This past weekend, one of the most iconic festivals in Bristol took place; The Balloon Fiesta. This year, the biggest hot-air balloon event in Europe held its 37th edition and, during the 4 days that it lasted, attracted more than 500,000 members of the public to see more than 130 balloon teams participate. The good weather probably helped this year’s festival to be considered…

What I love about Bristol is that every time you have a walk around you probably will find a new and awesome place. But sometimes there are places that you miss if you haven’t been to visit in a while. Here is the selection of these special places for me; my top 5: 1. St Nicholas Market:  This market is a must if you are in the city centre. Established in XVIII century,…

Best opportunity to speak and practice English When students live in home stay accommodation, there is no other option but to speak English! We always encourage our students to speak as much English as possible with their hosts whether it be telling them about their day or getting to know them over dinner in the evenings. Enjoy a British experience By…

Lights decorating the streets, Christmas carols in every shop, people wearing ridiculously cute jumpers… You can’t deny the evidence: IT’S CHRISTMAS AGAIN!! I love this time of year in Bristol - The city seems to become a winter wonderland where everything looks shiny and bright. Despite this being my second winter in the UK, and coming from Spain (where I thought we celebrate Christmas…

English, English, English!  Elephant House has a strict ‘English-only’ policy which, I as the Warden encourage every day. Luckily the students don’t tend to speak their own language very often as there is a broad nationality mix. I think it’s very important for students to not just learn English in the classroom but also in a social…

The BLC Summer is always such a busy time that it comes as a sudden surprise when you find that the Junior Summer Programme is over already – time flies when you’re having fun! This year, we welcomed a really diverse mix of junior students from Spain, China, Italy, Jordan, Czech Republic, Belgium, Switzerland,…

I came to Bristol for the first time last year to work as an intern at BLC. It was a very useful experience: I improved my English and, at the same time, I learnt how a real work place works. I mainly helped Joanna at the reception dealing with new arrivals, student enquiries and phone calls. I also helped other staff members from different departments, since it was an extremely…

I joined the BLC team exactly a year ago as the new Group Coordinator. Having started my role in late May, most of the Junior Summer preparations had already been made. This year is completely different for me as I have been preparing for the Junior Programme 2014 right from the start…

"I've been studying at BLC for nine months as a student. I chose to come here to learn English because a friend of mine that he studied here and advised me to go to Bristol in BLC to learn English. I accepted his advice and he had reason, BLC is a fantastic school the teacher and the staff are very polite and available with the students. The social programme is well organise there three activities…

What is it that makes online learning so different from a traditional book or the face-to-face learning we enjoy with our tutors and classmates? While I conduct my current role as the teacher responsible for student support with the new BLC Anytime! online learning platform, I am given plenty of opportunities to reflect on this question.…