International House London

Our story 

Our story began in 1953, with our founders John Haycraft (CBE) and his wife Brita Haycraft who started a school because they believed in international communication and building communities across cultures.Our founders pioneered the very first teacher training qualification (in 1962), now known as the CELTA and assessed by the University of Cambridge. IH London still believes in inspiring people to be the best they can be.Today our adult school is in the beautiful Covent Garden, central London. Everything London has to offer can be reached from our front door.Our modern air conditioned school has nine floors with a large library, café, computer centre, comfortable social spaces, reception, and 53 fully equipped large bright classrooms. We also have Young Learner Centres across the UK.IH London teaches across the full learning journey:  Learn English 9for agfes16+), Young Learners(ages7-17),The ExecutiveCentre(for professionals aged 21+ ), Teacher Training,ForeignLanguages,Evening Courses and we are an  Exam Centre.IH London predated and is part of the IH network, which is the largest network of independent schools in the world: over 150 schools, in over 50 countries.

Your home in London.

We have a range of accommodation options to suit you: homestays with carefully selected hosts or one of our modern, central London student residences. There are three types of accommodation which International House London can offer: student residences, homestays, hotels and apartments. All are non-smoking and include Wi-Fi. Our full-time accommodation service in the school gives you one point of contact, whether you stay in a homestay, a student residence or hotel.International House London is within walking distance of several tube stations. The closest are Covent Garden (Piccadilly Line), Holborn Station (Central Line and Piccadilly Line) and Tottenham court Rd (Central Line, Northern Line, Elizabeth line)

International arrivals

Arrivals from London airports can use public transport or book private transfers with us directly. The following is a guide to approximate journey times and costs between London airports and the London school.

Our modern school in Covent Garden, central London

We are committed to providing the very best learning environment. We believe in bringing people together, helping people feel part of something bigger, and promoting international communication.

Your environment

• A full lending library and resource centre with over 10,000 books, journals and digital resources
• 53 fully equipped large airy classrooms with interactive whiteboards
• On-site café and social spaces. The café sells a wide range of delicious food, snacks and beverages, from breakfast until the evening. All food is prepared fresh each day.
• Learning centre with computers
• Super-fast free wi-fi throughout
• Free printing from any of our computers
• Wheelchair accessible

Dedicated on-site support teams

• Our social programme team plan a full schedule of activities and trips for you
• Our accommodation team take care of all the arrangements for your chosen accommodation
• Our Welfare Officer is here for you talk to about anything that will help your well-being
• We are an accredited exam centre, so you can book and sit your exam with us too. Examinations booking service included with any course (you only pay the exam board exam fee to sit the exam)

Virtual tour

All you need is a smartphone. Simply download the app 'VR Direct' on your phone, put in the code 'dhtmcw' and voila! A tour of IH London from anywhere in the world. If you'd like a pair of (free) IH London VR goggles, please contact sales@ihlondon.com. They aren't essential to view the tour, but they enhance the experience.

Learn online 

Our teachers are all CELTA-qualified; many are Delta-qualified. Both teaching qualifications represent excellence in English teaching and are assessed by the University of Cambridge. Many of our teachers are also teacher trainers.

Students will learn with their IH London teacher and classmates online in live real-time lessons, including online group work with other students and online student social activities. Start your learning journey today. 

Connect and collaborate

Make friends from across the world, all from the comfort of your home.

Work on group projects, take polls and quizzes, online chat with students, interact with your classmates and teacher – all the same styles of learning from IH London, just online!

Social activities for students now online too. Explore London and meet international friends from wherever you are in the world.

All you need is a laptop, tablet or phone.