Author: Melissa

Anglo-Continental will be celebrating an important anniversary in 2020: 70 years since the school opened its doors to welcome the first students on 7^th August, 1950.

History of Anglo-Continental Educational Group
Fritz Schillig travelled from his native Switzerland to open Anglo-Continental with SFR 80 borrowed from his father, a sum soon repaid.  The school was originally called Anglo-Swiss and located in three rooms above a restaurant in Christchurch, with chairs, tables and a blackboard borrowed from a local school.

The rapid success of the school and the demand for good English language tuition meant that expansion was rapid and new premises had to be found.  The school moved to its present premises in Wimborne Road, Bournemouth in 1955.  With students enrolling from all over continental Europe, the name of the school was changed to Anglo-Continental to reflect the increasing population of students from all around the globe.  Today, Anglo-Continental is one of the largest English language schools in the UK and has taught English to over 400,000 students from 120 different countries.  The school continues to prosper and remains very much a family affair under the careful management of Fritz Schillig’s son, Guido Schillig.

Statement from the Board of Directors:
We are honoured to continue the legacy of Fritz Schillig and take our family run school into the next decade.  The Anglo-Continental Educational Group has been running successfully for 70 years and it has been through the support of our students, staff and agents that we have been able to achieve the excellent service, teaching, training and testing for which we have become renowned.

Guido Schillig, Managing Director and Jane Gorman, Director.

 

 

 

Anglo-Continental understands that being a beginner adult language learner can be frustrating and challenging. Our 70 years’ experience in teaching English means that we know how to support you in those important early stages of language learning. We have a dedicated team of qualified teachers who specialise in helping Beginners to make fast progress.

Our Beginners courses:

• Give you basic language that you can use immediately in and out of the classroom.
• Give you support with all four skills – speaking and listening based on practical language for meeting people, shopping, eating out etc., plus lots of new words that are used in everyday life. 
• Help with reading and writing based on functional real life texts and tasks.
• Help with literacy skills.
• Give you a weekly tutorial to help you focus on areas for development.
• Have an activities programme after lessons to allow you to try your new skills
• Self-access study on our learning platform and in class technology to promote fast progress.

Contact us for further details or visit the General English webpage.

Anglo-Continental Teacher Training Centre is proud to announce its partnership with m2r Education.  m2r Education is a leading education recruitment specialist that will be teaming up with Anglo-Continental to support its newly trained CELTA teachers to find roles worldwide!

Students who complete their CELTA course with Anglo-Continental will be given the opportunity to contact the m2r Education team for advice and support with regards to where to go after obtaining their teaching qualification.

Established in 2001, m2r Education is a multi-award winning UK based firm offering a quality and ethical recruitment service to overseas organisations within the education and training sectors. m2r Education has links worldwide and is therefore perfect for newly trained CELTA teachers looking for overseas roles.

Munir Mamujee, Managing Director at m2r Education commented, “Having met Matthew on a recent Training Gateway Trade Mission to the Middle East, it was clear that we could offer significant assistance to their CELTA graduates and I am delighted that conversations between our companies have led to the creation of this business partnership.”

Matthew Scott, Business Development Coordinator at Anglo-Continental, has expressed his support for the partnership stating that, “m2r Education’s customer experience focus means that our newly qualified CELTA trainees will get the highest level of support in finding their first overseas job. Anglo-Continental is always striving for quality and, by partnering up with m2r Education, we are adding value to our Teacher Training Programmes.”

Anglo-Continental is an approved Training Centre for the University of Cambridge Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults (CELTA) and has both full-time and part-time courses on offer throughout the year.  The CELTA qualification is the essential qualification for native English Teachers entering the English Language Teaching profession.  The course does not assume any previous teaching experience.  The scheme is administered by the University of Cambridge Examinations which ensures that the regulations and fundamental aims of the scheme are implemented.  Find out more about Anglo-Continental CELTA Courses:  https://www.anglo-continental.com/english-courses/teacher-training/celta-english-language-teaching-courses/

Find out more about m2r Education: http://www.m2rglobal.com/

I love the creativity and flexibility of Digital Media, and really enjoy working in this field. I have studied both Graphic Design and Digital Animation.  When social media exploded around the world, my career progressed into content creation for platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and more.

