We are delighted to announce that we have a new IH affiliate school in Italy. IH Schio-Vicenza is a community school in northern Italy directed by Julie Wallis. Many of you, especially Italian IH affiliates, may know Julie as she is the President of the Italian Association of Language Schools, AISLi.
The school was initially set up by Angela Chard as The London School of Languages in 1987. Julie Wallis joined in 1993 when there were just 29 students, and since then the school has grown quickly.
“Julie and all the team at IH Schio-Vicenza will bring so much to the International House network,” said Emma Hoyle, Managing Director of IH World. “Their dedication to quality, their students and their employees chimes perfectly with IH values.”
The IH affiliation will add another quality seal to this impressive institution along with their accreditations from the Veneto region, AISLi, EAQUALS, Cambridge English and authorisation from the Italian Ministry of Education.
In terms of courses, they have adult and young learner programmes on-site at their modern premises in Schio, Veneto but they also have a large number of off-site and online courses with businesses and state schools in the area. This all began in 1999 when the school began to work on the ‘Progetto Lingue 2000’. Since then, they have continued their work with an ever-increasing number of state schools across the Vicenza province and other provinces in the Veneto region. Other off-site courses include language training for businesses and exam preparation.
In mid-2020, the school changed location, moving from a building in Thiene to its current contemporary property in Schio, approximately 10 km away. A great deal of thought has gone into the new building with ideas taken from different sources. The layout of the rooms and the reception has been very well thought through and there are attractive displays around the building. There is an attention to detail that shows how much care has gone into making the space as comfortable and attractive as possible.
The school offers General, Business and Exam preparation courses for English, French, Spanish and German, both for groups and individuals. They cover a range of ages with options for adults, YLs, teens and VYLs. The YL courses are divided according to their age and level whereas teens are placed according to their level. They run Cambridge and Oxford exam preparation courses for private and public schools and English conversation classes. The school is also a teacher training centre, with courses available for teachers of all levels.
IH Schio-Vicenza has a strong focus on cultural and interpersonal exchange of ideas. Their innovative Language Café is designed to develop students’ speaking and listening skills outside of classes. All students are entitled to 1 hour a week with sessions covering different themes. Students are grouped and differentiated according to levels within the class with the focus on fluency. This allows for students from different groups of similar levels to practice their oral skills around a theme and exchange views and experiences.
IH Schio-Vicenza upholds so many of the IH values, making it a perfect addition to our network. The diverse team of extremely professional qualified language teachers support the learners, drawing on their vast experience and creating cutting-edge didactic materials. Language is taught through interactive activities that meet the needs and individual learning styles of the learners. The teachers themselves regularly attend training courses and seminars. The school believes in lifelong learning, not only for its clients but also for its staff.
We are so proud to welcome IH Schio-Vicenza to the network, it is a very high-quality school, driven by the needs of its students, and supportive of the professional needs of its teachers and staff. Not only are we excited by what the team will bring to the network, but we also can’t wait to see how they will benefit from being an IH member. Here’s to an exciting new journey ahead of us!