A BOURNEMOUTH language school has taken on a disused town centre building and given it a new lease of life.
Bright School of English has moved facilities and into the floors above the old HSBC bank in Old Christchurch 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’ve hired a coach for them from Laguna, they eat their lunch at El Murrino up the road. It’s all a massive amount of foreign currency that is coming to the town.”
Host families for the language students can also receive up to £800.
The Bright School of English is accredited by the British Council and offers a variety of courses for foreign students with prices ranging from £190 to £300 per week.
Prior to the pandemic, the international education sector was said to be worth £300million to the local economy, with around 50,000 students a year coming to the Bournemouth and Poole area.
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