Ryanair and Easyjet fly direct from the UK to Bari, and Alitalia and British Airways also have regular flights. Bari is a university city, and decent accommodation at reasonable rates is not always easy to find. We have managed to establish and maintain a good rapport with local landlords over the years, and for all new teachers we find centrally located accommodation in single rooms sharing furnished flats a short walking distance from the school at monthly rates of about 260 euro plus shared water, gas, condominium and electricity costs, with the possibility of extending into the summer months at the same rate., or a limited number of studio flats at around 400-450 euro monthly plus bills. Contracts are signed with the landlord directly by the teachers and require teachers to make payment of first month plus refundable damage deposit equal to one month’s rent at beginning of stayor alternatively payment of the first and final month when moving in.

INDUCTION WEEK: New teachers will participate in an induction programme under the guidance of our senior staff in the week prior to starting lessons. 

HOLIDAYS AND ITALIAN LESSONS: 
We offer the following  package of  paid holidays: February 14th to 16th, April 1st to 7th,  April 29 to May 2nd, June 2nd.
Recognising the important role of L1 in a learner-based programme of teaching (and the need to integrate quickly into the new environment), our school also gives all teachers the opportunity to participate free of charge in a course of Italian once a week throughout the school year.

BECOMING A CAMBRIDGE SPEAKING EXAMINER:   Lord Byron College is one of the largest test centres for Cambridge English in Italy, with over 3,000 candidates tested by our team of Cambridge speaking examiners both on the premises and in state schools throughout the year. All of our teachers are trained up as invigilators for these examinations, and those with three years’ teaching experience and CELTA or equivalent are also trained up as Cambridge Speaking Examiners, receiving an International Cambridge examiner code number that remains with them permanently and a special salary rate for all oral examining which is equivalent to more than double the normal hourly teaching rate. Although there are sessions running throughout the year, our Cambridge speaking examiners are particularly busy with examinations during the months of May and June, with most taking home a sizeable bonus packet for these examining hours at the end of June.

IN-HOUSE TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: AN EXCEPTIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR PROFESSIONAL AND CAREER DEVELOPMENT: 
Our mission gives equal importance to in house training for both students and teachers. We want our teachers’ stay with Lord Byron College to be rewarding and memorable and to give them the experience they need to move ahead in their teaching career. Regardless of their TEFL experience, all of our teachers are given the opportunity and encouragement to improve their skills in a supportive learning environment with a carefully planned training programme as an integral part of their teaching week. Teachers use widely recognised coursebooks and have free internet access, as well as access to a large selection of TEFL resource books, supplementary course books and materials, a library of over 200 TEFL methodology books and TEFL journals, and receive ongoing support from our Director of Studies and senior teachers, many of whom gained their DELTA Diplomas through our own in house courses. Teachers have ebook versions of all course books with all audio materials and all the main classrooms are equipped with projectors and high quality audio systems.

There are regular observation, tutorial and feedback sessions and great attention is paid to new teachers’ progress throughout the school year. The school invests in training programmes for all of our teachers. Training sessions are in all cases seen as paid working hours, carefully integrated into the working week, and graded according to the experience and needs of the teacher. At the end of their Lord Byron experience, all of our teachers, regardless of their initial level of experience, the skills, acquire the creative skills, knowledge and confidence to move ahead in their chosen career, backed up by a solid reference from one of the largest and most well established language institutions in Europe.

1) THE TEACHER DEVELOPMENT COURSE 

For newly qualified teachers and teachers with fewer than 2000 hours teaching experience who want to gain a broad range and depth of experience in a relatively short time.  Lord Byron College  offers a practical and involving programme of teacher development– plenary and focus group meetings and training sessions, guided individual planning, supportive observation sessions, feedback meetings and peer observation–designed to help the new teacher improve teaching skills and gain confidence in the classroom. This preparatory course runs on Friday mornings straight through the school year and aims to give newly qualified teachers the confidence and skills to handle any course situation, and teachers with one or two years experience the practical and theoretical skills to bridge the gap between Certificate standards and those required to start a Diploma course. At the same time this programme gives our teachers valuable input and provides a forum to exchange ideas and experiences in a supportive and constructive environment. If these teachers have acquired the necessary skills and expertise they can then apply to start the Diploma course in the following year.

