The History of Ingla School of English
May 2022 is Local and Community History Month in the UK. At Ingla, we pride ourselves on being a part of the north London community. In one form of another our English school has been a part of the Turnpike Lane, Wood Green, and Haringey communities for decades. In this blog, we’re going to tell you a little bit about the history of Ingla School of English.
The Early Days
If you walked down Turnpike Lane in the mid- to late-1990s, even then you could find an English school at 1 Wellington Terrace. At the time it was called the Wellington Study Centre. But we’re not going to go that far back. The history of Ingla School of English, with the people you know and study with, starts in 2010.
Back then, three friends who were working together at Wellington Study Centre decided to go into business together and start English and Skills Training London, also known as ESTL. You probably know one of the three friends, the current director, Michal.
At ESTL you could learn English or take a computer course (that’s where the “skills” part of the names comes from.
Ingla Becomes Ingla
In 2016, with two of the three directors of ESTL leaving, it was time for a fresh start. This is when Ingla was born, wearing orange and green. This is when the history of Ingla School of English really begins. There are no more computer classes, but there’s a wider variety of classes at school or online. When Ingla became Ingla, there was an explosion of creativity. Students can now take speaking classes; General English; IELTS, Cambridge or Trinity exam preparation; business English; and English for work or catering. The options are endless. Ingla is more forward looking and resilient. We survived the Covid-19 pandemic and our dedicated team is more close-knit than ever.
The history of Ingla school of English is the history of our community. We’re a part of Turnpike Lane and it’s a part of us. We have friends all over the neighbourhood, and we hope you’ll become one too. Let’s make history together.
This is Ingla School of English‘s weekly blog, intended as reading practise for our students in Turnpike Lane, in London, and around the globe. We hope you’ve enjoyed it and take a look at the rest of our writing, much of which has activities for teachers to use in the classroom.