School’s new centre really is top class!
WITH THEIR 20th anniversary fast approaching, the team at the Slaney Language School made a big move earlier this year, transferring their business to a town centre location.
Established in 1999 by Lisa Bartsch, the school started from humble beginnings, offering one-to-one and small group classes in St Helen’s Bay Resort, where they were based for about three years. The school moved from there to the castle in Slaney Manor where it was based until the beginning of this summer.
In June, the school set up in a new location in Channing House, Rowe Street, a development that Lisa describes as a good move as it is more convenient for their clients, most of whom do not have transport, and it would also benefit the local economy as shops, restaurants, etc were in close proximity to the school.
The school is now based over two floors, offering seven classrooms, a reception area, a common room, and a small study area. It also offers full disability access.
The school was founded by Lisa in 1999 when, after taking a year out from primary teaching in her home country of Germany, she came to Ireland, fell in love with the country and didn’t want to leave.
‘I had been a language student in the past and, with my own teaching background, I decided to set up a language school, on a very small basis. I had no business background so I started out with one or two students. Then I got a small group and it all grew from there.’
During the summer months, the sound of Italian and Spanish and, to a lesser extent, French and German accents ring out through the streets of the town, but Lisa says their client base stretches across the entire world, with students from Morocco, Malaysia, Japan, China, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Israel, Brazil and more, also coming through the doors to learn English.
At present, the school is catering for adult classes as students are back in school. Lisa says that while the students come to learn English, she and her staff learn a lot about their client’s cultures as well.
Lisa’s business partner Esteban Martinez is an English language travel agent who focuses mainly on directing students towards the courses on offer in Slaney Language School. Originally from Spain, Esteban has a Business degree and he mainly facilitates classes and courses for teenagers, secondary school placements and corporate clients, spending a lot of the year in Ireland.
The school runs all year round, offering every type of class to prospective students, from one-to-one classes to group learning. Adult group classes (for age 16 up) have a maximum of 12 students while teenage classes take a maximum of 15 pupils.
While the summer months are the busiest - groups take part in courses lasting from two to eight weeks, the school has a steady off-season trade and also offers family courses at Easter and in July/August.