Duarte, Roman and Rui...

On the left is Duarte and on the right is Rui... two wonderful students from Portugal. In the middle is billionaire Roman Abramovich, owner of Chelsea Football Club. The lads met Roman at a training session at Stamford Bridge and persuaded him to pose for a photo. Even with all the money in the world, Roman's English is not very good but I don't think they convinced him to take some lessons. Rui has a great blog with more photos of his time in London.

Have a good weekend and "Come on Chelsea!"
Stuart

Ramon the Winner

Ramon is in the front row wearing a yellow t-shirt. But why is he getting a special mention?
Well, he first came to the school in 1992 (yes, 1992!) and has been a regular summer visitor ever since. More than anything, Ramon likes coming to London and seeing his old friends and keeping his English at a good level. This year he's become a minor celebrity in the city because he's had one of his photos published in "The London Paper", an evening newspaper read by millions of commuters on the way home from work. His winning photo was of an Indian dance festival in Trafalgar Square.
See you next year Ramon!

Stuart

we've gone wi-fi...

We've now got our wi-fi installed... so if you are coming to the school and don't want to use one of the 12 computers in our internet cafe... you can use your own.

This is not the most interesting post but it might be useful!

Stuart

Mission Impossible

We call it Mission Impossible... a weekend competition between groups of students who have to be photographed in different places, doing / eating / drinking / trying different things...

I started this activity about 5 years and we run it at the school every six months. Each time we do it, I update the tasks and include special events happening in London.

Those who took part had so much fun and visited a lot of amazing places.

Here are some photos from our wonderful students who took part last weekend.

Review of the week

It's been a good week at school. The "Bloomsbury Walk", which I do on a Monday for new students, is getting better. The idea of the walk is to give everyone a chance to get to know each other on their first day and to show that Bloomsbury Street is the cleverest road in the world... well, that's my theory! Somehow I manage to include Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, Virginnia Woolf, Graham Greene, George Orwell, John Maynard Keynes, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, chocolate, sex and a few other stories...

On Wednesday evening, all the staff went out for a meal together - if you want to see us all eating... please go to this link at YouTube.

Yesterday evening Rob took about 25 students to Primrose Hill for a picnic and game of cricket and by all accounts everyone had a great time.

On a more personal note, I'm miserable at the moment. Greta has gone to Argentina to see her parents and of course, she's taken Benjamin with her. I miss them both so much. Ben is at an age (18 months) where he is changing all the time and learning new words every day. It's horrible not having them at home. The weekend will be the worst ... especially as the weather is going to be great. I'll fill my time with writing the new school brochure and website, seeing the Simpsons movie and watching Chelsea v. Manchester United.

Have a good weekend everyone!
Stuart

The Green Machine

We try to be as environmentally friendly as possible at the school - this includes recycling paper, using proper cups for coffee (and not throwing away polystyrene ones) and encouraging all students and staff to use public transport or cycle to school. Here's Si Hyung from Korea, who leaves his bike on the terrace when he's in class.

Teachers Alastair and Ashleigh as well as Alejandra all reguarly cycle to work.

Stuart

Bye..... and thanks

It's always sad on a Friday when students leave. Some have been with us for a long time, others for only a couple of weeks but we never like saying goodbye.
Here's a great photo of those leaving today. Alejandra (who arranged all their accommodation and did so much to help them), is in the middle at the front.

Wherever you are ... have a good weekend.
Stuart

Facebook

Camden College of English now has a group on Facebook... so, join!

Stuart

The things I've been thinking about recently...

School things...

1. Course books. They are often dull, repetitive and designed to fit students into the publishers' vision of a "level". In my heart, I also believe they suffocate some teachers, who end up doing nothing more than following the printed instructions.
   
2. The walls. As part of our relaunch (the new name will be revealed soon), we have decided to add a splash of colour to the walls of each classroom.
   
