Page 10 - ELG1601 May Issue 436

ELEuropean Union
Page 10 May 2016

The importance of peace of mind

any people believe,
wrongly, that Britain is a
Mdangerous country. Even
the British believe it, according
to the Global Peace Index, which Melanie Butler aims to dispell some myths about the UK and pick out especially
ranks countries around the world
in terms of levels of violence. safe places to study – whether in ancient kingdoms or traditional spa towns
The British believe that the level
of violence is around the world
average, but it isn’t. Violent crime has been falling is extremely safe, while four violent crime are very low – EFL destination that we found don villages’ Wimbledon and
In Britain homicide, access to in the UK for twenty years, and indicates a very safe location. Devon and Sussex. Even the which had very low rates of Kingston are also as safe as the
weapons and imports of weapons with a few local exceptions it is On a national level, the safest large university towns in these crime – the spa towns and a average English town.
are all very low, at similar levels still falling. country in the United Kingdom regions, such as Brighton and number of the ancient cathedral London is the most dangerous
to Australia, Sweden and Japan. Many international students is Wales, where even the capital Exeter, are as safe as small cities which now have univer- city but, in a global context, it
The incidence of violent crime is and their families, however, are city has the same crime rate as country towns, and there are no sities. Among the other major is not that dangerous at all. The
low, the same ranking as Spain, concerned about the safety of a quiet country village and the language schools located any- English language destinations rate of violent crime in London
peace index score is 4.2 out of a where in these two areas where Oxford had the best score for is below that in Amsterdam and
On a national level, the safest country in the possible five. the crime rate is higher than the safety, as did one area of Lon- Dublin, and just higher than
England is the second safest
UK is Wales, where even the capital has the country. However, it covers a national average. don, Richmond upon Thames, Rome. In fact, it is about the
same as Toronto, Canada.
‘Lon-
whose
There are two other kinds of
neighbouring
same crime rate as a country village much larger area, has a much n
bigger population and has
Germany and Ireland. Between the destination their schools are enormous regional variations
2010 and 2015 the level of ter- in. So we used the Global Peace in levels of crime. In terms
rorism in the UK was very low, Index rankings to find the saf- of major language travel des-
the same as Canada, though the est places in Britain to study. A tinations, there are two large Harrogate
impact of terrorism was average. score of five shows a place that regions where the rates of York

Cathedral cities Spa towns
Oxford
The British have a strange definition of Popular with English holi-
Oxford is a world-
a city, which has nothing to do with the daymakers since the late
size of population – if you have a cathe- 17th Century, the spa Chester famous university city
with some of the best
dral, you are a city. These cities, which towns of England offer
language schools in
also each host at least one university, safety, history and a vari-
the country. It is also
offer some of the most beautiful and ety of accredited language
very safe.
safest locations to study English in the centres. Safety score: 4/5
world. Average safety score:
Average safety score: 5/5 4.75/5
Wales Richmond upon Thames
Richmond-Upon-Thames is a historic
Royal Leamington Spa
town which forms a part of Greater
Wales London. If it was an independent
Cheltenham town it would be the richest in the
Wales is the safest of the four nations of the United Kingdom. country and one of the safest.
It also has the safest capital city – Cardiff, which is also a pop-
ular student city (safety score: 5/5). Wales is a cheap place to Oxford Safety score: 4/5
live and study English; the average cost of a 20-hour-a-week
general English course in the principality, as Wales is known,
is just less than £200. It is famous for its music, its mountain Richmond upon Thames
landscapes and the welcome of its people – no wonder that Bath
this is one of the fastest-growing international student desti- Canterbury
nations in the UK. Winchester
Average safety score: 4.5/5 Sussex

Devon

Devon
Sussex
Devon has two claims to being the safest place in England to study. First it
has some of the safest towns in the country, and its resorts and little mar- Sussex, an ancient kingdom just south of London, is the safest ELT region
ket towns near national parks are among the top family holiday destinations in Britain. This is partly because of the large number of boarding schools
for British families. Second it is the only place in the UK – and possibly the and language schools located in its rural villages and old market towns –
world – where language schools can have all host families checked by the including Lewes (safety score: 5/5), a famous artistic centre and the county
local social work team responsible for placing children in fostering. No won- town of East Sussex, and the cathedral town of Chichester (5/5), the county
der many of its schools, which are clustered around Exeter (safety score: 4/5) town of West Sussex. It’s also famous for coastal resorts including East-
and Torbay (4/5) have a long record of welcoming under-16s year-round, and bourne (5/5), Worthing (4/5) and the ever-popular student city of Brighton
it is fast becoming the young learners’ capital of the UK. (4/5), all of which score well on the Global Peace Index.
Average safety score: 4.3/5 Average safety score: 4.7/5

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