The English Breakfast Podcast

Send us a textJustin Benson, currently Head of Admissions at King Edwards School in Guildford has had a really colourful past. Brought up in Africa, he met future test cricket players such as Derek Pringle and Alan Donald and from there relocated to Cambridge, UK where he studied at St Faith's and then the famous Leys School. It was at the Leys that Justin realised that he had quite a cricket talent, to such an extent that he left school before completing his A'levels, played for Cambridgeshire and then trialled and was accepted to play for Leicestershire CC. Whilst at Leicestershire he played with some of most well known and famous English and overseas cricketers such as the fearsome Devon Malcolm, David Gower, Jonathan Agnew, Neil Foster and Phil "Daffy" De Freitas, not to mention Waqar Younis and his "toe-crushing" inswinging yorkers! After a distinguished career Justin went on to play for his beloved Ireland before hanging up his whites in 1993 to work at his former school The Leys. In this episode of The English Breakfast I speak with Justin about his career, the magnificent work that King Edwards does with vulnerable children, regrets, school and pints of beer in Cambridge!

Send us a textIt's not that common for me to have the opportunity to speak to someone who is as passionate as me about indie rock music, marketing and schools and so it gives me great pleasure to speak to Jane Flynn Blondel on the latest episode of The English Breakfast.Like all my guests, Jane has had a full and facinating career that took her from  university in Edinburgh, to Hong Kong, Singapore and South East Asia and back to the UK again, where she currently works as Head of Marketing for The National Mathematics and Science College or NatMatSci as it is affectionately called. In that time she has started her own record label, Records for Children, her own music promotion company, Songs for Children and promoted some of the biggest names in the indie rock scene such as Dinosaur Jr, The Libertines, Happy Mondays, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Slowdive and Swervedriver.I talk to Jane about life in Hong Kong and her experiences with the people from these bands - J Mascis, Pete Docherty, Bez and Sean Ryder to name but a few and how she came to be the go-to girl for bands wishing to play in Asia. A really facinating insight into the life of a seasoned and passionate music promoter.

Send us a textIn this month's episode of The English Breakfast I have the pleasure of speaking to Alex Tait, former Barnard Castle student and professional rugby player of Newcastle Falcons with caps also gained for England U-21's and U-19's. There is no doubt that his time at Barnard Castle School (which incidentally is one of Study UK's partner schools) provided Alex not only with a love for rugby but over and above this the tools, business nous and wherewithal to go further once his professional career was over. In this interview we talk about a wealth of things including the start of Alex's career whilst at school, the sacrifices he and his parents made to help him fulfil his dream, his time with Newcastle, working with the likes of Jonny Wilkinson and coach collosas Dean Richards, and then his retirement and subsequent founding of his own financial planning startup. What was it like having a younger brother who also played for England? Was there any sibling rivalry? Why were they known as Itchy and Scratchy?Find out all in this episode of The English Breakfast.You can find out more about Alex here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-tait-5282b583/ or you can also write to him to find out more about Barnard Castle School or his financial planning company, PWM at: alextait@pwmdirect.co.uk

Send us a textThis week on the English Breakfast I interview a young, talented and dynamic actor. Mairi Barclay has starred alongside some of the best known household names in British film, T.V and cinema such as One Day star, Jonny Weldon, Ed Speleers from Downton Abbey fame, not to mention the incredible Sir Ian McKellen - whom she worked with in 2022 on the theatre production of Mother Goose. We talk about her introduction to theatre, her beginnings treading the boards at her local theatre and dance club in Fife, Scotland as well as her approach to acting in a unstable and at times volatile industry. What was it like working alongside well known stars and what did she learn from the experience? What are her future plans? Find out all in this episode of the English Breakfast.If you would like to know more about Mairi then you can find her on Instagram at: @mairibarclay and also on X @mairibarclay

Send us a textI think that I've mentioned before that I was in London late last year attending the wonderful #BBSW. It was there that I met the flamboyant and slightly quirky Simon Jones, owner and chief podcaster of #TheBonjourAgency. We got talking as one does and Simon subsequently invited me to be a guest on his wonderful "I'd Rather be at the Beach" podcast. In this new episiode of #TheEnglishBreakfast  I turn the tables, so to speak, and talk to Simon about his life, podcasting and life in Paris. Thanks to Simon for making himself available - a really great talk with someone that I have already learned such a great deal from.If you like what you are listening to please subscribe to the podcast and support us. Additionally, if you'd like to contact Simon for any help or support with your school marketing or podcast, you can find him on LinkedIn or alternatively email him at: simon@thebonjouragency.com

Send us a textLast year I travelled to the UK to attend the British Boarding Schools Workshop where, over a pre-dinner drink, I had the fortune and pleasure of meeting Phil Gilchrist, Head of Admissions at Plymouth College. As the conversation unfolded, I discovered that Phil had previously been a professional premiership footballer and had played for renowned football clubs such as Leicester City, West Bromwich Albion and Nottingham Forest. I had to take the opportunity of finding out more about his life as a professional footballer and much to my delight, Phil agreed to have a chat with me about his experience as an elite sportsmen. In this first episode of the second series of The English Breakfast, we discuss Phil's journey through football, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Brian Clough, Martin O'Neil, Roy Keane and Robbie Savage (not to mention The Battle of Bramall Lane) and his eventual retirement and transition to schools admissions. A really interesting and insightful journey from someone who has an interesting tale to tell. 

