ECS Scotland is an independent, British Council accredited English language training centre for adults aged 30+.
Our boutique training centre welcomes mature adults looking to gain or re-gain fluency in English together with like-minded adults of a similar age. Our aim is to help you enjoy using English and feel confident using the English you have in different situations.
About us
ECS Scotland is an independent British Council accredited English language training centre founded in Edinburgh in 1995 by Jane McKinlay and Ian McPhail.
Jane's daughters help her with the day-to-day running of the school. Laura and Flora take care of bookings, administration, social programme and generally helping the clients with getting to know Edinburgh and getting the most out of their course.
Jane takes care of the academic management and her fantastic team of friendly teachers.
Laura, Jane and Flora - a truly family run business!
Our aim has always been to provide a relaxed and positive learning environment for mature adults of all nationalities in which to practise and improve their English language skills. As a small, family-run school, the atmosphere is genuinely friendly and students are always made to feel welcome.
We believe small group learning is the key to success
Even in the era of globalisation, big companies and cheap services, ECS Scotland continues to maintain its original ethos of small group learning and reasonably priced, good quality teaching.
Our approach
Learning and teaching in the school is led by the Principal, Jane McKinlay, who has a long career in teaching English as a Foreign Language both in the UK and abroad.
Jane believes that small groups are the key to learning English effectively as it provides each student in the group with ample opportunity to practise and communicate. In addition to small groups, daily practice outside the classroom is essential. The ECS Scotland team makes sure that coffee breaks are taken together every morning as this provides an extra opportunity to speak English with other students and teachers in an informal social environment, simulating "small-talk" situations our clients often find themselves in during their daily work or social life.
Throughout the week we offer students the opportunity to "Walk & talk" with us around Edinburgh and we arrange social meetings in local bars and cultural visits for our students to chat with each other outside the classroom.
Small, friendly groups in the classroom and plenty of natural "small talk" opportunities outside the classroom give you confidence to use your English
Mission Statement
ECS Scotland focuses very much on the individual needs of adult clients learning English. We know individual attention is the key to successful language learning.
Our goal is to provide our clients’ with the tools and opportunities to improve their speaking and listening skills in English and gain confidence in using the language.
The school is small, with a friendly and supportive atmosphere and there is a strict policy on class size which does not allow more than five clients in a class at any time. This means every client has as much opportunity as possible to communicate and express themselves effectively in spoken English.
Everyone at ECS Scotland is committed to providing quality language learning and a rich cultural experience for all clients.
