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| Eckersley Oxford |
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Friars Entry is a passageway between the Randolph and Borders; it has three pubs, a café and a very well respected language school along its narrow pavement. The language school is Eckersley Oxford and it has been around for a very long time, in fact it is one of the oldest language schools in the UK having been founded in 1955 by the eponymous John Eckersley.
Eckersley Oxford is accredited by the British Council, which means that it has the quality assurance essential to any serious language schools these days. In addition, it is a member of English UK, the professional association of reputable language schools and is also part of the Quality English Group. The school is regularly inspected both by the British Council and Quality English.
With its 12 classrooms, Eckersley Oxford can welcome up to 140 full-time students from all over the world at any time. Many of the rooms have interactive white-boards, laptops and projectors installed and the 21st century setting is continued elsewhere in the school. There is a brand new digital language laboratory on the ground floor where students can also manage their emails and there is wireless Internet access throughout most of the school.
The students’ room is equipped with TV and games including table tennis, a keyboard and guitar as well as a kitchen area where students often prepare meals for the popular international lunches! There is also a screen and projector for watching movies. One of the unusual features of the school is the roof garden where students and staff can sit and relax when the weather is good; occasionally, there are even classes held outside.
As we know, all work and no play is not much fun so at Eckersley Oxford there is a dedicated social programmes organiser who makes sure that students, whether 17 or 70, can enjoy their stay in Oxford and in the UK. Most students will stay with one of Eckersley’s extensive network of host families, but the school also has a Student Hostel within about 15 minutes’ walk.
The school’s third Principal, who moved there from the University sector in January 2007, is Steve Hirschhorn. Amongst his plans to expand Eckersley’s core business, are Modern Foreign Language evening classes and new, entry-level teacher training courses which are validated by Trinity College London.
The staff at Eckersley Oxford are dedicated to providing a great service in a great city and celebrating a proud tradition with a very 21st century outlook, embodied in the school strapline, ‘Our Past Building Your Future’.
By Marcella Ciravegna |
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