It is well known that England is the home of modern football. When Scotland played in the first international football match, against England, in Glasgow in 1872, both sides did not really pass the ball the way footballers do nowadays. Instead, the players tried to dribble the ball past opponents and then get near enough to the opposition goal to get it over the line. In England, some clubs began to pass the ball, but the greatest exponents of this new style of football were the Scots, who had developed a way of playing that encouraged the team to play the ball to each other rather than individuals trying to dribble with it.

 

 

Professional football (where the players are paid for playing, as they are today) had been introduced in England in 1885, but in Scotland many clubs were still amateur (this means they were not paid for playing). The English international team lost heavily a number of times to Scotland between 1878 and 1882 and this was due largely to the clever passing play of the Scots.

As a result, many English professional clubs signed Scots’ players. These Scots were called “Scotch Professors” and their influence led to a change in the way football was played which has continued up to the present day. Also, many of these Scots, and many English players too, introduced football across the then British Empire and beyond, particularly to countries such as Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil.

Football is the most popular game in the world, played constantly everywhere across the planet. The World Cup, where international football teams compete to be the best, is one of the biggest sporting occasions in the world. Yet did you know that Scotland was where the first official international football match was played?

International football began in Glasgow. On 30^th of November 1972, Scotland played England at Hamilton Crescent in the Partick area of the city.   This wasn’t a football ground: it was actually West of Scotland Cricket Club’s pitch! It is shown in the picture here and you can still go and see it today as it’s still used for cricket.

All eleven Scottish players came from Queen’s Park, who were at that time the best club side in Scotland. The English side was selected form nine different clubs. Around 4,000 spectators attended, paying one shilling (5 pence) each to do so.

Scotland had a goal disallowed in the first half when the umpires (there were not modern referees in those days) decided it had gone over the tape that was stretched between the posts (the crossbar that we know today wasn’t invented yet!). When the game ended, the score was 0-0, and international football, as we know it today, had been born.

 

Photo by Chris Upson, from Wikipedia.

Just like many other parts of the world, here in Scotland we have lots of wedding traditions. A few of the best known are the “Scramble,” where after the wedding has taken place, and as the bride is about to get into her wedding car, her father will throw a handful of coins for any watching children to scramble for, which just means they rush around excitedly trying to collect as much money as possible. This is supposed to bring financial luck to the newly married couple.

Another Scottish wedding tradition, more common in the east of the country than in the west, is for the bride to have her feet washed, either by a woman who has been married for a long time or by her friends, using water in which the long-married woman has dropped her wedding ring. There is also an equivalent tradition for the bridegroom, where he has his legs blackened with coal or soot and water. Sometimes, if he’s really unlucky, he’s made to sit in a tub of water too!

Lily Li was one of the earliest students to attend Glasgow School of English, way back in 1998. She is still here – not at the School, but married to a Scot and working as a paralegal specialising in immigration in her husband’s legal firm. She very kindly took some time recently to speak to me to tell me about her experiences when she came to Scotland and how Glasgow School of English was able to help her as she settled in what was then, for her, a very strange land…

“I am from Chengdu, the capital of southwestern China’s Sichuan province. My father was a professor and I came to Scotland because my brother-in-law’s older brother was a lecturer at Glasgow University. This was in the 1980s and he offered my sister the chance to come to Scotland. She was not sure if she wanted to, so, in 1988, I took her place!

“My relatives in Scotland knew Andrew Lennox, the gentleman who had founded Glasgow School of English the previous year, and suggested that I go there to learn the language. They helped me get the necessary visa to stay in the country and I started in the foundation course, with Steven as my first teacher. His wife was Chinese; she is also called Lily and she too taught at the School (and still does to this day!). I used to speak to her in Mandarin after classes. Steven was a very good teacher and his classes were interesting, academic and never dull. He helped me pass the Level 3 exam and I got an offer to go to university. However, I didn’t fancy that at the time and instead went to Stow College to do an HND in Business & Administration. I soon realised that was not for me and when I was looking for a job I was offered the chance to work at Global Connects, Andrew’s translation and interpreting company, as an interpreter.

“I remember my first job was to go to Maryhill Police Station, where the suspect was a Hong Kong Chinese who spoke Cantonese. I am a native Mandarin speaker, but I could get by in Cantonese and seemed to do all right on this first job, so Global Connects soon gave me more work. However, I quickly made the effort to become fluent in Cantonese as well as Mandarin. This ‘bilingualism’ is very useful for a ‘Chinese’ translator!

“Later in my career as an interpreter, I had to go early in the morning to a Glasgow police station to meet a lawyer and his client. The lawyer was from Edinburgh and very grumpy at having had to get up early to go to Glasgow. We worked together on this case for some time, but the person was found guilty and imprisoned. We, the lawyer and me, got life sentences. Yes reader, I married him!

