Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this school at all, as its organizational processes are among the worst I have experienced in a long time.
I booked my course and homestay accommodation about nine months in advance, clearly stating that I follow a vegan diet and paying an additional fee for vegan meals. However, when I contacted my host family two weeks before the course started, I discovered that they had never been informed that I was vegan and were therefore unwilling to host me under those circumstances. The school had, of course, collected the additional fee for vegan meals but apparently paid no attention whatsoever to finding a host family that could actually provide them. As a result, I experienced a great deal of stress and had to exchange numerous emails with the school shortly before my four-week trip, costing me considerable time and energy.
To briefly summarize some of the other issues that occurred:
Three months before my course was due to start, I received an invitation to take the online placement test, followed by a "We look forward to welcoming you on Monday" email. They had apparently confused me with another student. Ironically, despite having already completed the placement test at that time, I later received another invitation and several reminder emails shortly before my actual start date because I had, naturally, not taken the test again.
At the same time, I received no information about my actual first day (such as which classroom to report to) and had to proactively contact the school myself on the Friday before the course began.
Even after completing the course and receiving my certificate of attendance, I continued to receive emails about social activities. Once again, I had to contact the school and ask them to stop sending emails, as I was no longer a student.
During the first week, there were also major problems with the heating system in the classroom. The room was excessively hot, and the temperature could not be adjusted, which caused me severe headaches and made it difficult to concentrate. In addition, a broken soap dispenser in the third-floor restroom was not dealt with until two days later, despite multiple reminders. Even simple issues like this seemed to overwhelm the staff.
The classrooms themselves and the facilities are quite old and worn down, making them far from an ideal environment for effective adult learning.
The one aspect I would like to praise is the teaching staff. I had regular classes with three different teachers, and all of them were excellent and delivered well-structured, engaging lessons. That should really be the most important thing. Unfortunately, however, the administrative staff behind the scenes seem to have very little control over their processes. For that reason, I would strongly recommend choosing a different school if you want to avoid unnecessary frustration and study in a professional, well-organized environment.
At this point, it can no longer be dismissed as a case of "people make mistakes." One isolated incident would be understandable, but the sheer number of things that went wrong throughout my time with the school points to a much deeper problem with its organization and administration. read more
