Archive for February, 2012

Student Stories: My Amazing Weekend!

Monday, February 27th, 2012

Judong Lee from Korea is currently studying at our San Francisco centre. Here, he tells us about three interesting events that happened during one rather incredible weekend.

I did a lot of amazing things last weekend. On Saturday, I went to Powell station with my best friend Victor. We were supposed to go to Sunset because many Americans had recommended that we visit that area. When we arrived at Powell, we found protestors who were against the war between the U.S. and Iran. We thought that if we stayed there, we could speak to a lot of Americans. So we decided to change our plans. Eventually, we succeeded in speaking with them for a long time and two of them invited us to their office. So we were able to get a bunch of information about the protests and politics in the USA. After spending 3 hours, we left the office, promising to visit there again. This was the first story of my amazing weekend.

On Sunday, I met two friends and we went to the Sunset area. We decided to take the Muni train. As I was buying my ticket, one of my friends pressed the button on the machine for kids 17 and under. We had no idea what would come next. When I tried to go through using that ticket, the machine started to make a siren sound… Oh My Goodness!! Unfortunately for me, there was a Muni police officer. I was trying to explain that it wasn’t my fault while she was writing my ‘precious’ $100 ticket! I couldn’t believe it!! I had to pay $100 instead of the $2.50. This is my second amazing story of my weekend. I didn’t know that there was another surprise waiting for me.

When we arrived in the Sunset area, we asked for directions to the beach from a university student. We just wanted to know how to get there. Not only did she give us directions, but she invited us to her apartment. I was so excited because it was my first time to be invited by an American to their place! And we did a lot of talking and had a lot of fun. It was amazing! Even though I experienced some bad things from the police, my weekend was awesome!

If you’d like to find out more about learning English at our English school in San Francisco and you want to make friends with some Americans, then just email us or visit the main St Giles website for more information!

And the second best city in the world for students is… London!

Friday, February 24th, 2012

Thinking of reasons why you should come to study in London this year?  Well, here’s one for you: Last week, the BBC published an article on its website which revealed that London is the second best city in the world for students!

The ranking of the world’s 50 best cities for students is aimed at international students who are considering where to study.  Cities included in the ranking are those with more than 250,000 inhabitants and two or more top universities.  Factors taken into account were affordability, quality of life and university reputation.

London came in second place in the ranking, beaten only by Paris!  Both cities scored highly on quality of life, student mix and the employability of graduates, but the deciding factor was affordability.

In the article published on 15th February, Ben Sowter, lead researcher on QS Best Student Cities said:

“While high tuition fees make London a far more expensive proposition than Paris, London’s array of world-class universities means it is worth the investment for many students.”

Read the full article on the BBC website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-17032251

If you, like many others, are interested in studying in the bustling, multicultural city, you can choose between our London Central or London Highgate schools – both attractive centres with modern facilities and easy access to all that the city has to offer!

And if the London life isn’t for you, why not visit our Eastbourne or Brighton schools located on the beautiful south coast?  St Giles offers its students a variety of fantastic locations worldwide – in the UK, USA & Canada!  So take a look on our website to find a location that is best suited for you and your needs!

Student Stories – Competition Entries

Thursday, February 23rd, 2012

Our last blog post featured the winning article from a recent competition on facebook, when we asked students to write a short article about their time at St Giles and send it to us. The prize was a free social programme event for themselves and a friend up to £50/$120 USD, and the winner was Claudia Mai, who is currently studying at our English school in New York.

Below we are pleased to share some of the other fantastic entries we received, from students who have studied or are studying English with us in San Francisco, Brighton, Eastbourne and London!

St Giles San Francisco, by Jeff

I’m Jeff from Taiwan. My wonderful experience in San Francisco St Giles is beyond description. First, I was only 18 at that moment so I was quite nervous there. However, the staffs were so nice to deal everything with me that my uncomfortable feeling became better soon. They took care of me as their friends and told me lots of information about San Francisco on the first day. St Giles even provides free internet, plenty of computers (computer room), small library where you can borrow videos or books for free, and nice café for students also.