Send us a textIn this episode of the Business Breakfast, I sit down and talk to the charming  James Nichols, Headmaster of the beautiful and historic all girls school, St Francis College.Situated in the UK's first garden town of Letchworth Garden in the picturesque county of Hertfordshire, St Francis School for Girls offers a truly Christian, community-based and holistic education that encourages girls to be "the best they can be at what they do best". Rather than educating A star pupils, St Francis educates girls that step out of their comfort zone to experiment new challenges. By the time they leave school, all St Francis students have a clear idea of who they are and what they would like to achieve in life.For a small school of around 450 students, with 60 boarders, St Francis actually boasts many top-class facilities such as a state-of-the-art West End type theatre, a new IT department, a swimming pool, athletics track and gym amongst other things. What struck me about the school was the community feel it generated - it is frequently lending its facilities to other local schools that don't posses such luxuries and even produces and presents theatre shows and productions to outside organisations and colleges. If you are looking for a top class all-girls education then I encourage you to have a look at St Francis. With its proximity to London and Cambridge, girls get to taste the best of both worlds - a quality, town-centred education with all the trimmings of an outstanding pastoral offering. For more information contact us at Pitt English Study UK: sam@pittenglish.cl or Clara Maggi at studyuk@pittenglish.clYou can find out more about St Francis School for Girls here: https://www.st-francis.herts.sch.uk/#studyuk #pittenglishstudyuk #britishboarding #boarding #opportunity #girlseducation #pittenglish

Send us a textIn this month's episode of The Business Breakfast, I am joined by the charming Chris and Vicky McAllister, Headmaster and Admissions Manager respectively of the wonderful Tettenhall College, situated in the beautiful village of Tettenhall, close to Wolverhampton, central EnglandTettenhall or TC as it is affectionately called, offers a personalised education to boys and girls aged 11 to 18 years old with an emphasis on putting "family" front and centre of its offering. What makes TC unique is its ability to not only educate children holistically, but also to get to know each family so that it works in parallel with their needs. TC prides itself on developing children with leadership and teamwork skills as well as developing their English through a quality EAL department This twinned with its focus on instilling strong christian virtues such as charity, care and work well-done makes TC an attractive place for South American families to send their children.

Send us a textIn this episode of the Business Breakfast, I have the real pleasure of talking to Tony Jackson, Headmaster of the wonderful Barnard Castle School. "Barney" as it affectionately called, is located in the north of England, about half an hour from  historic Durham and about an hour from the charismatic city of Newcastle. Pitt English Study UK recently started working with Barney as it offers overseas students something fairly unique, as Tony puts it nicely: " not a life full of tests but a preparation for the test of life". Barney educates and accepts students from all walks of life and educates them as a whole according to the strengths that they have.One of the advantages of sending Chilean students to Barney is that they will be attending and experencing a very English way of life. Of the 200 boarders that attend the school, only 40 are international students with the other 160 from the UK. There really is  no escaping the fact that students will learn and pick up the English language rapidly.Barney has a rural setting. It's surrounded by rolling hills and countryside but still has the benefit of being close to the beautiful village of Barnard Castle with a population of around 8,000 people and with lovely coffee shops, restaurants, and cultural attractions. If you would like us to help you send your child to Barney, then please contact us at Pitt English Study UK. Our service is free. In the meantime, this podcast will give you a very good idea as to what the school offers and how it could benefit your child. You can find out  more about our programme here:Instagram: go_studyukWeb: www.pittenglish.cl/studyukYou can find out more about Barnard Castle School here: barnardcastleschool.org.uk

Send us a textRatcliffe College is an Independent co-educational Catholic Boarding and day school, located in Leicestershire. It offers excellent state-of-the-art facilities, first-class teaching and outstanding pastoral care as well as a broad co-curricular activities offer. It is also in the top 1% of schools in the UK for Value Added. Ratcliffe is  a flagship Study UK school that Pitt English has been working with for the last year or so and one where we sent our first chilean student,  Raimundo Correa in September 2022.In this episode of the Business Breakfast, I talk to Jon Reddin, Headmaster of Ratcliffe about its ethos, offering, mission and vision and how it can add enourmous value to Chilean and South American students that wish to study there. You can find out more about Ratcliffe here: https://www.ratcliffecollege.com/about/ and about the pioneering Study UK programme here: https://pittenglish.cl/study-abroad-uk/