by Dr Val Hennessy, director
IH Bristol was started in 1987 as The Language Project by Val, while she was studying for her PhD. The school has been teaching students ever since and it is the biggest remaining family owned and operated language school in Bristol.
We joined the International House global network(Opens in a new tab/window) of affiliated language schools in 2009, renaming ourselves to 'International House Bristol', and became part of IALC (Opens in a new tab/window)in 2024. We are proud to be members of such highly regarded, diverse and vibrant organisations.
Over the course of the years, we expanded into two beautiful period buildings in the Clifton district and diversified into teacher training, exams, junior courses and much more.
In 2019-2020 we added a new custom-built student common room to our Queens Avenue building, furthering our ambition to always put the student experience first. Even better, we added some state of the art coffee makers so our students always have access to hot drinks entirely for free. There are microwaves and fridges to cover lunches and musical instruments available for students' use. We even have a table football table, which gives rise to all sorts of impromptu competitions.
We are working towards making our operation more environmentally sustainable and have so far installed 100s of ultra-low energy light fittings and fixtures and sophisticated heating controls and created bee-friendly planters for both buildings. We also banished cars in favour of bike racks and changed our forecourts into pleasant areas to sit and eat lunch or chat with friends.
When I started the school in 1987, I wanted to provide the highest quality English language teaching at the best price to the most diverse student body. That aspiration remains but it has expanded to include our exam centre and Teacher Training courses .
We have grown substantially from our modest beginnings in my front room but I am pleased to say that the growth has been rewarding, fuelled by those who work and study at International House Bristol and by other organisations we work with: Cambridge ESOL, Trinity London, OET, IELTS, Bromsgrove School, International House World Organisation & IALC.
Being a member of the best language school affiliations in the world is such a bonus. Being able to share our passion for teaching with others who feel the same makes us a truly global community. IH schools and IALC schools the world over share best practice and innovative ideas, which is why the International House and IALC networks go from strength to strength.
At International House Bristol, students come first and our focus on the individual ensures every EFL student benefits to the maximum from their time with us. They have access to online learning before, during and after their stay with us. Everything we do, from materials creation to safe-guarding, is done to provide each and every student with the best possible learning experience.
That's why we remain the premier school in the South West of England.
pictures of 'the Language Project' and Bristol in the noughties:
2 Queens Avenue's back garden and student common room
Our student common room was added in 2020
and opens out to our seating deck.
We have an upright piano in our adult common room and, of course,
football and ping pong tables for those friendly contested tournaments.
Our planters
In 2023 we added 7 large planters to our buildings and you can see the busy bees discreetly using them in the spring, summer and autumn.
Energy use
We have swapped all our classroom and office lighting to LED & lower energy lights.
Coffee is free at our adult centre!
We have 2 Jura coffee makers that will
grind the coffee beans and prepare your:
IH Bristol's young learner programmes include free
classes, offering young learners a chance to learn an additional skill while improving their English.
