Whether it’s Star Wars, James Bond or a romantic love story, everyone loves a good film. Not only that, but while you have to have a reasonable level of English to watch most of them, there is no doubt that “going to the pictures” (as we say in Scotland) is a good way to improve your English.

To make things even more interesting, Cineworld’s cinema in Renfrew Street, just a few minutes walk from Glasgow School of English, is the tallest cinema building in the world. It has 18 screens and six floors and can accommodate up to 663 people.

We know that many of our students like going to the movies and there are lots to choose from at Cineworld. There are also other cinemas in Glasgow, including the Odeon Luxe and the Vue at Glasgow Fort in the east end of the city.

If you like films then you’ll be spoiled for choice when you come to study here in Glasgow.

Visiting a new country for the first time is always an exciting experience. For us, as two English language academics from Novosibirsk in Russia, it was particularly interesting as we were in Scotland to meet Andrew Lennox, the President of three schools of English, based in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

We arrived in Glasgow on 28^th of January and stayed there for nearly a week, with various excursions to Edinburgh and other Scottish cities and also had time to travel around the beautiful countryside (it really is a very beautiful place). During our time in the city we were really taken by the warm welcome we received: everyone is very friendly and helpful.

On the 29^th, we went with Andrew to Stirling University, to see the purpose-built campus (see picture below) where Hamilton School of English holds its summer programme for young learners.

Close by Stirling University is the Wallace Monument, an impressive tower that celebrates William Wallace, the Scottish patriot who led the war of independence in the 13^th century (he is the central figure in the movie Braveheart). We climbed the steps and from the top (see next photo) there is an amazing view of the surrounding countryside, including Stirling Castle (in the background on the lower ridge behind Andrew), which is also well worth a visit.

The next day we visited Glasgow School of English and then on the 31^st we went to Edinburgh to view Global School of English (see next photo) where we met Duncan Fitzhowie, the Director of Studies.

We were able to spend some time in a class in each School and were very impressed by the classrooms and the quality of teaching on offer. In both cities we went on “hop-on/off” tourist buses, which gave us a good idea of the range of buildings, museums, parks and other sites that are available for students to enjoy.

Finally, on our last day in Scotland we went to Oban, north of Glasgow on the west coast and also visited Loch Lomond and the countryside around it. It really is very scenic and it’s no surprise that Scotland was last year voted the most beautiful country in the world.

Throughout our stay we were very well looked after and had some lovely meals (see photo above!), with Andrew and a few of his colleagues. We took away an impression of a very safe and secure place where our students would feel at home and where they will be able to improve their English to a high standard.

Ekaterina Kostina,
Dean of the Faculty of Foreign Languages,
PhD, professor of the English Language Chair,
Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University.

 

If you are coming to study with us at Glasgow School of English then we hope you’ll enjoy your time in our city.  Our students tell us that the people here are very friendly and helpful and we are sure you’ll have a great time in Glasgow, but, like any big city, there are some things that you need to know before you arrive.  Here are three of the more important!

Buses

The buses in  Glasgow don’t give change: you have to pay the exact fare.  The driver will expect you to know the correct fare, but ask nicely and they ought to help you!

Underground railway

Glasgow is one of only two cities in the UK that has an underground railway (metro). The other is London but their underground is much bigger than ours.  Our underground is called the Subway and it’s very quick and efficient.  However, don’t travel on the  Subway when there is a football match at Ibrox (usually every second Saturday, from lunchtime onwards) as it gets VERY busy.

Free Arts and Museums

Most of art and culture in Glasgow is free. There are lots of great museums and Art Galleries,  The Transport Museum/Riverside Museum and  (see picture above) are among our favourites. We organise trips to many of the museums for our students.

 

 

 

Although obviously a Christian Saint, St Valentine’s Day is celebrated in many countries around the world and tonight many couples will have romantic dinners and quite a few people will propose marriage to their partner.

However, did you know that the actual St Valentine’s mortal remains are (probably) in Glasgow?

However, did you know that the actual St Valentine’s relics (bones/mortal remains) are – probably – in Glasgow?

Saint Valentine was an early Christian martyr (someone who is killed for his or her faith) from northern Italy. A French family is said to have given his bones to the Franciscan monks who had established a church in Cumberland Street in Glasgow in 1868. Now we have to be honest and say that churches in Terni, near Rome, and in Dublin also claim to hold the remains of Saint Valentine, and it’s also said that the bones were divided between the three locations.

Most people in Scotland had no idea about St Valentine’s remains and it was only when the Franciscans moved with the relics to the Blessed John Duns Scotus Church in Ballater Street in 1999 that the existence of the Saint’s remains became well known. Nowadays, anyone can go and see the small wooden casket in which St Valentine’s remains are kept. If you want to know more about this, or to go and see them, you can find out more at this link.