IH Palma | School profiles | Recruitment

Director: Andy Sampson
DoS: Fern Purdon
School and town profile:
Palma is both the capital of the island of Mallorca and the administrative capital of the autonomous province of the Balearic Islands. The resident population of the island is only about 600,000 but, of course, the non-resident population accounts for considerably more than this, especially in the peak tourist season. With its all-year-round mild to hot climate, Mallorca attracts visitors from Britain, Germany, Holland and the Scandinavian countries in particular.

The islanders are an increasingly cosmopolitan mix of Mallorquins, Latin Americans and other immigrants. Although some Mallorquins speak Catalan as a first language, Spanish is very much the dominant language around most of Mallorca, and Catalan is not promoted in the same way as it is in Barcelona and the rest of Catalonia.

Mallorca is surprising to many visitors in that it is by no means purely a tourist destination of the type characterised by Magaluf. In fact there are many wild beaches protected by law, and many picturesque towns and secret getaways, hidden from the main throng of tourists. It is for this reason that stars such as Michael Douglas, Claudia Schiffer and Boris Becker have houses here.

The island is served by a large airport, and it's a thirty minute hop over to Barcelona or Valencia, while Madrid is just an hour's flight away. Residents are eligible for a travel discount on all flights or ferries to to the mainland or to Ibiza and Menorca.

International House Palma de Mallorca (IH Palma) occupies all four floors of a large, elegant building in the very centre of the old city, on the Plaza de Cort, immediately opposite the city hall. The Plaza de Cort is one of the city's oldest, busiest and most attractive squares. Apart from the elegance and grandeur of its buildings, the square also contains an extraordinarily beautiful olive tree, above), which is said to be several centuries old.

The schools occupies one of the most prestigious buildings on the square. The area immediately around the school is known as the Old Quarter, is mostly pedestrianised, and contains many of the city's main tourist attractions, including the cathedral and the ancient Arab baths.

IH Palma has a street level entrance and reception, from where students can take a lift or the stairs up to the classrooms. The school occupies all 4 floors of the building and has 12 air-conditioned classrooms, as well as a number of offices and recreational areas, including a computer lab which students are able to use either before or after class.

The whole third floor of the school is also an internet wireless hotspot, meaning that students may connect to the internet using their own laptop (notebook) computers if they wish.
Contract dates:
October - mid-June (with work for some teachers in July and August)
Hours:
18 contact hours per week guaranteed, with the option of teaching more hours when these are available
Holidays:
Public holidays (usually around 5 days), two weeks at Christmas and ten days at Easter. There is a bonus of 75% of a month's salary paid at the end of the contract.
Accommodation:
At teacher's expense, though the school can help with the initial search for accommodation and may sometimes be able to provide temporary accommodation to new teachers.

Teachers can expect to spend around a third of their salary on shared accommodation in the centre of town.
Number of Students:
+/- 200 enrolments in school, around 50 clients in companies, plus CELTA trainees, plus +/- 20 students per week of Spanish
Breakdown of Students:
Adult English Courses: +/-100
Junior & adolescent English Courses: +/-100
Number of teachers:
Around 15 full and part time English, German and Spanish teachers
Facilities:
12 Classrooms, A Teacher's Room & Resource Room, Reception and self study area, TV's, VCR's, DVD's, OHP, data projector, computers with broadband internet access
Future Developments:
Cambridge exams (the school recently became an exam centre), Spanish
Main Activities:
General and Business English and German, Spanish, CELTA teacher training courses, study abroad.
International House Palma offers language classes in English, Spanish, and German.
Our teachers give classes to private individuals (either on a 1:1 or group basis) and also to privately organised groups. The school also has a large department dedicated to work-based learning: we give language classes in many public and private corporations, often funded through EU initiatives.
Notes on Contract:
Useful Info:
IH Palma welcomes applications from well-qualified, versatile, enthusiastic and hard-working teachers. In return for hard work and professionalism, we offer ongoing professional development, a warm and friendly working environment, the opportunity to gain valuable ESOL experience in a wide range of contexts, and the opportunity to work and live on one of the Mediterranean's most diverse and beautiful islands.