EF Academy Oxford - Review #2

I would say that the uniqueness of Oxford EF Academy is in its location because it is really not far away from the City Centre (20 min walk or 5-10 mins by bus), its also 5 min walk away from the bus station that goes to City Centre, London Airports, London City Centre and that is a kind of thing I enjoy a lot - very comfortable. As well as school is located in a pretty green area with all the trees and squirrels around the study area and parks nearby.Also, comparing to other EF Academy schools, the school itself is smaller and that leads to closer student-teacher communication. I believe this is a good point, when it comes to better understanding of the subject and project work.

As what would happen in any kind of boarding school you really do grow as a person, which was noticed by my parents for example. You learn to be more organised and independent. You also learn to think about your financing.

I would honestly pay even more attention to teacher's advice than I did, which I thought was 100%. They really do warn you about a lot of things and if you miss them - you will regret. Anyways, my first month was great and except for what I mentioned, I would maybe think more carefully about how I spend money, I would seek advice from people who have lived here 1 year before.I would really advise to have the first-aid kit or just to have something you use at home (bring it there) because it might be really useful if your stomach hurts in the night or if you have a headache, or you need a band-aid. It's not very important, but I found it useful.

Location and student-teacher communication.

1. Really do listen to the teachers ALWAYS. It's important. 2. Ceasar sandwich is really nice, so check it out, when you don't have enough time to lunch. 3. Don't be afraid to make friends.

The workload is really intense, however, prepares you a lot for University, as I would say. I like the diversity of tasks we get, but mostly the work is all about analysing and evaluating in essays. I like the fact that you can choose your subjects, and in the beginning, you are still allowed to change some of them, in case you realised this is not your thing.

Participation is voluntary and you are not forced to attend the activities you don't like. However, IB requires a student to choose at least one. Coaches are the teachers themselves except for rock-climbing and yoga. Diversity is big, however, there is no volleyball that I wanted to attend. The good thing - you can start your own sport activity and school will provide you with a supervisor. There are competitions with other schools sometimes.

I used to attend theatre lessons but only for a short period of time because later I found it not very convenient to come on that particular day, however, the classes itself were pretty good, we played games and it was entertaining.

There are plenty of options here in Oxford, and you definitely can find a lot of things to enjoy doing after class. You need to check with school though which ones are they offering each year because it changes. I like that there are as well a lot of volunteering opportunities like being a pen-friend with old people, also taking care of them in the special centre, organising events for Children in Need and KEEN and many others.

Dorm life is really strict, there are a lot of rules you have to follow, but it feels really safe as there are guards at night, cameras on the stairs and a password is required to enter the building. I like the location - it is really close to where you have classes and extracurricular activities. Rooms are neither small or big, you do have a minimum of what you might need, and there is a little kitchen with a fridge and a microwave on the top floor.

I personally like the way canteen is organised - the ticket system, to avoid bigger lines (they are still big sometimes, but that's inevitable in any school), and that for a non-vegetarian and non-vegan student - there is always three options for lunch. Cafeteria hours are convenient with classes. You can sit both outside and inside and there is a lot of space.

Oxford is a small city, however, there are still quite a number of things to do, like cinema, bowling and other. It is truly a university town and it is very European like.

Social life is one of the best things - international students find common ground really easily and almost no one stays alone. Students make friends fast, an atmosphere is welcoming.