3. Expectations. Rob, Alejandra and I have been discussing student expectations over this busy summer. What exactly do you / they want? Our responsibility is to satisfy these expectations... but are they always reasonable? It's a very interesting debate and part of the process of always trying to improve the service we offer.

Non-school things...

1. Words. Benjamin is now 18 months old and is using more and more words. He celebrates each new one with a great big smile. I've never seen anything more amazing. His favourite is saying "bye-bye" to everyone and everything.
   
2. Books. My tube and bus journey to and from work has been a pleasure the last couple of weeks as I've been reading Graham Greene's The Heart of the Matter. Set in West Africa during the second world war, it is a painful story of honesty, religion and love. Very interesting.
   
3. Taking life seriously. I think a lot about this. I worry about the school. About Ben. About everything. I need to remind myself to enjoy it all!

Stuart

Flood!

If you read this blog regularly, you know we have moved to a new building and you will also know that as a Londoner, I don't believe it ever rains here.
Well, today it rained. In fact, it poured. It came down in buckets. The sky went black, the heavens opened and our basement flooded. What a disaster!!!
The afternoon was spent getting the water out and clearing up... a perfect way to end the week. On the way home this evening, I'm sure I saw a man with a beard directing pairs of animals onto a boat. Maybe I'm going mad.
Have a dry weekend.
Stuart

A perfect day

On Saturday Alejandra took a group of students on a day trip to Brighton. Some went swimming in the sea (very brave!), others went shopping or visited the cultural sites. And they all shared fish and chips!
This week we have a lot planned - including a Shakespeare play at the Globe, a party and a trip to Greenwich. I'll post photos and reviews after each activity.
Wherever you are... have a good week.
Stuart

Broken Link

What a disaster!
Yesterday we had a link to Rai, the Italian tv channel, for the news story about learning English in London. And now all I get is a message which says "Spiacenti. Il video richiesto non è più disponibile".

So... Camden College of English really was famous for only one day!

Stuart

Camden TV

Thanks to Rosa, an old student of the school, who sent this link from Italian TV of Camden College of English. I was expecting us to be on TG1 on Wednesday but instead we were on TG2 this weekend!
The link is 30 minutes of news and we are near the end... it's a piece about the Bell school in Cambridge and Camden College of English in London. You can see a clip of one lesson with Rob (with the orange sofas), two of our fantastic students talking (in front of the computer with the picture of the undergound) and then a shot of a group walking out the front door.
I'm very proud that our lovely little school was chosen to represent the world of language teaching in London.
Ciao!
Stuart

15 minutes of fame....

We had an exciting afternoon at school today because Michele Puccioni, an Italian television journalist, brought his crew to 42 Bloomsbury to film a news story. His report, for the Italian news programme TG1, concerns Italians studying English in London.
Some of our students were filmed in class and others were interviewed about their time here. Knowing that they would be on tv (and seen by millions... including parents and friends) they were all keen to tell their stories and look glamorous in front of the camera.
So... if you are in Italy, watch TG1 tomorrow (Wednesday) at 8pm and hopefully you will see the school and our students.

And if anybody can record it for me......

Ciao!

Stuart

She's the best!

If you have been sending emails to the school recently asking questions about courses, accommodation, social activities, London underground, the weather, IELTS exams... or anything else... you will have been in contact with Alejandra.
She is a one-woman army who fights with all her energy to get the best for her students. Sometimes there's a phone call from a student who says "I sent an email and you haven't replied yet."
"When did you send it?" asks Alejandra.
"10 minutes ago."



Alejandra is from Argentina and originally came to London in 1999 to study at Camden College of English with her boyfriend. Three years later she came back to take a Cambridge exam and the boyfriend had become a husband. And they're still here!

For the last four years she has been working with me in the office - and even though there are times of stress (moving to the new building, busy summers with lots of accommodation requests, British Council inspections), Ale is always positive.

