Page 38 - ELG1911 Nov Issue 467

El•Gazette 467.qxp_El•Gazette 467 23/10/2019 13:11 Page 38

INTERVIEW .

Standing LONDON SCHOOL OF ENGLISH

the test

of time

The London School of English is over

100 years old, principal Hauke Tallon
tells Melanie Butler why its core
values are key to its future Hauke Tallon

You don't come from an EFL background so you probably Actually, we think of ourselves as neither old nor grand; we are far
weren't aware of The London School of English, the oldest more focused on what’s happening now and on the future. ‘Old and
language school in the UK before you joined. grand’ can quickly become ‘outdated and complacent’ and that would
indicate a failure in our eyes.
Actually, I was an EFL teacher in Japan at the beginning of the 90s. I
really loved my time there – especially the cultural experience – but I As to the future what is the one element you must keep, and
came back to the UK to follow a more commercial career path. one thing you must change?
Ten years later, I was thinking about taking my commercial skillset
back into an industry I felt more passionate about and came across an We must keep our core values – that’s essential because we accept that
advert for the sales and marketing role at The London School of any business must change in order to stay relevant, but our core values
English. I hadn’t heard the name before but after some research are what drive us and keep us close as a team; from them we draw our
decided to apply and was invited to meet the owner, Timothy Blake. sense of purpose.
He was – and remains – a positive and As for what must change, we accept that
inspirational voice in our industry and I any business must change in order to stay
knew instinctively that working here Our core values are what relevant, so there is much we are keeping a
would be enjoyable with plenty to get stuck drive us and keep us close as careful eye on and we do enjoy the
into and also plenty to build on. challenge of innovation. Instinctively, I’d
a team; from them we draw say our willingness to use alternative
And now? means of delivery shows this – not to
our sense of purpose. replace our face-to-face provision, but to
The landscape has changed, and that pace augment it. Using our own content and
of change is accelerating, which presents challenges, but also our own trainers for remote learning ensures that we can retain our
opportunities. We have to adapt our methods, while our core values quality and reputation rather than being reliant on the content of
remain the same and what drives us forward is a belief that there is still third parties.
a market for what we do, even if we have to adapt to deliver that.
What are the three things people should look for in a great
Yours is the first EFL organisation to have two centres achieve language school?
perfect scores on inspection: London and Canterbury. How
important is consistency? Firstly, I don’t think that everyone needs to go to a school with a top BC
score, but the latest inspection report is certainly something that people
I suppose it is possible to get a reasonable number of strengths by should look at as guidance, as it can tell them a lot about the institution
treating the preparation and inspection as a game of strategy. However, they are about to commit their money to. A great school should do well
in my experience the inspectors know when someone is papering over in the areas that are important to the client and so be a good fit.
the cracks, so getting a very good score does require consistency. Secondly, I’d want to be looking for something that meets my needs,
Really, the focus shouldn’t be on the inspections at all but on so I’d want someone to ask me about those and help me to identify the
running a business day-in, day-out that provides both clients and staff most suitable programme. That might not necessarily be the most
with a great experience. expensive thing on the menu. I’d want to understand the rationale
Yes, you can tick the boxes, but to get all the staff aligned around behind their recommendations.
your core values, share a mindset and pull in the same direction is Finally, I’d want to find some independent reviews. How our clients
something that happens over many years of building teams. rate us is every bit as important as how the inspectors rate us. So,
permit me to mention that we are globally the highest ranked language
The rankings are dominated by the grand old schools. The training provider on TrustPilot, with an average score of 4.8/5; I guess
London School of English is the oldest and possibly the that means our clients agree with the British Council, which makes me
grandest … just as happy as the inspection scores!
38 November 2019