English courses in England for professional people

Kingsway English Language centre is owned and run by husband and wife team Rick & Sue Johns. They live in a village near Worcester, so they are always around to look after you. The whole family, including Sue's mum, are often in school, so when we say "family atmosphere" we really mean it!

About Kingsway!


Kingsway English Language centre is based in a beautiful 18th century building of 800 square metres right in the centre of Worcester, just a few minutes' walk from the main shopping area.

There are 11 training classrooms, self-access centre, internet café, student lounge, kitchen and garden. High speed internet access (wired & wireless) is FREE for all. The atmosphere is professional but very friendly. Everyone is on first name terms and you will quickly feel comfortable mixing with the staff and other students.

What is so special about Kingsway?

  • The average age of our students is 39-40 years with a minimum age of 21 years; we are an adult school!
  • We usually have around 10 different nationalities in school and everyone is highly motivated
  • Quality at Kingsway is exceptional! The customer is king and attention to detail can be seen in every aspect of our training service
  • We have 23 years experience - we are old enough to have gained an international reputation for excellence in English language training, young enough to still love what we do
The Quay

Meet the team

Richard Ostick
SQM/Dir of Studies
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Richard is our Service Quality Manager & Director of Studies and is responsible for making sure you get the most out of your learning experience here at Kingsway. Rich's main priority is that you receive top quality teaching during your course and he is always available to give you the expert advice on learning strategies and techniques. He has extensive teaching experience in both Spain and the Czech Republic and you can also catch him in the local pub for some extra conversation practice!

Julie Harber
Asst Director of Studies
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Julie was born and brought up near Worcester. After leaving university she qualified as an English teacher and spent 15 years building up teaching experience throughout Europe. Her last assignment was teaching in Paris, and she has now returned to her home, joining the Kingsway team in 2011.

Debbie Taylor
E-Services Dir of Studies
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Debbie is a BA Hons in French who gained a lot of experience in the insurance and financial industries before becoming a qualified English teacher in 2000. She has been teaching English ever since, and brings a wealth of business knowledge to the school. She joined the Kingsway team in 2004.

Heidi Shipton
Teacher
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Heidi joined th Kingsway team in 2001 after 7 years experience teaching in Spain, Argentina and the UK. As well as having extensive experience teaching Business and General English, Heidi has also spent many years learning languages - she has a degree in French and German and can also speak Welsh!

Tony Frobisher
Teacher
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Tony has worked in a variety of management positions and was involved in such areas as strategic planning and development, logistics and line management before becoming and EFL trainer in 1997. He joined Kingsway in 2002 and his business background enables him to understand our clients' specific needs and objectives. Tony also has a passion for travel and has trekked through Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Annette Small
Teacher
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Annette is from California and brings substantial experience in finance, sales, marketing and IT to Kingsway - as well as an American accent! She started her teaching career in the Czech Republic & moved to Worcester with her English husband in 2003.

Ian Finney
Teacher
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Ian graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Music but chose to enter the world of English language teaching. He has over 20 years’ teaching experience – most of it acquired in Italy and France.
He joined the Kingsway team in January 2010.

Bob Whitelaw
Teacher
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Bob was born in London but has spent more time working in Australia than in the UK! He started out as a welder in the mining industry before deciding to train as a teacher. He has taught in France and Germany as well as Australia and joined the Kingsway team in 2010.

Zoe Fisher
Teacher
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Zoe took a degree in Social and Cultural Studies at Nottingham University before training to teach English as a Foreign Language. She then spent 7 years working abroad in Spain, France and Australia before joining the Kingsway team in 2010.

Jill Edkins
Teacher
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Jill joined Kingsway in 2008 after gaining more than 21 years' experience teaching English as a Foreign Language and, especially, English for Business. She taught in Spain for 15 years before moving back to the UK to take up a position teaching at a business centre in Portsmouth.

Karleen Sheppard
Teacher
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Karleen was educated in the USA and spent the early part of her career in speech & language therapy before qualifying as an EFL teacher in 1995. Since then she spent 13 years gaining experience in New Zealand before settling in the UK and joining the Kingsway team in 2010.

Sue Johns
Business Development
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Sue is one of the owners of Kingsway so shares ultimate responsibility for everything but especially academic, personnel & welfare issues. She works closely with Kingsway's corporate clients and language travel agents and advises potential students on suitable courses.

Rick Johns
Finance Manager
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Rick is responsible for, among other things, administration, finance and transport. He is a perfectionist and is obsessive about quality control (even at home!). His passion is buying up and restoring old buildings - he lives in one and works in another!

Emma Bennett
Sales Administrator
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Emma provides important back-office support for Kingsway's sales and marketing activities but she is familiar with all the administrative jobs at Kingsway as she used to be our Office Manager (before changing to part-time work). She holds a BA Hons in Languages for Business.

Kathy Wallbridge
Student Services Mgr
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Kathy is responsible for student services not related to lessons, for example : accommodation (hotels / homestay families), welfare (general help, medical appointments), and travel (airport transfers). She also makes sure everything runs smoothly at school during the day. If you need to know anything Kathy is usually the person to ask, and you can find her in the reception area of the school between 10am and 6pm daily.

Dan Coll
Social Manager
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Dan studied English and drama at university and then qualified to teach English in 2004. Dan has been a teacher at Kingsway since 2007 but now runs the social programme. He is often to be found in the lounge explaining the week’s social programme and getting signatures and money out of the students. Let him know what you would like to do!

Tim Henley
IT Systems
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Tim is responsible for all Kingsway's IT systems especially the internet. Being a 'cyber-geek' he is also happy to help students sort out any technical problems with their own computers. Tim also works with Rick to design and build the next Kingsway web site, so as you are reading this he is already working on the next one!

Click here for videos from Kingsway English Centre.