Xaverian College...what a fantastic place…read more This is where I actually became who I am today. I know that sounds silly but this college is fantastic. I learnt more here in two years than I did in five years at high school. The teachers here really bring you out of yourself, they actually care about the students, not just about the grades. I'm still in touch with most of my tutors now, they care what I've been up to since I left and always get in touch to congratulate me on anything I achieve. The range of subjects is vast and the campus keeps getting bigger and better. It's much different to most other colleges as the buildings are spread right out although not too far so you can still walk to all of them comfortably. It's so different to school, everyone is treated as an adult and it was such a good grounding before university, I don't think I'd have been half as prepared for uni if it wasn't for Xaverian.

Well I found out tonight that once a month the Mancat catering students run an onsite bar &…read morerestaurant and I have to say I was blown away by the standard of food & the quality of the staff. Each month is a particular theme - tonight was Grill night. Starter choice was soup, shish kebab or Caesar salad. I had the shish kebab and it was Devine. Succulent, definitely home made and served on a small pitta with mint dressing - fancy restaurant style not kebab house style, For main I had rib-eye with peppercorn sauce, fat chips and watercress - all as good as a lot of the steaks I've eaten in some decent steak houses (trust me - steak is defo a speciality of mine). To finish I had chocolate roulade, chocolate sorbet, vanilla ice cream and cherry jus. This was equally as good as everything else. The icing on the cake, as well as the wonderful service, was the price - £14.95!!! What a wonderful find of a place to eat in North Manchester - Moston!!! Next month is a 6 course tasting menu & I can 100% say I will be going. Great food, great staff, great views out of the fourth floor of the Campus building and all for a ridiculously cheap price! Massive well done to the students and staff that make this possible - you're doing an amazing job.

Modern school, located in the city centre. Nice and friendly staff and teachers…read more Different grades and courses available.

Well, what can I say? After ten years out of the education game I decided to tip my toe back in the…read morelearning pool. After some well thought out deliberation I opted for a Masters degree in some marketing what-ever! So, after trawling through countless Postgraduate prospectus's I applied for a number of courses, off the top of my head Man Uni, Man Met, Huddersfield and so on. Bully for me I received all unconditional offers!! I was indeed on cloud number nine, the cock of the walk! So, Huddersfield University School of Marketing here I come?? WRONG! The idea of spending two years in part time study in the armpit of Yorkshire was about as appealing as three kicks to the groin. What did I want???? What was my problem?! I knew I wanted to learn a new skill, to develop my knowledge as it were! Then it hit me! Travel, I wanted to travel! I wanted out of the trap that was my life in a city that I was growing ever sick of! I was going to leave the land of the northern monkey and head west!! SOUTH AMERICA BABY!!!!! But I needed money!! I needed to work! Shit! What could I do?? Then it hit me like the zingy tingle of the sweet chili dressing on a scallies foot long subway! I would teach English!!!! Manchester Academy of English teacher training!!! I was accepted onto a part time CELTA course and here I find myself now!! Its been seven long weeks but I am loving every minute of it! The teaching contents and pace of study is achievable and realistic. The workload is heavy going, but the course outline and the expectations that are set from day one are clear and precise. Being one of them dyslexics I have had to work twice as hard, nothing new there then; but it has truly been a breath of fresh air! Okay, stay tuned for further progress and updates on my adventures!!! :-)

A great place to learn or develop your French whatever your level. The teachers are all French…read morenative speakers - really helpful when trying to get your accent right. The courses range from beginners 1 all the way up to advanced. Each course last 10 weeks with one three hour session a week - mainly during the evenings. Although, some courses are offered on a Saturday morning. Average class sizes are around 10 people. Cost of courses are pretty cheap at £5 an hour. One course offers 130 hours of teaching. The Alliance also has a library with a range of French dvd's, novels and newspapers - awesome! You want even more? Then you can attend the book club or watch a scheduled film with others. Highly recommend the courses here - I have completed Beginners 1 and starting Beginners 2.

Based upstairs in swishy Churchgate House, The Alliance Francaise is a centre for French language…read moreand culture. The Alliance offers classes in French at varying levels - from beginner's basics to complex classes for those who are almost fluent. They also host cultural events from plays in French to screenings of French cinema, as well as lots of one-off educational events. The offices themselves feel a little schoolish - lots of flyers and posters everywhere - but this is a learning environment and it is very welcoming. The staff are really really lovely and make you feel really welcome - even when you attempt to speak French terribly badly and embarrass yourself. They are patient and interesting and go out of their way to help you out. Tres bien.

This is also a HOTEL…read more Odd place to stay if you are visiting Manchester. The rooms are dorm like, and there is a lot of security after dark. In some ways this is good, but in others it was lacking. I think I would have liked a hotel in the city, but I was a guest of the university. The plus is the morning breakfast which I did enjoy, and the helpful staff at the front desk helped me hire a car service to the airport that was quick and affordable. Overall, ok, but not a place I would book as a regular traveler.

Since I attend the school for my doctorate I have to give it thumbs up…read more Pros: Great education and research. Faculty is top notch. Cons: Building is dated and admin processes can be a challenge.

I praise Cervantes for its successful launch of KinoFilm's 11th European Short film festival. It…read moreisn't a fair review, as it's primary services is being the biggest world institution dedicated to teaching Spanish and I'm yet to dare try this lingo. It's location on Deansgate means I always walk past it with intrigue. It's a pretty building sitting next to Greek partner Dimitri's with Don Marco on it's other neighbouring side, a very European corner indeed come to think about it. Inside I didn't realise how big it was. Waiting to enter the launch I found out they hold Salsa classes and Argentinian Tango classes if I was ever feeling adventurous enough. Entering the screening room was grand. The very high roof was impressive, gorgeous. We were seated like it was a neighbourhood watch meeting and at times I did feel like we were in a community hall. But I'd just have to look up to remind myself of the beauty of this building. Overall Cervantes did a good job in showcasing the work for the event and provided me and my friend with some good wine. I'm just sorry I don't have an urge to learn Spanish...

I've been taking a conversation/grammar class at Instituto Cervantes for a couple of months now and…read moreoverall I've been very happy with it. The class is actually a bit too difficult for me but they cancelled both the intermediate and advanced conversation classes so I didn't have much choice. Generally though the grammar exercises have been useful and the reading set for conversation very interesting. It could be slightly better organised in terms of sending us links for the articles and controlling the class more so we don't go massively off topic or ending up spending the whole class on grammar with no chat, but these are minor issues in what generally has been a good learning experience. The building is quite beautiful and historic and has been nicely remodelled using a lot of glass. The downside to this is that it is quite noisy, which is not ideal for language classes. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend IC if you'd like to learn Spanish though, and one extra bonus is that if you sign up for a class you get a whole year free membership of the library which has loads of DVDs as well as books.