Three UK language schools have been newly accredited in what we hope is an early sign of recovery from a pandemic which has seen over 50 accredited centres disappear from the British Council accreditation list (elgazette.com/covid-impact-on-uk-language-school-sector).
All three school were inspected remotely during October and November before UK schools were shutdown again in the New Year. All three started out offering courses in English and other languages to their local communities and they are all located in ‘new’ language travel destinations on the west coast of Great Britain.
Language Tree, in the Cornish cathedral city of Truro, hit the local press when it opened in 2017. It now runs General English classes for adults and juniors, as well as foreign language classes for locals and their children, currently the only British Council accredited school in England’s westernmost county.
Language Within, in Glasgow, also offers English and other languages, including Gaelic, and recruits its EFL students – all of whom must be 18 or over – from the local community. It is only the third accredited centre in Scotland’s largest city and a welcome addition to Scottish EFL which, as we report on our website (elgazette.com/pls-closures-in-scotland) has been devastated by Covid.
In the Northwest of England, HIL becomes the fifth language school to pass British Council Inspection though a sixth, Bayswater College Liverpool, is currently covered under the accreditation of its owners’ London school. Started in 2018, it also works largely within the local community, including offering classes to refugees, and hit the local headlines with its ‘Scouse club’, named after the local English accent which introduces students to Liverpool’s culture and turn of phrase.M
