Teachers and students of Ronda’s Escuela Oficial de Idiomas (EOI) recently visited Kingston upon Thames in London as part of an EU sponsored program that brings together teachers and students of language schools for an interchange of culture and language.

The recent trip to London was led by the director of EOI, Eugenio Bermudez, and the head of English language studies, Piluca Gomez, whilst the students all work with the English language in their daily activities, including teaching in local schools. The group stayed in Kingston, and participated in workshops organised at the North Kingston School which was officiated by the mayor of the royal borough.

The main objective of the trip to Kingston was to participate in English language classes and workshops along with students from other EU nations under the umbrella of the EU Pathfinder language project that encourages groups of students to visit the native country of the language they are learning.

However, there was plenty of time for siteseeing as well, with memorable excursions into London to see the city of Westminster, though the night time cruise on the Thames was considered a highlight. Ronda’s contingent also visited nearby Richmond, the National Trust’s Ham House, and of course, no visit to Kingston would be complete without also posing in front of David Mach’s sculpture ‘Out of Order’.

The only sour note to the trip was a 12 hour wait for ash clouds to disperse and London’s airspace to be reopened.

EOI is the Junta de Andalucía’s official government owned language academy offering heavily subsidised language courses of up to 5 years and diploma level, and are part of a state initiative to improve the language skills of Spaniards in the global economy.

Clive Muir

I’ve been living in this lovely area of Western Andalucia for the last 20 years or so and dedicate most of my time to the running of English language tourist information websites for the towns of Cádiz, Ronda, Grazalema, the famous or infamous Caminito del Rey, and also Wildside Holidays, which promotes sustainable and eco-friendly businesses running wildlife and walking holidays in Spain. My articles contain affiliate links that will help you reserve a hotel, bus, train or activity in the area. You don’t pay more, but by using them you do support this website. Thankyou!