to be called.
We either issue our own visa documentation
or we also have got visa partnership, school partnerships
registered with the government.
Which mean that for instance places like charterhouse whatever have the best /you know/
boarding schools. They will issue a /course/
which covers let's say the A level two years and our pre-sessional.
So that's quite important to know that because then
a student doesn't need to leave the country apply for a second visa.
So they come on one visa and they still can go back home and have a holiday.
But when it's one /course/ which covers our pre-sessional as well
as their main course, that's quite useful, yes. And
in terms of these academic holidays they still can do English
and subjects of their choice. So people who come to us for short term courses they either come
immediately before joining a school or some of them may be thinking
in 1-2-3 years' time coming over to England to study.
So that's another way which we have often worked and that's how we have grown
over the years.
So sometimes would have someone coming for a short term,
coming for a short term course one year and then they would
come back again the second time for the following year
and do another course as
a follow on. So students can firstly start maybe with English
only, because their English language is maybe quite low level.
Then once they have too strong to pre-intermidiate to intermediate they can start having
academic holidays.
And then we are often we can get people who can come second, third, fourth time.
Last year we have actually a boy from Russia who was actually with us for the fifth time.
So he broke all the records because he started as a parent and child program,
a bit like your Ruslan and Tatiana at the moment
He /still was/ nine or ten only when he came with his mom just for a few weeks.
Then they came back again the following year to do
a little bit longer, the whole summer program. And then he started coming by
himself. Once
mom relaxed. She could see that, you know, she could trust us and our families.
And then he started coming back and always say:
"Can I please stay with the same family". Because he really like family, I mean food and a car, and a language
input and conversations.
So that sort of a nice way of working. And last year
he did the full year academic program with us. So he went from that tiny little
chappie, you know, as at beginner to someone who became quite advanced in his
language and now he's at the International School abroad. So it's quite the nice
progression. And that shows you how you can work with us as well.
And then you've got the students who are already in boarding schools they can also do
revision programs
during half terms holidays, during Easter revision holidays.
So that can be, you know, a good way of doing that as well.
So that's in a that short term academic programs.
In terms of accreditations we are with ISI
which is Independence School Inspectorate.
In February could outstanding for the second time. So that hopefully is a good
testimony to what we do not only with ISI but it also recognized by
inspectors. With British council we are not accredited just for teaching of English but
also as international study center
as well. So that means they look also at our academic provision.
And then obviously into the sponsor license with
the home office and we also an exam center. So that means students can take exams
with us as long as
/XL EQA/ they can come to us and, you know,
take exams which are, you know, anything which EQA and XL offer
we can monitor and implement.
Okay. And then in terms of the programs apart from junior programs,
which all take place here in this building, where you at
the moment,
so it's English and Academic programs, we do the,
we do groups. So we've got
group study adult, as you know, and /// chart which we are doing for you
right now.
For groups it's either intensive English
in the morning and in the afternoon or it's intensive English
in the morning with lots of sightseeing activities in the afternoon because you've
mentioned about these groups as well.
So that can be maybe something which you may wish to develop.
So if you had more time I could show you for instance a portfolio we put
together recently for
a group from Mexico which was here a few months ago. And then that's exactly what they
did.
So during their program they had
trips to Oxford, London Eye, Madame Tussauds, Greenwich, Brighton.
So quite an interesting program and then they were able to
decide what they wanted us to do. So we didn't impose it
but they can always say what they do but also that's combined
with also intensive English and that's always very helpful, because then they feel they've
learned something even after a two or three weeks.
If it is you know combined with activities. Especialy
when we are here. It's twenty minutes from Waterloo, you know, so it's a very good connection.
So it's not difficult to make sure that children have the best of both /ways/
they learn as well as then they can, you know,
sight see and enjoy the culture /enrichment/.
And all this is based on staying with families. So we would never put 2 speakers speaking
the same language together
unless obviously they insist we`ve got from a parent and a child, like they've got, you know,
from you. But the idea is that they ... we have got this English at all times. So the idea
is to get them, to start thinking English.
So they stop translating from one language to another. Yes. That's in a natural. That's for group.
We also do things like
dairy competitions, and also
a sort of other activities which we work out with group leaders before they arrive or when
the students are here as well.
For adult programs you've got here a selection
of different modules. So anything from general English, English for academic
purposes,
Business. Then you've got also specific purposes. For instance
we have done quite a lot in the area of law,
oil industry, the oil and gas industry as well as medicine,
in terms of specific, specific tuition.
So, very often there will be very small groups or one-to-one, possibly
two-three students in the group. Because when there is specific purposes then
they have lessons with some of our subject teachers or if it's for instance oil and gas
we work with a group of geologists and geophysicists,
who are based just down the road from here and they've delivered programs together. So our
English teachers would come and help with the English for that purpose.