Teachers who wish to add to their present qualifications can also join our free in house three module TKT course leading to the Cambridge TKT certification (http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/teaching-english/teaching-qualifications/tkt), for which our school is an accredited test centre, paying only the exam fees.

2) THE CAMBRIDGE DELTA MODULAR  COURSE 

 For teachers with at least three academic years’ teaching experience who see TEFL as a career choice and want to take that important step up.  For over two decades, our school has been a recognised preparation and examination centre for internationally recognised Diploma examinations, which are held at our school each year. Our school makes a sizeable investment annually to run this course each year. The modular DELTA course extends over a two school year period and includes 120 training hours in addition to guided self study, written assignments and observation . The course, which is recognised by Cambridge English, has been created in strict accordance with Cambridge DELTA specifications in a series of weekly workshops, seminars, lectures, study groups and tutorials designed to help our teachers bridge the important gap between Certificate and Diploma teaching standards and successfully complete all parts of the Diploma qualification by the end of their second year. Teachers are chosen each year to take part in the DELTA course on the basis of an entry examination and interview and over the years we have seen dozens of our teachers move from entry level teaching experience to DELTA qualifications, many achieved with Merit and Distinction.

The cost for external participants in the DELTA course is €2,400 excluding exam fees, which is what the course costs our school to run for each teacher taking part in the course. Those of our teachers chosen to take part in this in-house DELTA training course do so completely free of charge with all weekly DELTA meetings also calculated as working hours. As mentioned above, all Diploma meetings, scheduled observation sessions and feedback encounters with observers and trainers are calculated as paid working hours as part of the normal working week. Teachers who successfully complete the 120 hour course and all of the written assignments can register for the DELTA examinations and are required to pay only the examination fees. Teachers who pass the DELTA examinations and stay on with the Lord Byron College for another school year during which they are also involved in teacher development, observations and mentoring will  receive an increase in salary, reimbursement of their DELTA exam fees and can apply to train to become DELTA trainers themselves.

We are the only language school in Europe (and quite likely anywhere else) to offer our own teachers this unique opportunity and, in spite of the considerable costs and time involved, we are committed to this programme because we believe in the importance of professional development and training for our teachers, to help them move ahead in their careers.

Only 5% of all EFL teachers have a Diploma qualification, because the costs of this certification are beyond the reach of most EFL teachers. It is not possible to prepare for the DELTA solely by distance learning so teachers either need to take time off work and pay a large amount of money for a rushed, five week course with the added costs of accommodation in England, or else find work near enough to a recognised Diploma training centre and do a part time course over at least a year, again paying for an equally expensive programme, usually on their own with little or no support.

Our teachers are given the unique opportunity to prepare for the DELTA qualification free of charge, over a period of two academic years, in a supportive working environment, without having to take time off or pay expensive accommodation and course fees. They have access to a complete TEFL theory resource library and can take full advantage of being part of a team preparing for the examination together. Results our teachers have achieved reflect this advantage: we have been congratulated on more than one occasion by external examiners for the standards achieved by our candidates, and we have had a very high pass rate over the past seven years. Fifty-five of our teachers, many of them with little or no teaching experience when they started us, have so far successfully completely exam requirements for their Diploma qualification, several with distinction.

These teachers have since taken full advantage of the benefits of being part of the small percentage of DELTA qualified EFL teachers by being able to choose from top tier TEFL positions–both teaching and management–both with British Council and in prominent schools in the UK and abroad as full time teachers in both private and state sectors, directors of studies, centre managers, senior teachers and teacher trainers, as well as careers in publishing, human resources and in a whole range of private and government positions, aided by a solid teaching background in our internationally recognised language institution and the DELTA qualification .

As a teaching and learning organisation, our school is committed to helping all our teachers, whether starting out or experienced, to upgrade their professional skills and further their careers by insuring a productive and practical training and learning environment as an integral part of their period of employment with our school.