“I’m often asked what it’s like for someone from abroad coming to Scotland to learn English. Well, for me, it was very different. China in those days was not like it is now. Today, I’d describe China, which I visit once a year, as like a fizzy drink, sparkling with so many commercial colours. Scotland in contrast, is a simpler country. But both are very friendly places, with nice people who will usually help strangers. Scotland is an especially beautiful country and the longer you stay here the more you appreciate the countryside and nature around you. I would really recommend that if you want to come to learn English in the UK you should come to Glasgow School of English.”

 

 

Other than Andrew Lennox, the School’s President, there is only one other person who was around back then. Her name is Lily McPake, and she was one of the two original teachers when Glasgow School of English opened its doors back in August 1997.

Or rather, as Lily explains, we didn’t so much as open our doors as hired a couple of rooms for the eight students who were the first to study at the School. These students were all from China, as is Lily. Her husband is a Scot who was teaching English in China, where they met and married before coming to live in Scotland.

When she arrived in Scotland, she had a job teaching Chinese at the University of Glasgow while her husband was working at St Andrew’s College of Education in the city. Andrew Lennox was, at that time, looking for teachers of English for the Chinese students he had coming to Glasgow to study the language and Lily’s husband was recommended to him as someone who could speak both Chinese and English. He, naturally, also recommended Lily! However, we’ll let Lily take up the story at this point…

“Our first classrooms were just plain rooms, not at all like the modern rooms and facilities we have now. There was no wifi, no interactive TV, some tables and chairs and a cassette player rather than the CD players we have nowadays.

“Because we only had two rooms, we were not able to split the students into more than two different levels of ability, so I was teaching a beginners/elementary class while he was taking the more advanced students.

“After a couple of years, my husband was offered a job at one of the big Glasgow Further Education Colleges. He’s been there ever since then, and I’ve remained here!

“I’ve had chances to go elsewhere, but I didn’t really fancy them. In particular, I was offered a job in London. I’d gone down there for the interview, but while the job seemed good the people there were not very friendly or helpful, so I turned it down.

“I think that last point is important. One of the reasons why I think Glasgow School has been so successful is that this is such a friendly place. The vast majority of people in Glasgow are really nice and someone will always talk to you or help you if you need help. We are much more welcoming than people are in London. After all my years here in the UK I’ve developed lots of good friendships and I also have many friends from abroad. They all say that when they come to Glasgow they are amazed at just how friendly everyone is – even though I tell them that before they come here!

“Admittedly, the weather here can be a bit rainy at times, but that’s more than offset by the warmth of the people. My experience over the last 20 years is that no-one is put off by a bit of rain, but they won’t be happy if the teaching is not of a high quality or the school is not helpful and welcoming.

“English is so important across the world. Obviously, that’s why Glasgow School of English succeeds, but I think there are other, equally important reasons. Firstly, we are a small, privately owned school. We don’t have big classes and once a class gets over 15 people we create another class. At the college where my husband teaches they have a lot of asylum seekers and classes of 20 and over. Our smaller class size means that we, as teachers, can give more attention to the students and there is more time for individuals to speak the language.

“Finally, you asked me ‘what’s the best thing about the School?’ Well, I’d say that there are several ‘best things’! Firstly, Andrew Lennox, who set it up all those years ago, is amazing. He goes all over the world and works so hard to market our School. Secondly, because we’re not too big, there is not too much bureaucracy: rather there is much more flexibility and if you need time off (for a family issue for example) then there is usually some way to allow this. We all work together for the good of the School and that shows in the feedback we get from the students. It’s a great place – otherwise I wouldn’t still be here, 20 years after we took our first, tentative steps with those hired rooms and eight students!”

Andrew Lennox is the founder and the driving force behind Glasgow School of English, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this week on Friday, 1^st September.

After leaving School in 1954 at the age of 15 for an apprenticeship in engineering, Andrew, left Honeywell Controls in his mid-20s for Strathclyde University. Graduating with a First in Mechanical Engineering, he then spent a lengthy career in industry (including a return stint at Honeywell) and Further Education. During his time as Depute Principal at Central College of Commerce, he travelled extensively around Europe, Russia and, eventually, China. He was the first person to bring large groups of mainland Chinese students into Glasgow and the West of Scotland in 1996, before taking early retirement from the College in December of that year, at the age of 57. His old career might have ended, but a new one was just beginning.

Inspired by his travels and with a clear appreciation of the value of bringing foreign students to study in Scotland, Andrew set up Glasgow School of English with two teachers, two classrooms and 25 Chinese students. Since those small beginnings, the School has grown and grown, helped by the increasingly diverse community living and working in Glasgow, the attractions of Scotland’s traditions and history and the vibrant new shopping and cultural amenities that are very much part and parcel of the modern city’s life.

As Glasgow School got busier with more students coming to study EFL (English as a Foreign Language) here, opportunities for expansion became apparent. In 2010, Andrew established Global School of English in Edinburgh and in 2012 the company bought Hamilton School of English to grow the numbers of young (school age) learners.

