We all know there are lots of great things about visiting another country to study English.  Not only does your English improve, but you get to meet other people from all over the world and do and see lots of new things.  One of the many things that our students tell us is how much they enjoy their trips to old castles, houses, museums and art galleries.

Anyone learning English in Scotland will almost certainly be based in either Glasgow or Edinburgh(that’s why we have schools in each city!) and will, also almost certainly, visit the other city.  They are less than an hour apart by train and each is totally different.  But one thing you must see (apart from the Elephant House Café in Edinburgh, where JK Rowling began to write Harry Potter) is the painting that is probably the best-known and most famous work of art we have in Scotland.  

The painting in question is by the famous Spanish surrealist artist, Salvador Dali.  It’s “Christ of St John of the Cross” and it’s housed in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow.  The photo here was taken by one of our students, on a recent trip to Kelvingrove.

Dali painted this in 1951 and it was bought by the City of Glasgow in 1952, despite opposition from many local people who thought the price of £8,200 was too high and the money would be better spent on Scottish artists.  It is now worth at least £60million and Glasgow Council has turned down a bid of reputedly £80million from the Spanish government.

We are pleased to announce that the new website for Glasgow School of English will go live in February 2020.   We’ve spent the last six months working on a complete revision of the existing site.  Our new site will have a much improved facility for students and agents to book and pay for courses online, as well as essential information about Glasgow, Scotland, applying for a visa and student life, arts and culture. 

The screenshot below gives you a wee sneak preview of what the new site will look like.  The url for the new site will be the same as for the current site: www.glasgowschoolofenglish.com

One of the things we are often asked by people who are thinking about coming to study English in Scotland is, “will I be able to get…?”

The things we’re asked about are very varied.  For many students, it’s a question of whether they are able to get their preferred food in Glasgow or Edinburgh.  With increasing interest in vegetarian and vegan meals, not to mention the major world religions’ requirement for specific foods (e.g. halal/kosher), this is an important issue for many people.

The good news is that if you come to Glasgow School of English (or our sister school, Global School of English in Edinburgh), you’ll be spoiled for choice!  We regularly publish links to local shops, restaurants and cafes where you can get every type of food and our supermarkets have a wide choice of vegetarian and vegan food too.  But you must also find time to try some of our Scottish food – you can even get vegetarian haggis! 

Similarly, we are often asked about religious tolerance in Scotland (“Will I be able to go to a mosque/synagogue, etc.?”).  Here too, the good news is that although this is traditionally a Christian country, we welcome people of all faiths and none.  If you are a Muslim, there is a wide selection of mosques; similarly, for Orthodox Christians there are a number of churches you can attend; and Jews have synagogues to visit in all our major cities. Again, you can find regular posts on our Facebook and Twitter pages with links to these religious places.  

If you are not sure about anything to do with living and studying in Scotland, please contact us and we’ll be pleased to help you.  You can email any questions you have to: info@glasgowschoolofenglish.com