Meet John Duncan, Principal at ELC Bristol

Why do you think ELC Bristol is a Quality English school?

ELC Bristol is the number one school in the UK according to the EL Gazette’s rankings based on the British Council inspectors’ publishable statements.  However, I am not totally convinced by the rankings and cannot claim that ELC Bristol is any better than any of the other UK members of QE.   For me, what makes our school special is that we put the students at the very centre of everything we do.  The language market is a service industry and the students are our customers.  With 50 years’ experience, we realise we have to care for our students and help them in every way we can.  Our aim is to send them home happy, having experienced one of the best and most productive times in their lives. For me, it is all about the students and what they say about the school.  The wonderful feedback they give us is what makes ELC Bristol a Quality English school.  Their words are the most powerful marketing tool a school can have.

What made you join QE?

QE is a quality club where members can network and share ideas and best practice and QE also provides a great marketing platform to meet quality agents too.  Many of the schools we most respect were already members so this was a great incentive to join.  Also I like the name QUALITY ENGLISH – it says it all!

 Why would you recommend QE from what you know so far?

I am just about to go to Malta for my first QE workshop and I have to admit to being pretty excited about going.  I really like the way Jonathan and the QE team handle all the administration – they are really very friendly, professional, supportive and welcoming.  Moreover, looking at the list of quality agents who will attend, I am confident the workshop will be a very positive experience.

What are the main reasons to recommend ELC Bristol to an international student wishing to study in English?

ELC  is a family run school, run by myself and my wife Margaret - it is personal and I know the names of every student in the school, however, we could not realise our goals without the support of an amazing team of teachers who have been with us for many years – actually our teachers have an average of more than 20 years’ teaching experience and our Cambridge exam results are better than the national average.

What also makes ELC Bristol special is the location – Bristol really is a great student city and was recently voted the number one UK city by the Sunday Times.  A special advantage for our students is that they are able to join the clubs and societies of the University Students’ Union – the perfect way to make English friends.