Second, St Giles provides various classes for students from all over the world. Teachers discuss what students want to learn before the class. It makes students learn and improve specific English skills directly. Teachers there not only teach English but also tell local culture, nice restaurants in that city and so on as well.

Third, you don’t have to worry about nothing to do in foreign city because St Giles devotes to holding lots of activities for all students in the school, such as movie time, tennis time, watching Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game, golden gate bridge tour, etc. Besides, staffs join these activities and have fun with students also

St Giles gave me the most wonderful studying experience which I have ever had. For me, it is not only a agency for studying English but also a intimate big family. If you ask me ‘’will you choose St Giles as a language school again?’’, I will answer you without thinking immediately. The answer is YES, definitely.

St Giles Central London, by Mohammadreza Razanifeghhi

These days educated people have to learn English to take opportunities around the globe. it is generally believed that the best place to study English is London. There are many language schools and colleges here, therefore is hard to choose the perfect one. In case of me, I did not have any information about St Giles school and I had to select it, however I am really satisfied to be here.

One of the important factors for pupils to have a better mood to study is the structure of class and building. It is not feasible to learn in small and stuffy class with uncomfortable seat and chair. While St Giles was built as a school around 100 year ago, there are specious and bright classes which have wireless internet access or even smart boards. All of these facilities help us to concentrate on learning and feeling happy.

It is generally accepted that teachers play an important roles in achieving new skills. I think that I have two best English teachers in my life in St Giles. Their methods are unique, beneficial and practical and they change my way of study. For example, I learn to memorize new words easily or be patient and relax about answering the questions. It is fair to say there are many good teachers who teach English language in the enjoyable methods.

If you have any problem about enrolment, education or even selecting university in the London, feel free and ask help from the kind and patient staff, they always try to help you and answer your questions carefully.

Finally, even though I selected St Giles School by chance, I absolutely fascinated to continue my study here.

The Best Summer I ever spent, by Giacomo (Jack) Colle

Once a friend of mine asked me which was the best summer I’ve ever spent. I said the last one! Every time I try to think about a nice period, in which I was happy, I can only think of Eastbourne, and I had it thanks to St Giles.

In that school I met the best people I’ve ever met, and I made a lot of friends, I’m still in contact with some of them, but I miss them all. But the best day of the holiday was when I went to Beachy Head, sitting and look over the edge… I stopped thinking about everything, it was like the time stopped, and I won’t forget that, I couldn’t forget it anyway.

It’s strange the fact that it took just one month to make me fall in love with England, or the fact that now I’m learning more than 3 languages, just to keep in touch with friends from other countries!

This summer I’m going to Brighton, and I just can’t wait, and I say that I’m sad yet for when I’ll have to come back to Italy!

Thank you Eastbourne!

Visiting Buckingham Palace, by Stacy Podluzskaya

Last year when I was absolutely lucky to get to St Giles Brighton, I made one of my dreams come true.

Every Sunday (I had 5 of them), I went to London and just walked everywhere. Once, when it was my last Sunday before I had to go home I wanted to go through TOP London places again. When I was near Buckingham Palace I noticed a big queue there. It turned to be a queue that was going to come inside the Palace! What a surprise! What a chance!

Conscientiously I stood out the queue and received a radio set, picked up English language and immersed myself in history of Palace. I stood right in that place where photographers took pictures of Prince William on the day of the great Wedding. I walked through the rooms, where Queen walked. I looked on the greatest canvases which Royal Family saw everyday. Amazing! Green, gold, red colours of the rooms. The hidden “door” (seemed it was a mirror) from where the Queen could walk through so that nobody could notice her. The dress, shoes, earrings of Kate Middleton. The dress is amazing, perfectly and originally designed. I was the happiest girl in the world!! It’s a pity that they didn’t allow to take pictures there :)

Thank you to all the students above who sent us these lovely articles! If you are thinking about coming to England, America or Canada to study English too, do not hesitate to contact us to find out more. You can email us at hq@stgiles.co.uk,or you can ask us a question on skype. Our username is stgiles.info.

And if you have already come to study with us, we always love to hear from past or present students about their time at St Giles, so please do email us at socialmedia@stgiles.co.uk if you want to be included on our blog!