And then an expert in the subject would help with that as well.
So for instance also last year we had a professor from Osaca from Japan
who was a specialist in international relations.
So than our tutor teaching A-level in politics and government
was able to give him an extra session specific to his area of expertise.
We had the professor from China who was preparing to give
lectures in Oxford University in law and then she had lessons with our A level
law teacher. So you know things like this. There is a lot of flexibility but very much
individualized programs. So that's a sort of may be useful,
useful to know. So we're not about big groups, we are about individual attention.
And that's why we've got, you know, especially for academic subjects maximum
five students. And that's how they get the good results. You know, if you look
coming back to here, you know, last year we had over sixty percent for A the A-level /stars/
from one year A levels. That's you know quite high.
So we've got always 100 percent pass and we do get
you know very good grades. Because as I say we also something, which I actualy mentioned
before last talking to you.
When I told you about this personal tutors system. We also every morning
have got a study skill session. It's very important. And that means they know how to learn.
Your company is Art Of Learning. So I think that's probably,
that's something which is actually we have in common. Yeah.
Because I actually passionately believe it's academic principle that very often students have
lots of knowledge
but they don't know how to sell this knowledge and how to put it on paper
and what to do
with this knowledge. They don't how to imply it. That is facts and figures
and no application. So it's a question of knowing how to study, how to revise, how to take
exams, learning, organizational skills, presentation skills,
obviously academic vocabulary, things like these. But you know that's
very important. So we do it
every morning the first lesson is that every second week,
and the second week is then testing. So every two weeks is a test, every morning... Is it available for
English learners
or only for academical? No, English as well. We're allowing to do that. So if
teenagers come,
then they can be a part of that as well. Yes. And that's very
useful.
Yes. We also now started doing
a blog, so they are learning how to do an online blog.
So our students who are doing the long-term programs. The idea is they get lots of
practice in
writing in English and at the same time learn
how to do something online. So trying to infuse students with social media
because obviously you know they live on
facebook, vkontakte, yes,
So you know it's important that we... Odnoklassniki... Sorry...
Russian,
another Russian website Odnoklassniki... Odnoklassniki, yes. So this is in a natural.
That's the main thing. And then...
Couple of things. There are two specialises. One is
English and Tennis. So, apart from doing what your
student now is doing which is just having one or twi.., once or
twice a week tennis lessons, we actually do a program "English and Tennis",
because the courts which you'll go to see in a minute.
You'll see that is one of the best tennis courts in the area. And even Andy Murray
practices here when he's in the area because they`ve got
eleven grass courts. So it's very unusual. Most people playing tennis, they play on the
clay.
So they've got some clay courts but they also have got grass courts. So
for this particular program if they are coming to do English and tennis
if they are already good at it we make sure that they always play and they get
professional tennis coaching, from coaches who are trained through the Lawn Tennis
Association. So they're not people who just teach tennis,
they are should teach Lawn Tennis. So that's quite important. Then part of the program
we always get them to Wimbeldon
to either see championships if they are with us in June, or
to see the museum if it's outside the season,
and to Hampton Court Palace which is only ten minutes down the road from us,
where they've got the the oldest serviving real tennis court
which is covered wooden, where Henry the eighth during to the times played.
So it's quite interesting. It's still an active court. So, you know.
we are luckily in our location, because
we're in the middle of this triangle between Wimbeldon, Hampton Court and Kingston.
And then getting to the center of London is so easy because it's, you know,
just under twenty minutes and you are in the center of London. And this area is
the most affluent area in the UK. It's the highest income per capital.
And there is the biggest cluster of top academic schools here. There are about ten or twelve
schools here,
which are in the top 50 in the League tables.
So you have two state grammar schools like Tiffin boys, Tiffin girls.
You have Kings Court Wimbeldon, Wimbeldon High, Putney High, Lady Eleanor Holles,
Surbitan High, Kingston grammar.
They are all top academic schools.
So we are very lucky because teachers from those schools teach here.
And that's also another way how we can make sure the quality of teaching is
good and that's why we get those results. So it's obviously a mixture
of... It's very important to know. Very important. So it's a mixture of small classes,
experience teachers, this sort of structure of study skills,
personal tutor system, a lot of care, attention, a lot of one to one `s with students.
And hopefully if you will look at our video, the links I sent you,
you'll see I think that sort of comes across. I mean one of the students,
when I didn't watch this videoes. I didn't know what he was saying, because it was
the film crew, you know, interviewing them, it brought tears to my eyes when he said
"This is like my second home".