The purpose of this blog is to alert people who are
interested in taking the CELTA course or any course offered by Saxoncourt /
Shane Global in London, 59 South Molton Street.
To summarize: this school made me have one of the worst
nightmares I ever experienced.
SAXONCOURT IN THE
BLACKLIST
I searched for a number or places in London where I could
take my CELTA course (Cambridge Certificate in English Teaching). Saxoncourt
was on my top list because it was one of the cheapest (and that’s exactly what
I got: the cheapest!). I googled it to try to find out about the school. I ended up discovering (at the moment and also when it was too late) that the school has a very bad reputation. I found practically no positive reviews. The main thing I found was a blog entitled THE TEFL BACKLIST, which has a post with a collection of terrible things found on the internet about Saxoncourt / Shane Global.
http://teflblacklist.blogspot.it/2006/07/shane-schools-saxoncourt-recruitment.html
They mention mainly three things:
- The horrible working conditions of teachers;
- The poor quality of their teaching;
- How much they value money and business sometimes more than people and their teaching.
But I thought: “This post is from 2006, things must have
changed… and can you believe everything on the internet?” – Biggest mistake!!!
I wish I had believed it!
I entered some groups on Facebook and asked about Saxoncourt. No
one said anything except for one person: “You’ll be in the best place in
London!”.
MISLEADING
ADVERTISEMENT
Their websites
(
Saxoncourt and
Shane Global -
http://www.shaneuk.com/ )
seem very professional and attractive, we could find a few pictures of the
school in such angles that it seems a modern and clean place (apparently they
removed the pictures after I told them I was informed at a legal centre they
can be framed for misleading advertisement, but we can still see some pictures on
Google Maps or Google images). Also, it is on a prestigious street in central London.
I called the school, they interviewed me via skype, very nice people. It can’t
be that bad, can it? They made me feel safe, so I enrolled and paid for all the
course in advance before arriving in England to secure my place. But the
reality was far from what I expected.
BAD CONDITIONS OF
THE SCHOOL
When I arrived I found an old, dirty, stinky place:
pieces of broken furniture lying around, other old and disgusting furniture
which seems to have been taken from a garbage dump (not exaggerating), badly
cared and stinky bathrooms, dirty and unhygienic carpet, walls with lots of
stains, old paint coming off, some things that need to be fixed are disorderly
glued with adhesive tape, a pile of garbage a few centimetres from students who
sit by the window (see pictures below). This is a sign of big disrespect to their
clients. Lots of these things are unacceptable and very unprofessional. I was so shocked that I couldn't concentrate
on my studies. I tried to calm down and thought: “As
long as the learning experience is good...” Unfortunately it wasn’t.
BAD LEARNING
EXPERIENCE
The teacher was very rude, impatient, not approachable.
Just to give an example: when I gave my first class, she stayed at the back of
the classroom making faces of displeasure and shaking her head in disapproval
as she took notes. I felt horrible. After that, to give me my feedback, she looked
down on me: I CAN SEE YOU ARE AN EXPERIENCED TEACHER, BUT UNFORTUNATELY YOU
DON'T FOLLOW THE CELTA CRITERIA. I tried to justify what I did, she didn't give
me a chance to talk, she raised her hand on my face to "block" me and
said in a blunt way: I AM SORRY IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY WITH WHAT I AM SAYING, BUT
THIS IS MY JOB.
I thought many of her attitudes were unacceptable, she
was very offensive. I talked to my classmates to know about their opinion. Most
agreed that the school was in very bad conditions and the teacher was rude, but
they didn’t want to lose their money (most came from other countries or cities,
so they didn’t have a chance to see the school before enrolling). In my case, after
three days, I wasn't able to study anymore and decided to leave and ask for a
refund.
I LOST ALL MY
MONEY AND THE SCHOOL CALLED THE POLICE TO SEND ME AWAY!
