St Giles International was founded in 1955 by Paul Lindsay and his wife Diana. Paul trained to be a teacher and started his career teaching English and French to native English speakers at a north London polytechnic.
Wanting to earn some more money for his upcoming marriage, he took a summer job at an English language school on Oxford Street. The school was bursting at its seams with foreign students and he was excited by the demand for learning English. So he saved up £100 and rented a small room in a back street of Soho, London, and launched a school of English.
Since then, St Giles has grown into an international organisation with 8 year-round centres in the UK, USA and Canada, as well as Junior Summer Courses in the UK, USA and Canada.
Paul Lindsay, the founder of St Giles, said “We were established a long time ago, but I am very pleased that all of the St Giles centres are today up-to-date and young in outlook, with vigorous lively teachers and administrative staff. Although we have all the latest electronic equipment, interactive whiteboards in the classrooms, self-access centres, new digital Language Labs, we haven’t overlooked the importance of good teaching. Our teachers are constantly updating their commitment to learner-centred learning and therefore the top priority of putting the student’s needs first.
We have every right to be proud of our high standards and our reputation. It is to the great credit of Mark Lindsay and all our wonderful staff that St Giles is celebrating its 60th anniversary. We look forward to many more anniversaries!”