Job Discussion Forums

Kipling · Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2010 12:13 pm Post subject: London Schools to avoid???

Hi Everyone.
I may very well be returning to central London after a long absence abroad and wondered which schools I should avoid and which IYHO are the best schools to work for full time/part time (including Uni's)

Yours, Mr K Very Happy

Persuasion · Joined: 16 Sep 2009 Posts: 11 Location: East of Acton

I hate to disappoint you, Kipling, but there are almost no good schools left in London now. Many of those that were once regarded as 'cool' (IH, St Giles, etc) are now scraping the barrel management-wise, and pay crap wages with little hope of a proper contract. Some of these so-called schools are actually offering hourly rates that are BELOW those I was getting in London in 1999!

If you have the right qualifications and experience, you could approach one of the agencies that recruiit hourly-paid teachers for FE colleges and the like, but even here the pickings can be slim.

Quite simply, if you enjoy your teaching, get out of the private schools' Tefl nightmare and become a proper teacher - do a PGCE, in other words. If you're not keen on teaching, find another job - it shouldn't be difficult to find something (anything!) that pays better than, for example, the nightmarish Malvern house (nine quid an hour - 270 quid a week?!?!)

But good luck, and let us know how you get on. If you have any more questions, just ask .

Oh, and you'll probably find some of the worst EFL schools listed on one of these two blogs...

http://teflblacklist.blogspot.com

http://ukteflblacklist.blogspot.com

coledavis · Joined: 21 Jun 2003 Posts: 1838

If one ignores the pay (as practically everywhere pays awfully), then I would see if Edwards Language School in Ealing, west London, is recruiting. It's a nice place to work, with continuity in the teaching staff. If I wasn't out in Belarus, I'd go back there.

Dangermouse69 · Joined: 12 Jan 2015 Posts: 12

aliasrachel · Joined: 04 Aug 2014 Posts: 44

I briefly worked for St. Giles London and absolutely hated it. This was back in the early 2000s, and I'm certain is has got even worse in the past ten + years. Horrible pay, awful management, no loyalty or respect for their teachers (we were required to be 'on call' one hour per day in case someone called in sick but were not paid for this time unless we taught). Avoid at all costs.