Student age
These ages are averages from recent years, a guide rather than a guarantee for your visit.
8 nationalities
Switzerland
8%
Japan
8%
Türkiye
8%
Brazil
7%
Italy
6%
France
5%
South Korea
5%
Spain
4%
This mix of nationalities is an average from recent years, a guide rather than a guarantee for your visit.
Learn English at ST Giles London Highgate, where lessons wrap around a private garden and conservatory tucked into one of London's greenest, quietest corners. Central London is about 20 minutes away by public transport. The school has been teaching here since 1955, and its 25 classrooms keep that settled, established feel.
Classes stay small (average 8, never more than 12), taught by a mostly native-speaker team across a British Council and English UK accredited programme. Students aged 14 and up join, teenagers and older learners alike, in a mixed community where no single nationality dominates.
St Giles is right for you if you…
This suits students who want a calm, green Highgate setting with a relaxed yet academic atmosphere and a genuinely mixed-age community. Students who want to be right in the heart of the city may prefer a more central school.
Start with the students. Start date, trip length and language level are set per student next.
See how busy the school typically is throughout the year and choose the month that best suits your preferences.
One of the calmer months. A good fit if you like a relaxed school where it is easy to get to know your teachers and the people around you.
Busyness describes how full the school is, not class size or who you will study with.
The offering of St Giles
Everyday classes for speaking, listening, reading and writing. The starting point for most students.
From €444 per week
Longer stays cost less per week.
See the 8 coursesEveryday classes for speaking, listening, reading and writing. The starting point for most students.
From €268 per week
See the 7 coursesOne teacher, one student. Content and pace follow whatever you need to work on.
From €1,163 per week
Longer stays cost less per week.
See the 2 coursesTargeted practice for official exams, built around the exam dates.
From €490 per week
Longer stays cost less per week.
See the 2 courses€380 per week
Longer stays cost less per week.
Read about this courseCourses designed for young adults and teens.
€679 per week
Longer stays cost less per week.
Read about this courseA building full of other students, with shared kitchens and common rooms. Easiest way to meet people.
€559 per week
Sunday to Saturday.
Read about this stayA private room in a local household, with meals at the table. The most of the language you will speak outside class.
€266 per week
Sunday to Sunday. Your family is matched after booking.
How host family matching worksYou arrive at the school in the morning, ready to get started. The team runs a welcome session so you can meet staff and the other students beginning that week, then you're assigned to the class and timetable that match your level.
Monday afternoon is kept free for the school's welcome activity: a guided walking tour of one of London's lively neighbourhoods, included for everyone starting that week.
Step 1 of 4
Arrive at the school in the morning to begin your first day
Picture a summer evening barbecue in the school's own garden, followed later in the week by a pub crawl or a trip to the Sea Life Centre. Five activities run every week, and the school goes ahead even when only a handful of students sign up. The free programme covers museum visits, food market tours, art galleries and film nights, while paid evenings might mean a theatre trip, a pub crawl or bowling, alongside city walking tours and markets.
Day one welcome activity
A welcome activity on your first day introduces you to other new students alongside the usual class introductions.
Weekly social programme
A fixed weekly programme of activities runs even when only a few students sign up, giving you a regular reason to meet others outside class.
Picnic area and conservatory
On warmer days students drift out to the picnic area or settle into the conservatory between classes, an easy spot to start a conversation.
Pre-arrival WhatsApp group
Join a WhatsApp group before you arrive to start chatting with other incoming students ahead of your first day.
Included for free
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Included for free
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Included for free
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Included for free
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Lessons combine group study with a practical focus on speaking and listening, alongside regular work on reading, writing, vocabulary and grammar. Classes run in groups of up to 12, with an average of 10 students. If you want more individual attention, the English Plus route lets you combine group lessons with one-to-one tuition.Standard group lessons run from 09:00 to 15:50. General English is offered as 20 or 28 lessons a week, with intensive, morning and afternoon timetable options, and you can request a morning or afternoon preference when you book. During busier periods, additional afternoon lessons are scheduled once your placement is confirmed. An online placement test before you arrive sets your level, and courses run from beginner right through to C2 proficient.
ST Giles London Highgate attracts a broad international student community, with a notably high share of students arriving on their own rather than as part of a group. That pattern shapes the social side of the school: settling in depends less on who you already know and more on how you use the first few days. Connections start before you even land, continue through your first morning on site, and carry on through the weeks that follow. Here is how that works in practice.
An even mix of men and women.
Switzerland
8%
Japan
8%
Türkiye
8%
Brazil
7%
Italy
6%
France
5%
South Korea
5%
Spain
4%
A weekday here, as most students experience it.
From where you study to where you unwind: this is what you will find at the school.
British Council
External inspection.
English UK
Requires a separate accreditation or inspected status.
Every student has a designated support contact at the school, backed by a 24-hour emergency line, so help stays reachable outside class hours too. A formal safeguarding policy and on-site Safeguarding Officers sit behind all of this, with a background-checked team ready to step in when something comes up.
Emergencies are met with an average response time of under five minutes.
The school has recorded no serious safety incidents in the past two years.
Around one in five staff members are trained in first aid, with one on duty every day.
51 Shepherds Hill, London N6 5QP, UK
Nearby
The school can arrange an airport transfer to take you straight to your accommodation. If you prefer to make your own way, London City Airport links directly into the London Underground network, giving you a straightforward route towards Highgate.
Arrange an airport transfer through the school from City, Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton or Stansted airport straight to your accommodation.
From London City Airport, take the DLR to Bank, then change onto the Northern line northbound to Highgate station.
Licensed black taxis are available at a rank just outside the terminal building if you would rather go straight to your door.
You can also pre-book a licensed minicab or executive car to collect you from the airport's Short Stay car park.
Arriving by Eurostar, the school can also arrange a transfer from St Pancras station to your accommodation.
“Hello I’m Christopher from Taiwan 🇹🇼 I had studied at this school for half a year I really love everything in the school Rachel, Anna, and Susana were especially important to me, they not only helped me greatly with …”Mar 2026
“Hello I’m Christopher from Taiwan 🇹🇼 I had studied at this school for half a year I really love everything in the school Rachel, Anna, and Susana were espec…”
“The wonderful school where I studied English for two months in 2008. I miss my days here and in Muswell Hill. ❤️”
“Thanks to Finn, Izella, and Joesiah. They are amazing people who really help. And thanks to Anna, she is an amazing person, kind and fun, and she really help…”
The key school facts, terms and travel information in one place.
After the school confirms your booking, you pay a 30% down payment within 5 days. The full payment is due 29 days before arrival.
Flexible date changes and a full refund, up to 15 days before arrival. 10% cancellation fee between 13 and 1 days before arrival. No refund after the course starts.
Flexible date changes and a full refund, up to 30 days before arrival, 50% refund between 29 and 15 days before arrival. No refund after 15 days before arrival.
London has the following national holidays. Please note that schools might be closed on these days. The school will inform you about the exact dates once you request a booking.
Practical answers about the school and your stay.
Pay easily with your preferred payment method
From €268 per week, including course materials. You pay the school price, with no extra charge.
See schools in London that may fit you better on one important point.
