London
Two unforgettable weeks
We’re Julia, from Spain, and Marie, from France. We’ve had an amazing two weeks here with Kate and Peter. We’ve done many things such as going to London (twice), to Canterbury, to Harry Potter Studios, to a pub quizz and even flying in a little four-seater airplane. It’s been a great experience, and although we were a bit worried about the food, it’s been very good!! Thank you Peter and Kate for this two week in England, we will never forget what you’ve done for us. Bye!!
Sunny days in St. Albans
Ana (14) and Nina (15), respectively from France and Germany: We spent three weeks at Kate's house in St. Albans, a lovely Roman town twenty minutes by train from London. Kate lives in a modern house (built in the 1960s) with her husband Peter. They have three children (Jonathan, Lucy and Hannah). Each of us had a tiny yet comfortable room where we liked to relax in the afternoon after the lessons in the morning. We also enjoyed watching films and Nina loved running in the evening in the nearby park. The lessons were absolutely fitted to our needs - as our English level is quite good we wanted to focus on speaking and pronunciation which we did.
We went on a few excursions to London, to visit the British Museum and the National Gallery, to go shopping in Camden Market and Oxford Street and to see Let It Be the musical (Nina is a crazy Beatlemaniac and was close to tears). On one day we went on the Harry Potter Studio Tour which was a truly magical experience. We even tried Butterbeer but it was a huge disappointment as it was strange. Obviously we spent lots of money in the shop and around London, so by the end of the second week we each had only about £30 left, but that wasn't a problem. We went on a one day excursion to Brighton where we got temporary tattoos, had fish and chips on the Brighton pier and Nina had a swim in the cooling sea. It was a very hot day and the city was crowded but absolutely lovely. We met the rest of the family (Kate's children and their partners) on our very first day here for a belated birthday meal in a pizzeria as Peter's birthday had been the day before. The family was very warm and welcoming so we didn't feel homesick at all. We met lots of the family's friends and chatted with them which helped us improve our speaking skills. Peter is a walking encyclopaedia and was always happy to tell us about the history of various buildings we saw on our way through the city. The weather was awesome and really warm, which was amazing as we actually got to tan a bit. Despite the stereotypes the food was very good and we gained a few pounds. We had lots of activities but also enough free time to relax in the garden. Ana and I became friends after initial insecurity/shyness and loved laughing, talking and watching films till midnight.
IELTS preparation in St Albans
My name is Hao. I came to Kate’s house to study for my IELTS. I got the result I needed. I’m happy.
Every Monday night we played Quiz in pub. Peter played Quiz very well.
Every Wednesday we went to concert to listen different music.
After my IELTS exam I worked in a charity shop.
I visited London, Cambridge and Whipsnade Zoo.
I spoke with Kate’s friends. They were very friendly. My speaking is much better.
Sometime we went to theatre to watch a play.
Our course in St. Albans
HI!
We are Mathilde and Silvia and we come from France and Italy. We spent two weeks in Saint Albans with Kate Irving.
We were welcomed by the teacher, Peter (her husband), Hannah (their daughter) and Thiebault (her boyfriend), and during the course we met the rest of the family: Jonathan and Lucy.
We had a chance to meet all the family, neighbours and friends, so we did a lot of conversation.
We did a lot of activities with Kate and Peter and on our own. We went to London 3 times to visit the city and to see a play at the Globe Theatre.
We really improved our English and had a lovely holiday.
XXX
Mathilde and Silvia
Adel and Tanguy in St Albans
We are two of Kate Irving`s students, Adel and Tanguy. We are 16. We came to England to study English for our future. Adel`s from Russia, Tanguy`s from Switzerland.
We had a great time with this family. We visited many amazing places. For example, first we visited London. It was wonderful. We saw Buckingham palace, Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, London Eye, Tower Bridge and many galleries. By the way, Adel went to the London Eye. She liked it very much. After that we had time to go shopping.
Next we visited Harry Potter. It was fantastic. We saw many unusual things, for example, Hogwarts from inside and outside and all teachers. But we were very surprised, when we saw Hogwarts outside, because… We won`t tell you why, you have to see it yourselves. Also we saw Harry`s room, his house, his clothes and “dark side” (Vol De Mort, etc). By the way, we took very interesting photos.
Then we had a good evening when we drove for a walk. We met very interesting people. We talked with them lots about everything. Also we had a lot of walking. After that we continue our conversations in local pub.
After that on Sunday it was very sunny and hot so we had a barbecue with Kate`s family. This family is the most interesting, the coolest when we`ve ever seen. Kate and Peter have got three marvellous children.
Next day we went to the zoo. It was Tanguy`s birthday. While we were driving in the car, we were playing “alphabets zoo”. It was very funny. In the zoo we saw a lot of animals: chimpanzees, bears, penguins, lions, elephants, cheetahs, giraffes, lemurs, etc. We really enjoyed presentation of birds and sea lions. We had a great time.
As well we had many concerts, live music. We did a lot of sport activities: especially climbing and swimming.
Finally, we want to say Kate`s the best teacher. She`s very clever, very beautiful, very funny and she really loves her students. By the way our English is better than at the beginning. We will never forget this learning course. Thank you to Kate and her family for everything
. 
Learning in St Albans
Hello, my name is Jiebin, i come from China, I’m 19. I stayed in St Albans with Kate and peter for ten weeks, i had plenty of fun with Kate’ family. I came to England to learn English and to prepare for the IELTS exam.
It was amazing to describe my long journey in England. I went to London, Durham, cambridge, Brighton, Blenheim Palace and the zoo, i especially like visiting Durham, Cambridge and London.
In Durham, Kate, Peter and i lived with Kate’ brother in law for two days, her brother in law was quite funny. He taught me cooking and we went to Durham university, It was very beautiful, then we visited the Durham cathedral, it was one thousand years old and still very beautiful.
In Cambridge, we visited Cambridge university and there were 30 colleges. we saw many building about famous people, like Isaac Newton’s accomodation.
In London, i visited the Madame Tussauds, which was very fantastic. There were 400 waxworks inside, including actors, singers, bands and politicians. It was quite interesting. Then i went to BFI cinema, tower bridge, Buckingham Palace and Chinatown, they all were good experiences for me
In addition, we still have many activities. We went to concert every Wednesday and i had lots of conversation to practice my socializing. Sometime, we visited some new teachers and Kate gave some advice to teachers.
Now, my English is much better and i will never forget this lovely journey !
Thank you for everything.
jiebin
New Year 2013 in St Albans
I stayed at Kate and Peter’s house for 2weeks from the date of December 26
AMAZING KATE AND PETER
Kate and Peter gave me the opportunity to have many exciting and amazing experiences.
Kate and Peter took me to many places.
I went to London and Cambridge and the Cotswolds. They are amazing places.
My confidence developed and I went to Brighton and London independently.
And they taught me a lot about history.
They often took me to a lot of local places. I met a lot of people in carols, concert, Nursing home, in pub. I also had many experience of real life in the community.
And St Albans is a very lovely city.
Most of all, they are always kind to me.
I want to come here again.
London is amazing!
Hi! I’m Tachapon, from Thailand and I’m 15 years old.
I came to London for one week to improve my English and I had a great time with my host family. We talked about my country, my religion, we cooked, we laughed, played football, we went sightseeing in the weekend and during the week we played computer games and we even went to the cinema to watch Skyfall which was fantastic. I am more confident about my pronunciation after this wonderful week that I spent with them!