★ 1 / 5
Horrible experience! I travelled to London in July 2022. I'm a 21-year-old girl, and the room they put me in had a in-suite bathroom, which I had to share with another student, a boy, who came into my room all the time to use the loo. My host was extremely irresponsible, she left me and the other student alone for three days and three nights. When I complained about all this the school said they were not aware of the situation, which goes to show that they do not conduct the appropriate inquiries pertaining to the house or the hosts, which is extremely dangerous for the students. They resorted to blaming me for not having reported the problems sooner, they didn't even admit that it had been their mistake and their negligence which had caused said problems in the first place.
On another note, I passed the Exam of Proficiency in English (Cambridge) with flying colours months before going to London, and I'm also studying to be an English-Spanish interpreter, on top of that I took their test two weeks before getting there, and they put me in a class which was very much below my level. I had to complain a total of 5 times (I spoke several times with the Director of Studies and also with the Principal) in order to finally get a solution which I was moderately content with. They told me they could not offer me a refund, even though none of their classes was suitable for me.
The worst of all is that every single one of my complaints was met with arrogance and dismissal. They belittled me, implied that I was exaggerating or being dramatic, and overall mistreated me repeatedly. They did not believe me when I told them about the bathroom situation. The entire time they blamed it all on my agent, the person who sold me the course, and at the same time my agent blamed it all on the school, which resulted in me not getting an adequate solution. I had to change accommodation 2 times, until I was placed (as per my request) in a flat by myself.
The classes aren't all that, either. After I insisted and insisted, they put me in a course for teachers of English, which was the best option under the circumstances, the course was interesting, the teacher was very good and I learnt things about methodology and teaching strategies, but that was not what I went to London for. I went there to further improve my English, not to learn about teaching techniques.
In my opinion, St Giles Highgate was very much disappointing. In general, the staff was not up to the mark, and what shocked me the most is their carelessness and irresponsibility. I got one apology from the Principal, but, honestly, it was too little too late. There were some members of staff who were kind and tried to help me, but their kindness is almost blotted out by the rudeness and irresponsibility of the others. Needless to say, I don't ever plan to go back to St Giles and I can't recommend them in good conscience to anyone.
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