Alex began what is now Babel Fish in 2011: teaching a single student English at his home, then taking them surfing.
A qualified ESOL teacher and Surf Coach, the combination made sense – and others thought so too.
Babel Fish Needs a Bigger Pool
In 2016, Babel had grown out of Alex’s front room, and the school moved into The Heritage Cottages in Trenance Gardens – our current home.
That year, we welcomed our first group of students from Italy – all hosted by a growing network of families in the local community.
Babel Fish Keeps Swimming
The Covid pandemic effectively closed our school for two years.
But we stayed busy: rebranding the business and refining our purpose.
It was a challenging period, but in 2021 we reached one of the most important milestones in Babel’s history: the privilege of taking on Dr Mersedeh Proctor’s prestigious language school, Mercator ELT.
We were then able to offer school trips to schools and agents across Europe. We are now visited by hundreds of young people each year from Czech, Germany, France and more in our Newquay and St Austell centres.
2022 Onwards: Babel Dream Team
In 2022, our highly qualified Academic Manager and Lead Teacher Tom Barnett, joined Babel Fish Language School – helping grow the school’s capacity and reputation.
A skilled Operation’s Manager – Auriol Drummond-Hay – has recently also come on board.
Babel Fish achieved accreditation by the British Accreditation Council in June of 2024.
A fantastic seasonal crew of teachers and coaches, representing the best surfing coaching and teaching talent supports the language school be the best it can be.
Babel Fish is proud to be the workplace of some beautiful humans – and a language school full of heart, purpose and enthusiasm.