I visited Bournemouth on a weekend break in 2012 and fell in love with the beautiful coastal town. A year later, I was living in central Bournemouth.  There is so much to do and see in Bournemouth. From comic book conventions to the new ‘gastro-pub’ down the road, walks in the New Forest to wakeboarding in the bay, Bournemouth is an exciting place to live!

During the summer of 2017, I taught English at Anglo-Continental.  This was a dream of mine – to teach English as a foreign language.  During this time, I was informed of a digital media opening at the school, the position of Digital Marketing Coordinator.  I quickly pounced on the opportunity and was subsequently hired. Anglo-Continental is a world-class English teaching establishment, with friendly, professional and supportive staff.  I look forward to growing in my role and promoting Anglo-Continental around the world.

I have been learning English for nine years in Switzerland. I have spent the past two years working for an international electric company where I had to communicate a lot in English which I really enjoyed.  Last year I spent time in France for language stay.  I had an amazing time there and I learnt how to learn a different language in the actual country with native speakers around me.  As I had experienced how much fun an exchange could be, I wanted to do one more in England.

Now, through a special kind of apprenticeship, called KV-Plus, I am able to learn English for six months in Bournemouth and work there as well.  This is why I am doing my internship at Anglo-Continental. 

Doing an internship is one of the best ways to improve your English skills and gain more fluency. I think it’s really fascinating and interesting to be in touch with people from all around the world. 

Bournemouth is a lovely town and you can do many different activities.  When you go out in the town it’s a good way to learn English, but I recommend that you also make friends with other students from all over the globe. This means you have to speak English. It is really interesting to go out with people from different cultures.  You learn something about other cultures.  It is also nice to teach them a little bit about your culture.

Don’t worry about making friends.  All the people are really open-minded and want to get know other students as well, so it’s easy to make new friends.

To take part in an exchange is one of the best things you can do.  In addition to learning the language you will get so much experience about life and after this time you will have so many amazing memories.  I would recommend it to everyone.

Daniela (from Italy) and Jürg (from Switzerland) first met in the Student Centre at Anglo-Continental in 1966.  They fell in love and were soon married after their course.  This month they returned to Anglo-Continental to reminisce about the year they spent together at Anglo-Continental in Bournemouth.

On a tour of the school, Daniela and Jürg were surprised by how much the school and Bournemouth had changed.  The town has grown tremendously and the school has evolved into a modern teaching environment of the 21st century.  They were especially impressed with the Student Centre, where they first met, which has recently been modernised with state of the art equipment.

Daniela explained how she came to Anglo-Continental to study for one year to achieve her proficiency certificate.  Jürg also studied for a year but he enjoyed socialising and learned at a much more leisurely pace!  Daniela remembered that there were students from all around the world at the school – Asian, Arabic as well as European students (as is the case today!).  The teachers were easy to talk to and made the students feel that they could talk to them about anything.

Daniela used to love ballroom dancing.  During her stay Anglo-Continental organised a dance event at the Pavilion ballroom and the Mayor of Bournemouth attended the event!

Daniela and Jürg now live in Avignon, France with their two daughters, Réjane and Regina.

On Anglo-Continental’s 67th anniversary (Monday 7 August 2017) a memorial bench and gardens were unveiled in memory of Mr Fritz Schillig, Founder of Anglo-Continental.

Guido Schillig, Managing Director of Anglo-Continental gave a speech: 

“Today marks the 67^th anniversary of the day that Fritz, or FS as many used to call him, opened the doors to his school to welcome the first students who had travelled from abroad to come to Bournemouth in order to learn or improve their English.  It is therefore fitting that we should dedicate this bench in his memory on this day.

We would like to thank James, the Facilities Manager and his team for their efforts in placing the bench here and for the lovely garden that surrounds it. 

We hope that staff and students alike will take advantage of this bench and from time to time remember the man whose hard work and vision has given us Anglo-Continental as it is today.”