There are now over 50 different nationalities studying at Andrew’s Schools every year, with some 1200 students visiting Scotland and leaving with happy memories and, crucially, an enhanced knowledge of English that will serve them well in their careers both in their own countries and throughout the world.

Impressive though these figures are, what is particularly interesting is that, as Andrew recounts, in the early days the problems for the sector were similar to those today. Student visas were the big issue and back then the Westminster Government was concerned about the numbers coming into the country and trying to put pressure on the EFL sector in an attempt to reduce the migration figures.

Today, of course, the big issue is Brexit. The value of the pound certainly helps attract students, but worry and uncertainty about whether they will gain access to the UK is, Andrew believes, adversely affecting student numbers. In his view, the government does not seem to really understand the full economic benefits that overseas students bring.

Despite the considerable year on year declines in student numbers that the rest of the EFL industry reports, Glasgow School of English has as many students as in previous years. Andrew believes that there are several reasons for this. Firstly, even without the reduction in the exchange rate of the pound, the cost of living is lower than in many other cities in the UK, especially London. Secondly, the people of Glasgow are world renowned for being friendly to overseas visitors. Thirdly, the School has long-standing teachers – including Lily McPake, one of the two original teachers – who are immensely popular with their students and help their charges pass the accredited exams and then return to their home countries with their employment prospects considerably enhanced.

At the end of this week we’ll have a party in Glasgow School of English to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the School opening to students.  There will be cake, soft drinks, possibly some champagne, a balloon or two – and some guests who have been great friends to us over the years.  We’ll have some photos and an interview with Andrew Lennox, the School’s President and founder as well as a surprise or two!

The fact the School has been so successful is due to the hard work of everyone concerned, from Andrew himself to Vicki, the Director of Studies, all the admin staff and, of course, our fantastic teachers.  How do we know they are fantastic?  Simple, our students tell us!

We conduct interviews with students at the end of each term to ask them what they think of the classes and the School in general.  Last term (April – June), the results were even better than usual.  100% of the students who responded said they would recommend the  School, while 97% either agreed or agreed strongly that the lessons met their needs and 96% believed their English has improved as a result of studying here.  We think that, as well as our 20th anniversary, is something to celebrate!

This is definitely one of the most peculiar Scottish activities! Tossing the caber is one of the sports that take place at a Highland Games event. If you come to study here during our summer you may be able to go to a Highland Games. Highland Games, which originated in the Scottish Highlands and are now celebrated all over the world, are a wonderful day out, involving Highland dancing, bagpipe music and various athletic events. We’ll write about Highland Games in another blog soon.

Tossing the caber is a ‘heavyweight’ sport. It’s for large, very strong men, who have to pick up and then ‘toss’ a long, very heavy wooden pole, called a caber. In fact, it’s a tree trunk that has been cut and had the branches trimmed off it. The length of the caber can be from 16 feet to 22 feet (about 4.8 – 6.7 metres). One end is trimmed so that it’s slightly smaller than the other.

The caber is held upright and the thrower cups his hands under the end and lifts it up vertically, before ‘tossing’ it forwards. It’s not a question of throwing it as far as you can: you also have to try to ‘toss’ it so it goes in a straight line in front of you (imagine it going straight out like 12.00 on a clock). Marks are awarded for how straight you toss it. The distance it goes is not actually important and no marks are awarded for this.

It’s also very difficult, as this YouTube video, from a Highland Games in Nova Scotia in Canada, shows!

 

 

 

 

 

There is a BIG anniversary coming up soon!  Glasgow School of English will be 20 years old very soon.

It was around this time, back in 1997, that our first students, who were from China, began their classes at Glasgow School.  Since then, we’ve grown into a truly international school, helping thousands of students from all around the world to improve their English language skills.  Every year, we teach hundreds of students and improve their English language skills and help them achieve their academic or career goals.

This year is special though, because, it’s our 2oth anniversary and to celebrate we’re holding a party in the School on  the 1st of September. If you are one of our current students, watch out in the School for more information.  If you are considering coming to study in Scotland, keep an eye on this blog, our Facebook page and our Twitter account for more information about what’s going to happen!

 

 

A warm welcome to Jocelyn Lin
– our new Agent from Taiwan!

Although we know that a lot of our students Google us and find out more information about the School from our website, we also know that a lot of our students come to us from agents in their  home countries.   That’s why we are always pleased when we start to work with a new agent.

Andrew Lennox, the School’s President, recently met with Jocelyn Lin, our latest agent in Taiwan, in our Edinburgh office.

Jocelyn told Andrew, “Please accept my great gratitude for all your kind help. I do appreciate it and am very much looking forward to co-operating with you and your Schools.”

Thank you Jocelyn – we are really looking forward to working with you and we hope that we’ll see some students arriving from Taiwan to study at our Schools in Scotland in the very near future.