I had a mixed experience at Kings Education Bournemouth.
On the bright side, the social activities were great, and the reception staff are exceptionally professional, patient, and friendly. A special thanks to my teachers, Hermann Swoboda and Robin Sylvester-Bradley; their creative and effective teaching made a real difference.
However, I was very disappointed with the management. They are extremely inflexible regarding level progression (especially at B1/B2 levels). Despite having my teachers' recommendations to move up, management kept delaying the process with illogical reasons. It’s frustrating when administrative hurdles prevent a student's academic growth
I took the 2 week summer course.
It was certainly very expensive and not perfect, but a very good experience with lifelong memories made. I would do it again for sure.
I personally saw mild improvement, but my peers speak English much better now. The staff was very friendly and the activities were mostly really fun, albeit physically exausting. At first i was afraid i'd get nowhere socially, but i made good friends within the first week.
The housing with the host families was somewhat uncomfortable personally, but it wont be an issue if you dont take a long course. The classes were a little repetetive at times, but far more enjoyable than regular school.
I really liked my time here and i can, although imperfect, strongly reccommend Kings for students.
Just overally a very poor quality school. Overcrowded, trying to cram in as many students into one small old-fashioned two storey house to maximise profits. It gets really hot during the summertime, especially as all buildings in the UK have built-in insulation, so you're literally cooked.
Staff are also very condescending to people with accents or with poorer English skills, often just switching off their ears when they see someone struggling and just assume what you're going to say (you work at a language school for crying out loud!). I didn't have this problem personally, and the staff were lovely to me, which made it even more obvious when they weren't. The entire UK is like this mostly, though, so I guess it's not unique to here.
The teaching quality is also like anything you'd get in your home country, though obviously it's in the UK and you would get more opportunities to apply skills outside the classroom. The certificate may also have some validity depending on where you're looking to study some point down the line (not in the UK, though, you'll probably always be asked for IELTS regardless (: )
Price of accommodation is also massively inflated. You can get cheaper rent privately or find cheaper homestay, but obviously you can't since you're probably under 18 and you need to be under their care because of immigration laws so they can just charge you £250 a week, give the homestay family £125, and pocket the rest. Just an absolutely brilliant business model. I wish I could make that sort of money by doing nothing!
The fact that they have turned off reviews at most of their locations tells you exactly what you need to know
Hi, I’m Osama and I studied at Kings School Bournemouth. Honestly, my English improved a lot in a short time! The teachers are super helpful and friendly, and the whole staff really cares about the students. The reception team was especially kind and very cooperative, always ready to help with anything. The school is full of students from all over the world, and everyone is nice and supportive.
I especially loved the grammar and vocabulary lessons, and their IELTS prep is great too. If you want to study English and see real progress, I highly recommend this school! I just wanted to share my honest experience because it was truly amazing.
This is good english school. There are a lot of different country students. So I can make friends. I learn many grammar and vocabulary. Teacher is good. My English is improv.