I have been working at Anglo-Continental for over 2 years.  I am the Business Development Coordinator for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa; which means I have done my fair share of travelling since joining!  The part of my job I enjoy the most is meeting new people; experiencing new cultures and being on hand to support students adjust to study in the UK.  I am also proud to be in a job where I can promote my hometown of Bournemouth!

                

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am a keen sportsman having studied Sports Management at Loughborough University – I have a season ticket at AFC Bournemouth (local team) and regularly try my hand at a number of different sports.  If I am not overseas for business, I am usually overseas for personal travel – I still have a bucket list of countries ready to tick off year on year!  A passion for both sport and travel culminated in me once cycling over 5,000 miles across Europe!

In my opinion what makes Anglo-Continental stand out when compared to other schools is its commitment to quality and its fantastic location within Bournemouth!

 

Efe Tekkanat is a second year media student at Bournemouth University and currently doing his internship at Anglo-Continental.  He writes regularly about culture and technology in his blog www.efetekkanat.com

“I’ve always wanted to work in the communication industry, whether it’s advertising, marketing or public relations.  After looking at the universities in Finland, I decided that, for an international career, I should take the big leap and move to the UK.  Regardless of what industry you’re aiming to work in, moving to England to study can be an immense boost for your career.  I chose Bournemouth University because of the reputation of its media school.  My degree (Communication and Media) offers me the widest skill set.  I’ve studied journalism, marketing and even linguistics on my course!  If you are into marketing and digital media, studying in Bournemouth might suit you, as the town has a vibrant and thriving marketing scene.  There are marketing networking events organised regularly and students are always welcomed to those.  Many students also appreciate that London is just a two-hour bus ride away.

A lot of my Finnish friends have asked me how I prepared myself to study in the UK.  It is important to note that a lot of your time will be spent reading in the library, so you should be comfortable reading and writing in English.  Here are some tips to get you ready for studying in an English academic environment:

1. Listen to and read English material as much as you can, as often as you can.  Read your favourite books in English, watch movies, listen to podcasts and audiobooks;
2. Consider signing up to English speaking online forums and connect with people that share the same interests as you.  It’s even better if you have the opportunity to visit England and study at a language school, before starting your university;
3. University is all about academic writing and demonstrating that you are able to defend your arguments.  A good thing to do is to set up a blog, research your favourite topics and start publishing your opinions.  The most important thing with this is to have fun and enjoy the learning experience.

In addition to this, I strongly recommend to try to intern at a company that you are passionate about.  I am doing mine at Anglo-Continental, which is one of the largest English language schools in the UK. Working at Anglo-Continental gives me the opportunity to learn more about education marketing.  I enjoy working with current and prospective students and meeting new people from around the globe, helping them to have an enjoyable learning experience.  Having applied through an education agent myself to study in Bournemouth, I know quite well how exciting the opportunity of studying abroad can be.”

Football is renowned for its ability to cross barriers and bring people together to celebrate their love of the game. The idea to combine this passion with the opportunity to learn new English skills and practice English in England led to the creation of Anglo-Continental’s English + Football Course in partnership with AFC Bournemouth.

The elation when AFC Bournemouth were promoted to the Premier League was felt throughout the town with parades along the prom and a roaring trade on Cherries memorabilia. Currently coming to the end of their second season playing within the Premier League, “The Cherries” have impressed many with their performance, determination and loyal fan base.  AFC Bournemouth remains a family focused club with links throughout the local community which was an integral reason for seeking a partnership with the Club.

Steve Cuss, Head of AFC Bournemouth’s Community  Sports Trust, “We are delighted to be partnering with Anglo-Continental for a second successive year, providing young international students with the opportunity to play football alongside their studies.”

It was particularly important to ensure that the programme was suitable for both boys and girls of all abilities. A balanced programme of English lessons, football coaching, activities and excursions was designed to ensure that whether they play for a team or prefer to enjoy a kick about with their friends each student would head home having felt that they experienced a flavour of English football along with making friends from around the world.

“It was a fantastic experience that everyone who practises football on a regular basis should try. The coaches were very nice and gave me a lot of advice and techniques to improve my game. It was also a very good way to improve my English with students from different cultures.” Thibault, France.

“This was the best experience of my life. I improved my football and English and made friends from around the world.” Giacomo, Italy.