The director and a coordinator called me in a room and
told me that according to the contract, I could not have a refund. I said I
wanted to exercise my right as a consumer to cancel the contract because they
failed to provide me a proper service and also because of the misleading
advertisement (putting pictures in such angles that disguise the decadent
conditions of the building). They said that is not misleading advertisement, that
is “marketing”.
I also explained that I come from a country where
teachers receive one of the worst salaries in the world (true!). I saved years of
my teacher’s salary and sold everything I had to travel and study abroad and
make this dream come true. I explained that was the only money I had to
continue my studies and build my future, and as an educational institution,
they have a big social responsibility. They answered:
“WE DON’T HAVE ANY SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. THIS IS BUSINESS.”
I answered back: "In that case, if you think about money first and not people, then you shouldn't direct an educational institution."
I lost all my money and I thought the way they treated me
was very disrespectful. I decided to protest: I stayed in front of the school
and gave every student who entered a paper with the link of Cambridge website
where they can complain about the school in case they have problems. The
director and some employees went there to try to stop me. They tried to get my
papers by force. In the end, they called the police to get me out of there. I explained
the situation to the police officers and told them I was exercising my freedom
of speech. They agreed and were friendly, but advised me not to stay there to
avoid problems. The school staff said that if I entered there, they would call
the police again, and then I would have a criminal record for trespassing. They
turned my dream into a nightmare.
TWO SIDES OF THE
STORY?
Some people may not believe me and I know it is difficult
to give credit to everything we find on the internet (I didn’t at first!). But
the pictures speak for themselves, so at least in this aspect I can prove. About
the quality of their job, isn’t it strange that we can find practically NO
positive reviews about Saxoncourt, but mainly a blog saying horrible things?
And after I posted this on Facebook, more people said bad things about it. Also,
I wish someone had alerted me before I made a decision to
study there, so this is what I am doing now. In case you decide to take the risk of studying at Saxoncourt /
Shane Global in London, look for references first and also visit the school
before enrolling.
PRECARIOUS STRUCTURE AND RESOURCES
Fortunately, I could raise money from my friends and family and went to St Giles in
Highgate. Then I could compare and see a big difference! St Giles is a very well-cared and beautiful place, appropriate
and clean classrooms equipped with technology such as Interactive Board with
internet and an installed sound system, big library with free access, computer
room exclusive for CELTA trainees with an extra library, friendly and helpful
tutors. Except for the tutors, which could be a personal opinion, NONE of the
other things can be found at Saxoncourt, where our classroom was in precarious
conditions: all we had was some decayed furniture and a simple board… and at
times we had to run from room to room to chase for some old, trashy CD player. Yes,
they have a computer room (but for the entire school, with only ONE computer reserved
for CELTA trainees), there was also a shelf with a dozen books that they called
“library”.
So if you plan on studying at some English school in London, you can find numerous options. Check what the school has to offer and look for references, maybe it is worth investing more. The cheapest could turn out to be the most expensive in the end.
Anyway, in spite of all these hardships and imbroglio at
Saxoncourt, I had a wonderful experience and a happy end with my CELTA course
at St Giles.
COMPLAINT TO
CAMBRIDGE
PICTURES
THIS IS HOW THEY SHOW (apparently they removed the pictures from their website, but it is still possible to see on google images and google maps). Blured pictures or just one angle to mask the bad conditions of the school. Perhaps the sign at the front door is one of the few things that look nice.
THIS IS HOW IT REALLY LOOKS
Floor
A close up on the floor
Pieces of furniture lying around
This is how they fix things
Rundown, stinky bathroom, toilet without lid. Also notice the condition on which the toilet is attached to the floor.
Holes on the wall
Paint coming off
A pile of garbage a few centimetres from students sitting next to the window.
Greasy, torn, dirty seat. Taken from a garbage dump? It matches the door.
A student's seat. Also take a look at the carpet.
Dirty, badly cared walls
