25 Years Empowering Language Learners and Teachers in Barcelona
Sponsored by Oxford House.
This month, language school and teacher training center in Barcelona, Oxford House, reached a milestone: it is now 25 years old. Whether you are new in Barcelona or a long-term resident, you are likely to have either heard of Oxford House, been student, attended an event or glanced inside on your way towards Passeig de Gracia. So, what is the story behind this school and how has it survived the turbulence of the last 25 years?
How a Controversial Poster Campaign Launched the First English Course: 1998
Let’s go back to August 1998. On the radio, Gloria Estafan was at number one in the charts, floppy disks were a thing and mobile phones were for business people with shoulder pads. Yes, twenty five years seems like a distant, yet fond, memory. In this year, Oxford House founders, Duncan Foord, Nick Rawlinson and Roland Hayward decided that they were sick and tired of working for bad bosses and decided that they could do it better. They wanted to create a school where people actually enjoyed working: Oxford House College (as it was called in those days) was born.
That year, they rented a small Eixample apartment with just five classrooms (and a kitchen, bathroom and a bath!) on Avenida Diagonal. The first Oxford House poster campaign was controversial to say the least. It featured a picture of James Dean and the slogan: “La vida es corta i intensa..nuestros cursos también.” Although Oxford House received a flurry of complaints for being in poor taste, its first language learner, called Albert, seemed to like it and he was enrolled. Following in Albert’s footsteps soon afterwards came a trickle of students and the first English class was formed.
How a Mystery Grandfather Saved the School: 2000
Around two years after opening, Oxford House was struggling. Several companies were not paying their outstanding fees and the original investors did not want to invest more. Oxford House was on the brink of closure until, luckily, one Oxford House teacher made a proposal which would change the destiny of the school forever. He convinced his wealthy grandfather to lend Oxford House the money they needed to keep going for one year. In fact, the money ended up being paid back to him after just six months. Nobody ever met the mystery grandfather called “Graham” but he will forever be remembered as the savior of Oxford House!
How Albert Gave Oxford House’s Mission Legs: 2004
After doing well for a few years, the small Eixample apartment began to burst at the seams and it was time to expand. During this time, Oxford House’s first English student, Albert, continued studying at Oxford House, and did so right up until 2012. This was a good sign as it proved that Oxford House was not only a language school where people enjoyed working; but also a school where people enjoyed learning. In 2004 Oxford House moved to a medium-sized space with ten classrooms on the first level of an apartment on Carrer de Girona.
“The biggest lesson for me over the last 25 years is that if you want a business, you have to trust people to make it grow. Otherwise you don’t have a business; you just have a job.” —Duncan Foord, Oxford TEFL Director
How Pre-pandemic Optimism and People Power Doubled the School Size: 2014-2019
In 2014, with around 500 language students, it was time to move again. After a few months of intensive searching, a spacious and modern building (which was being used at the time by an organization which promoted the Catalan language and culture) was found. It was more than double the size of the school on Carrer de Girona with 26 classrooms, a stunning garden and a large entrance on street level. It was also three times the rental cost of the school on Carrer de Girona. Was it risky? Yes. Exciting? Absolutely. But what business isn’t? The prime location, superb facilities and dedicated team made it a no-brainer. So, within six months, Oxford House had a new home: Carrer de la Diputació 279, next to Passeig de Gracia, which is where it has remained ever since. And this is where it doubled its Spanish and English student base in one year from 500 to around 1000 students.
In 2017 Oxford House gained accreditation from EAQUALS, the gold standard for language centers, and in 2018 from the Instituto Cervantes, proof of the excellence of Oxford House Spanish courses. Both accreditations were imperative in helping to develop the English and Spanish departments. They also contributed towards the design of the Developing Teacher with Spanish course which is ideal for those looking for a way to gain a long-term student visa to live and work in Spain. With Brexit looming, this brought hope to many aspiring TEFL teachers from the UK who had not given up on their dream of a new life in sunny Spain.
As well as language classes and TEFL teacher training courses the large school and modern facilities also lent themselves well to a number of events, one of which being the annual InnovateELT conference. Born in 2015 and attracting over 120 attendees in its first year, this event proved to be a winning formula for many ELT professionals looking for a solid platform to discuss topics that make a difference in the TEFL industry. Working within fields such as teaching, training, leadership, materials writing, publishing, and EdTech, attendees joined in discussions about the role of innovation in language education, made many new connections in ELT, and enjoyed plenty of craft beer.
How the Pandemic Solidified Oxford House’s Place as a Leader in Teacher Training: 2020-2023
As any business owner will tell you, keeping a business going during the COVID-19 pandemic presented its own unique challenges and opportunities. As an educational business which almost entirely relied on attendance in-center, managing over 1000 language students, 900 trainee teachers and 100 members of staff was a task which required huge amounts of responsibility, resilience and creativity. The pandemic pushed people apart but also brought people together in new and interesting ways; one of which being the desire to change career paths or study online.
In April 2020, Cambridge Assessment English decided to allow Cambridge CELTA courses (the most recognized TEFL certification worldwide) to be delivered 100% online. This had never been done before and, at that time, there was unprecedented demand for the CELTA qualification. So, it was a huge opportunity to be able to offer aspiring TEFL teachers, wherever they were in the world, a way to gain the CELTA online. Oxford House (or Oxford TEFL as the teacher training side of the business is known) developed one of the first online CELTA courses and received hugely positive feedback. As it turned out, the online CELTA with Oxford TEFL became the most popular online CELTA course worldwide, with around 800 teachers graduating in 2020.
“My role is to help aspiring English teachers navigate those first steps towards a future which aligns with their values and goals. The job of Oxford TEFL is to provide the high quality training and skills needed for them to then keep on going after that.” —Fran Austin, Oxford TEFL Sales & Marketing Director
In 2021, Oxford House and Oxford TEFL brought back face to face courses as well as nurtured existing online courses. This has included introducing new teacher development courses and also courses for those who wish to become a Spanish as a Foreign Language teacher (Certificado de Profesor de ELE).
How the Future of Oxford House Might Look: 2024 and Beyond
One thing is for sure: the next few years will be full of surprises. Running an educational business is exciting and unpredictable at times. As people have begun to understand better the role of technology in learning, such as in the use of AI, educational businesses have found themselves on the cusp of a new technological world just waiting to be discovered. The most important question is, what will a school where people actually enjoy working and learning look like in this new world? If the last 25 years is anything to go by, in this new chapter we can expect to see more exciting developments coming from Oxford House and Oxford TEFL.
Congratulations to Oxford House and Oxford TEFL on achieving this milestone and all the best for the next 25 years and beyond.
Would you like to learn Spanish in Barcelona? Find out about Oxford House’s low-cost and dynamic Spanish classes here.
Would you like to become a qualified English language teacher? Read about Oxford TEFL’s highly-rated CELTA courses in Barcelona or online here.
Already a TEFL teacher in Barcelona? Discover how you can specialize in ELT by taking one of Oxford TEFL’s teacher development courses here.
Sponsored by Oxford House. and written by Fran Austin, Sales & Marketing Director at Oxford TEFL.