Bright School of English has moved facilities and into the floors above the old HSBC bank in Old Road. Having opened in October, the new site was found because the language school was in need of extra space. And director Ben Morgan said the work – which includes revamping the inside and making rooms out of a large open space – is an investment of £35k and a lot of time and effort.
He said: “We needed something bigger for our juniors, and our previous place in Wootton Gardens [off Old Christchurch Road] was too small. “And what we’ve done is move the school to a better part of the town, it’s been a year in the making.” A new and very large student lounge is the centrepiece of Bright’s new home, boasting table tennis, pool, table football, a TV and seating areas.
“Some schools have table tennis in their student lounge, others have pool. None have both. It’s a wonderful space and it’s really unique what we have got here,” Ben added.
“The student lounge is also south facing – our old one was not, and it was freezing – so on a beautiful winter’s morning such as this it’s fantastic.” Bright’s School of English currently has students from Italy, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and France – predominantly over 16 years old. And all those students bring their money to spend in the local economy, Ben pointed out.
He said: “Right now, there are 31 Italian students in the school and they all need accommodation so are booked in the Trouville Hotel. “We’.