BABSSCo News

BABSSCo has been named by the English Language Gazette as a centre of excellence

(Based on British Council Inspector’s publishable statements)

For summer 2012 BABSSCo has introduced two unique, exciting courses at Askham Bryan College, York with no English language learning. These one week courses can be added on to the General English and Activity courses:

• Horse Riding & Horse Care for the serious competent horse rider.
• Adventure Sports for the students who are looking for adventure and challenges in the great outdoors.

For summer 2011 the students attending the English & Piano Academy were delighted that Benjamin Grosvenor attended their recital at Steinway Hall to present them with their certificates. The students had the opportunity to ask this critically acclaimed teenager many questions about his life as a famous pianist. Benjamin first came to prominence as the outstanding winner of the Keyboard Final of the 2004 BBC Young Musician Competition at the age of eleven. Since then, Benjamin has become an internationally regarded pianist performing concerti with orchestras including the London Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony, and Brazilian Symphony in venues such as the Royal Festival Hall, Barbican, Muza Kawasaki and Carnegie Hall (at the age of thirteen). In 2011, having just turned nineteen, Benjamin performed with the BBC Symphony Orchestra on the First Night of the BBC Proms to a sold-out Royal Albert Hall. His performance of Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 dazzled critics, with The Times commenting on ‘the clarity and poetry of his panache, the airy grace of his arpeggios, the lack of flash buckles and bows'. Benjamin works with numerous esteemed conductors including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Jiří Bělohlávek and Vladimir Jurowski.

“The Piano Summer School from EdmissionUK and BABSSCo at Harrow School is a wonderful idea. It will enable piano students of all nationalities and all levels, including those already accomplished and wishing to apply for Conservatoire entrance or forthcoming competitions, to receive expert and enjoyable guidance from distinguished Professors and graduates from the Royal Academy of Music in a beautiful location with excellent facilities.” – Vladimir Ashkenazy

Where better to learn the game of Rugby Football than the place where it was founded in 1823? When William Webb Ellis, a local boy, first ran with the ball and invented the game of rugby football who could have known how popular this sport would grow across the world to become the much loved game we all love to follow. The qualified experienced RFU coaches assess students on arrival and after 21 hours of coaching they will leave with a thorough understanding of the sport.

Heathfield School featured in Harper’s Bazaar magazine March 2010 edition. The article details how many previous girls have gone on to become famous in the fashion and art industry. These young women lead the field as actresses, models, designers, fashion editors, writers, powerful PRs and publicists as well as set designers and producers. “It is definitely a school that produces confident people; it doesn’t squash people who are characters,” says luxury-goods PR Suzie Meighan. “That confidence plays a big part in allowing people to follow their dreams and make a successful career.” “Heathfield was a wonderful environment for me to be myself” says Camilla Johnson-Hill, who cut her fashion teeth at UK Vogue and is now a highly respected fashion producer who has worked for Burberry, Dior and Armani.

The article, in which Heathfield School is mentioned as ‘a school for style’ and having more than its fair share of fashion alumnae, coincided with the launch of the new one week ‘English with Style’ course being offered by Heathfield School and BABSSCo in summer 2010. This popular course is offered with either a week, two weeks or three weeks of the General English & Activity programme at Heathfield School. Places are limited so please apply early to avoid disappointment!

BABSSCo passes 10,000th student milestone in 2011

In 2011, BABSSCo welcomed its 10,000th student since the organisation was founded in 1995. Our courses have been attended by over 9,000 students from over 55 countries around the world.

Make friends from around the world

In 2011, students from the following countries learned English and had fun on BABSSCo courses: