As we start a new year at ATC Language Schools, it’s a good time to think about everything that happened over the past 12 months. This year brought challenges, happy moments, and surprises that helped us grow and learn. In this post, we’ll look back at some of the highlights from our various channels, at some of the events and moments that we have shared, and what our students and partners around the world found of most interest.
January
- At the beginning of 2024 we were delighted to welcome adult students from 26 different countries around the world to learn English with ATC. It is very important to us that students have the opportunity to study with students from different countries, and to make our school a truly international environment, where students from all over the world can study English together in a comfortable and enjoyable environment. What a great way to start the year!
February
- In February we celebrated a very important holiday with our international students – Pancake Tuesday! Pancake Tuesday is a Christian Holiday that occurs just before the season of Lent begins. Lent is a time of fasting and the idea of Pancake Tuesday is that we use up all the sweet things in our kitchens so there will be no temptations during the season of fasting. Our students really enjoyed trying all the different toppings and ways to enjoy pancakes.
March
- St. Patrick’s Day is famous all over the world, and is the National Holiday of Ireland. In cities and towns all across the country there are parades, parties and celebrations, and the atmosphere is incredible. In the school, our teachers held fun quizzes for the students to see how much they actually knew about Ireland, and we held a raffle for all the students, where the winners received some great Ireland themed prizes. It was a fantastic way to introduce St. Patrick’s Day to students from outside of Ireland. Check out the full video here: St. Patrick’s Day with ATC
April
- While we hate to see our English language students leave ATC, all courses must come to an end. We like to celebrate with the students each week with a graduation ceremony, to congratulate them on their hard work studying English during their course with ATC, and giving them an opportunity to celebrate with others finishing on the same day, and to say goodbye to our wonderful teachers and staff. All our students leave knowing that they are always welcome back to ATC if they want to study English in Ireland with us again.
May
- Many of our students travel to Ireland in the hope of working while they study, and at ATC, we want to help students with this in any way we can. Last year we held a job fair in May, where we invited some local companies to the school, to meet our wonderful international students. This was a great opportunity for students to meet local employers, make connections and practice their English in a more formal setting. A huge thank you to the companies that attended our job fair, and congratulation to the students that were able to find work as a result. You can see more from the job fair here: ATC Job Fair
June
- In June we welcomed a group of Italian teachers to study English with us in ATC Dublin, and on their last day, they wanted to share their culture with other students. These wonderful teachers arranged a fun Italian lunch for students, and shared their favourite things to eat, drink and see in their home country. It was a pleasure to have them in our classes, and to learn a bit more about where they come from.
July
- In July we gave you a video tour of our self-catering residential accommodation in Dublin City Centre. Our apartments in From Here are made up of 8 single rooms with private bathrooms, all sharing a kitchen / living space. The self-catering residence offers an international experience, and is ideal for students that want a more independent lifestyle, and is only a 20 minute walk from ATC Dublin. You can see the full video tour here: ATC Dublin Residential Accommodation
August
- During the Summer of 2024, ATC welcomed international over 3,400 students to Ireland. ATC operate 8 summer camps across 7 locations in Ireland; University College Dublin, Trinity Hall, Limerick University, Maynooth University, Blackrock College, Kilkenny College, and ATC Bray. We welcomed students from 29 countries from ages 11 – 19. Our staff had a fabulous time running these programmes, helping students to not only improve their English skills but to make new international friends and create wonderful memories of their experiences in Ireland.
September
- In September our school in Bray was visited by 13 partner agents from around the world as part of a trip with Select Ireland. Every year, Select Ireland invites a group of agents from different countries to visit their carefully selected members schools in Ireland, to meet the teams that run these great schools, and learn more about them. We were so happy to welcome these agents to Bray, and even though it did start raining in the afternoon, the day was too enjoyable to be affected.
October
- As Halloween originally comes from Ireland, it is important that we celebrate with the students that study English with ATC. Not only did we carve pumpkins together, we also had different games and activities for the students to enjoy during the break times. Many of these activities are traditional and our staff would have played them when they were children too. You can learn more about the history of Halloween here: Halloween is from Ireland?
November
- During November we looked at the beauty of Bray. While being by the sea in the summer is lovely, and the sun shines all day most of the time; Bray in the winter is just as lovely. Even though the water can get very chilly during the winter, you will still see a few brave souls swimming in the Irish Sea.
December
- This year for Christmas we celebrated with our students by singing Christmas songs together. Each class prepared a song they chose, and performed it for the rest of the school. Even the teachers joined in and sang for their students. After the singing was finished, we had some sandwiches and sweets to share with the school. It was such a lovely way to share Christmas traditions from Ireland with our English language students from all over the world.
As we say goodbye to this year, we take with us the memories and lessons that will help us in the future. Whether this year was full of big changes, small wins, or just getting through, each moment mattered. Let’s welcome the New Year with hope and excitement, ready for whatever comes next. Thank you for being part of this journey – let’s see what the next year brings!
If you’d like to follow our events and experiences of our English language students in Bray and Dublin, why next follow our channels: