Meet St Giles London Highgate’s New Principal

Thomas Borrie joined St Giles London Highgate as Principal in February 2015. We asked him to tell us a bit more about himself, his background and his time as Principal so far.

Q: Tell us about your background in the ELT industry

A: I first came to St Giles London Central to gain my Trinity teaching qualification, although I wasn’t quite sure what I would do with it! I returned to London Central in 2006 as a temporary teacher and within a few weeks I knew that a career in English language teaching was what I wanted to do.

Between 2006 and 2010 I lived in Argentina and started working for a language school in Buenos Aires. After a few years a friend and I decided to open our own school. This was an extremely fun and challenging project and we learnt a lot very quickly about running a school and operating a business in another country! In 2010 I returned to the UK and started back at London Central. During my five years there I was lucky to gain a huge amount of experience in a variety of roles including Academic Counsellor and Assistant Director of Studies.

In February 2015 I was offered the chance to take on a new role as Principal at St Giles London Highgate and although I was extremely sad to say goodbye to so many wonderful colleagues and friends at London Central, I felt this was a great opportunity and an interesting challenge!

Q: How have your first 6 months at St Giles London Highgate gone?

A: So much has been going on at the school that the time really has flown by! Lots has changed since I arrived at Highgate, lots of work has been done on improving the building including new floors, carpets, classroom furniture and bathrooms. The school and its garden now look so fantastic! I really enjoy working at St Giles London Highgate, every day I meet new and interesting people from all over the world and there is such a happy and friendly atmosphere in the school.

Q: What do you see for the future of St Giles London Highgate?

A: I am sure the school will continue to grow and be a great place for students to come to improve their English and to experience a part of London that offers something different from the busy city centre and usual tourist attractions.

Find out more about studying English at St Giles London Highgate