OUR TEACHERS SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCE AT LORD BYRON

“I received my DELTA results – a PASS on Module 3 and a PASS with Merit on Module 2! …I would like to extend my gratitude to you for offering this opportunity. As a result, more doors have been opened in terms of employment and I am seeing what my options are here in Canada and abroad….Reflecting on my experiences at my time at Lord Byron has reiterated the fact that very few other schools (especially in Toronto) offer any professional development at all. Thank you for seeing the value in helping your teachers grow. I sincerely appreciate all that you have done for me. ” Celine D.
“I’d like to thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to work in Lord Byron. During my time there I met so many fantastic people and I learned so many things, not only on a professional level but also on a personal level. It is, without a doubt, an experience that will stay with me forever.” Lena M.
“I’m extremely grateful for all of the opportunities that I was afforded whilst working at your school. After just two years , I’m now a Cambridge speaking examiner with what I hope will be a future in EAP teaching thanks to the DELTA that you provided for me.” Terry S.
“It’s been a pleasure working for you and the experience and
qualifications I’ve had the opportunity to get have been priceless. Thank you. ” Sarah W.
“Thank you for your continual support and trust in me.” Jessica F.
“I’ve learnt a lot about teaching and about myself. “Kirsty S.
“Thank you for a great year. It has been a fantastic experience for me.” Aileen F.
“My experience at Lord Byron has helped put my future teaching career on the right track”. Julie G
“Thank you for all of the opportunities provided, particularly the pre Diploma course and the Italian lessons. I’m sure that all I have learnt here will be of great use in the future.” Sarah M.
“I have enjoyed my time here tremendously and found Lord Byron College to be a well run and very professional school” James E
“I will recommend this school to anyone who should express an interest in teaching in Italy and developing as a teacher” Samuel D
“This year has provided me with valuable experience and enabled me to develop and enhance my own teaching skills within a friendly and supportive environment.” Joanna S.
“I had a great experience and will miss it. I am especially grateful for the chance to study for the DELTA and Cambridge exams, but most of all I will miss the wonderful people–both staff and students.” Laura L.

CONGRATULATIONS…
to our teachers who received their DELTA qualification in 2019: Edwina Laycock and Celine DeAlmeida; our teachers who received their DELTA qualification in 2017: Rowena Smith, Lucy Shakespeare, Francesca Berlen, Kate Taylor (Pass with Merit Module Two) and Gillian Scott; to Malachy Byrne who passed Module Two with Merit and Sebastian Shead who passed Module Two with Distinction, both in 2018;
and to all our teachers who have taken part in our Cambridge DELTA course over the past eleven years and received their DELTA qualification, many with merit and distinction : Steven Cameron, Catherine Spiers, Alice Kilpatrick, Terry Scott, Alison McKay , Caroline Collier, Khara Burgess, Rachael Jones. Rachel Jeffries, Benedict Reekes , Brooke Fleming, Rhiannon Fitzgerald, Sarah Wordsworth. Nicky Martin, Rachel Applegate, Jenan Ismail, Malcolm Davies, Katy Crowson, Jacosta VonAchten, Mark Elliott, Stephen Howard, Zoe Robson, Laura Gerrard, Alison Millar, Sarah Morse, Laura Laubache , Becky Wright , Rebecca Palmer, Caroline Oakley, Amy Spearman, Kiri Wood, Jonathan Ingham , Pippa Simmons, Lucy Nicholls , Melanie Drake, Niamh Finn, Naomi Rabin, Natasha Arain and Beatrice Shelley.

AND CONGRATULATIONS….

to former teachers Lucy Nicholls for her British Council senior appointment in the Far East, Allison Millar (DELTA qualified at our school) for her  executive position at Pearson Publishing, Mark Brooke (Diploma qualified at our school) on his teaching appointment with British Council, Hong Kong , Rachel Applegate for her London DOS posting, Jenan Ismail, who completed her PGCE course in England, Mark Elliott and Jacosta VonAchten for their teaching posting and acceptance for her Masters programme at Bilkent University, Ankara, and Natasha Arain, Sarah Forbes and Rachel Jeffries for their new careers in EFL publishing in London, Madrid and Dubhai.

WELL DONE EVERYONE!  WE ARE SO PROUD OF ALL OF YOU!

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