Castle School Blog

Happy New Year to all from Castle School of English. We have had a very enjoyable Christmas break and now we are back hoping to make 2020 our best year yet!

Have you been thinking about taking an English course this year? If you have, why not take a look at our website? You will find descriptions of the different classes we offer, learn more about our accommodation and you can even use our course calculator to find the price for the best course to suit you. We also add weekly blogs with helpful tips on adjusting to life in the UK and all the amazing events that Brighton has to offer.

Many students crave the food of their home country when they are in the UK and at Castle School we can help you find some great places in Brighton to make your stay a bit more palatable!

One of the best reasons to choose to come to Brighton is how wonderfully multi-cultural our town is with literally hundreds of places to eat in almost every cuisine imaginable. Many of our students and international staff have found a few places in Brighton that provide the perfect taste of home.

If you are coming to the UK to study, one of the many things to remember is exchanging your money into British currency.  Many students have said that they have found British money confusing so it might help you to know what to expect before you travel.

Money in the UK is referred to as pound sterling or GBP. It is available in £50, £20, £10 and £5 notes and the £2, £1, 50p, 20p, 10p, 5p, 2p and 1p coins. You will soon come to recognise the value of each one due to their different colours, sizes and shapes. The most useful ones to travellers are the £20, £10 and £5 notes. One of the main issues our students have faced are trying to use £50 notes in shops. Many smaller UK shops don’t accept these notes which can be very confusing! We advise, when exchanging your money, to choose smaller notes to avoid this situation.

All work and no play is no fun at all! That's why Castle School of English offers students a range of activities every week with our Adult Social Programme. Each week offers students the opportunity to make the most of their time in Brighton by inviting them to mix with others during fun filled afternoons and evenings.

Most of our activities change each week but there are some that students refuse to miss! Our English conversation evening is every Monday at The Craft Beer Company. It's a night many of our students enjoy as they are able to practice their English with Brighton's international community and make a few new friends at the same time!

Choosing your accommodation can be just as big a decision as picking your English course. Read below to find out what Castle School can offer…

What is available through the school?

Castle School offers single or shared rooms with homestay providers in Brighton & Hove. Students like to live within a homestay environment to get an insight into life in the UK whilst having the opportunity to practise their new English conversation skills. Students can choose to have breakfast and dinner provided for them or they can use their host’s kitchen to create their own meals. Just make sure you keep it tidy!

Some of you may have read our recent review on Google from Tassilo Boehm, our lovely intern pictured below (Thanks Tas!). At Castle School we really appreciate and look after our interns as we know it can be a daunting experience. So we thought we'd give any prospective new interns out there a bit of an insight into what Castle School can offer....

Internships within language schools are a great way of getting workplace experience, creating new skills and improving your English. As language schools are an international community you will be surrounded by people from all over the world which is a fantastic way to network, make new friends or to simply practice your communication skills.

Are you thinking about taking the IELTS exam?

At Castle School of English we offer IELTS exam preparation classes Monday to Friday 9.15am until 12.30pm. If you studied with us full time, you would be studying 15 hours IELTS exam preparation per week. We recommend 12 weeks of full time study for a good B2 student to achieve an IELTS score of 6.5.

IELTS is the International English Language Testing System and is jointly owned and managed by the British Council, Cambridge English Language Assessment and IDP Education Australia. The test is designed to assess the language ability of those who need to study or work where English is used as the language of communication. IELTS is required for entry to university in the UK and other countries, which is why we prepare our students for the academic IELTS test rather than the general training.

 What is Brighton Palace Pier?

Brighton Palace Pier is a beautiful Victorian pleasure pier. It opened in 1899. It is 525 meters long. Over 4 million people visit this pier every year. It is a very famous landmark in England.

Where exactly is it?

It is in the middle of Brighton beach, close to the city centre. If you walk to the sea from the train station, you will see it when you get to the beach.

What can I do there?

You can enjoy the fantastic sea air. You can try fish and chips and other traditional seaside food. If you are brave, you can go on the frightening amusement rides! You can play games in the amusement arcades. You can relax with a cup of tea. You can see Brighton from the sea!

Is it expensive?

It is free to go on the pier but take some money for the rides, food and amusements.

Visit The Seven Sisters

The Seven Sisters Country Park is a beautiful place to visit. It is in the South Downs National Park. It has wonderful views of the sea and is an adventure into the English countryside. A lot of people visit Seven Sisters each year. They enjoy the river valley, the grassland and the huge chalk cliffs. The air is fresh and the atmosphere is very relaxing.

The Seven Sisters are very high chalk cliffs. This part of England’s coast is very natural.

How to travel to there

Seven Sisters Country Park is near a very small place called Exceat, near Seaford in East Sussex. It is easy to travel there by bus. Buses from Brighton to Eastbourne or Seaford will stop at Seven Sisters. Ask the bus driver to be certain. There are also two car parks, but you will need to pay for a ticket.

Support in the lesson

Correction is very important in English lessons. It is the main advantage of practising English with the support of a teacher. Error correction does not normally occur when simply chatting outside of English lessons. Correction from one a learner’s friends or colleagues is very rare. It is often unhelpful or incorrect. Most people believe it is rude or inappropriate in a social situation.

Every English course

Correction is the rightful occupation of a language teacher. It helps learners learn faster. Correction helps learners avoid developing fossilised errors that they cannot “unlearn.”  All types of English courses, including General English, Conversation and Cambridge exam preparation courses (IELTS, CAE, FCE, etc) require correction.