So if you are coming to study here, be nice to her and if she looks stressed make her a coffee (with milk and one sugar!).

Stuart

Rain Stops Play

Just one minute away from the school is one of the most famous shops in London. For the last 175 James Smith & Sons has been selling the accessory that signifies the British... umbrellas.
Since I started teaching in 1988, I have always enjoyed telling my students that I don't have an umbrella, that I have never had an umbrella and that I will never have an umbrella. The reason for this? I'm a Londoner!
I don't consider rain to be a problem or a nuisance. It's part of life and not worth making a big fuss about. Rain happens.
Whenever we arrange something on the social programme our students always have one question: What happens if it rains?
My answer is always the same: We will get wet.
So yesterday we had a walking tour of Bloomsbury and it didn't rain. Today, Rob has taken a group of students to watch the tennis at Wimbledon. We have planned trips to go to the beach at Brighton and to watch Shakespeare in the open air Globe theatre. Over the summer we will also have picnics, football matches, trips to Oxford, music festivals... and all of them will be outside.
In fact, the only time rain is a problem is when I'm watching cricket. Of course, the most English of all sports, cricket, can only be played when it's not raining. And this sums up the character of the English - optimistic, open to challenges and not entirely realistic. Who else would invent a game less suited to their environment?
This afternoon I popped out to get a sandwich and the heavens opened. Monsoon. A deluge. As I ran past James Smith & Sons getting totally drenched I wished that I had an umbrella. Oh well.

Thanks Sally...

I have a lot to thank Sally for. During the time that she was a teacher and director of studies at Camden College of English she became the best and closest friend that anybody could wish for. Now that she is living in India I miss our daily chats...

One thing we talked a lot about was our shared passion for reading. We both agreed that too many recent books are about emotional breakdowns, failed relationships, mid-life crises...where are the great story tellers? we both asked.

Well, Sally, thanks for giving me a copy of "A Fine Balance" by Rohinton Mistry. It is the best book I've read in years. The four main characters are so real that they are still growing and living in my mind. If you want to go on a wonderful journey this summer then get this book... and if you don't trust me, trust Sally!

Stuart

A long, long week...

It's been a long week because Alejandra's been away. Part of her job is to answer all the emails, prepare invoices, arrange accommodation and generally be very nice to everyone. So, this week I've been Alejandra... and that's why I haven't had a chance to write the blog.

Quite a few emails have had the same request ... "I want my accommodation to be as close to the school as possible."

Of course, we don't want to place our students an hour away but.... (there's always a "but").... why AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE?

Surely, when coming to the biggest city in Europe a little travelling is expected. And you're going to be on holiday... so there's no rush (as long as you are not late for class!).

15 minutes on the bus or underground is a great experience. Look at all the faces, eavesdrop on some conversations (good for your English!), read the adverts, finish your homework, daydream, wonder what your friends are doing at home, feel very lucky to be away...

I know that it can be a bit frightening being in such a huge city but London is a gentle place where everyone is accepted.

Enjoy every moment of being here!

Stuart

An old joke...

There's an old joke that goes:
Q: How many psychoanalysts does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: One, but the lightbulb has to want to change.

Well, we've had a wonderful week with a very special course for a group of 11 psychoanalysts from Germany. They came here to prepare for a conference and took an intensive programme from 0900 to 1600 every day.

Congratulations to teachers Rebecca and Ashleigh (at the front) for putting so much effort and energy into the week. They were nervous at the beginning because it's not every day that you have a class full of psychoanalysts but in the end... everyone was happy.

Stuart

Blast from the Past

An old friend, Jo Eastlake, popped into the school today. Jo started as a teacher at Camden College of English in about 1991 and was there when I first joined. It was great to show her the new building and also to reminisce about the old days. We looked at some photos from the early 90s and could remember most of the students.
Jo is now teaching at SOAS but it would be fantastic to get her back here for a couple of lessons because she's one of the best.

Stuart