Job opportunities

The school

Brytania School of English has been operating as an educational institution since 1991.The school teaches English predominantly, but also runs courses in Spanish and German in Dębica. The school also liaises with local businesses and prominent individuals to provide both Business English courses and translation services. The school has been registered with the Register of Schools and Non – public Educational Institutions as a non – public institution of further education and with the Register of Training Institutions under the Regional Employment Office.

Brytania is a private company founded by its owners Mr & Mrs Kula. As a language school, it is the market leader locally (Dębica & Tarnów) both in terms of amount of courses available and in quality of service delivered.

Brytania adheres to strict business ethics and is a reliable and attractive partner for cooperation. Locally the company is perceived as an honest and diligent partner providing high quality service. As a result the school is trusted by the local community (as can be seen in the high rates of returning students) and held in high regard by the authorities. Brytania is an important part of the local business community and is regarded as a solvent and reliable business to deal with.

We at Brytania strive to create a positive image. The company works hard to constantly improve staff qualifications by organizing teacher training days, workshops, seminars and participating in conferences (IATEFL¹, PASE²). We also provide training for administrative staff and support teachers undertaking higher level courses such as CELTA³ or DELTA⁴ qualifications (for Polish teachers).

Brytania organizes annual events for its employers and partners in business. These events bring staff together in order to develop better understanding of our aims and as a result raise service quality. The company's aim is to maintain customers trust and loyalty.

We also consider it important that Brytania responds to the social needs of the community. Since 1999 the school has organized a Christmas charity campaign called “Merry Christmas for all Children”. Students collect toys, school equipment, books, clothes and food. All the presents are delivered to CARITAS POLSKA and then they are distributed among children in need. Everyone who donates takes part in a prize – draw financed by the school. The winner is provided with a semester of free English lessons. Other prizes include: dictionaries, grammar books, easy readers and toys. In addition, the company sponsors gifted students at the Władysław Jagiełło Secondary School, Dębica. Brytania was also an important participant of the project to construct a monument of John Paul II in Dębica.

Since 2000 Brytania has been recommended by PASE and it belongs to the elite of private schools of English in Poland. The school has again recently received validation by PASE, this lasting until June 2009.

Brytania runs courses at all levels of proficiency, starting from elementary to CPE (The Certificate of Proficiency in English). We also provide tailor – made courses in Business English. The school teaching team consists of well qualified teachers who are fully prepared to teach English as a second language. The system of teaching at Brytania and careful monitoring of students' progress result in a high level of success in Cambridge Examinations (95% of students taking exams such as FCE, CAE and CPE pass).

Brytania has been providing courses for local employers such as: TC Dębica S.A., Snieżka S.A., TBD S.A., ENION S.A., OLIMP Ltd., Geyer & Hosaja Ltd., ING Bank Śląski S.A., BIPROZAT Tarnów, ZRUG Tarnów, ZWRI Tarnów and for institutions such as: the County Employment Agency, the District Court in Tarnów and Regional Military Staff in Rzeszów.

With years of experience in running language courses both for individual students and corporate clients Brytania is flexible and adapts in easily meet clients' needs and expectations.

¹ International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language

² Polish Association for Standards in English

³ Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults

⁴ Diploma in English Language Teaching to Adults

The town

• BRIEF DETAILS ON THE POPULATION, GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION AND COST OF LIVING: Dębica is situated in the southeastern part of Poland. It's not a big town - about 50, 000 inhabitants - and is relatively close to the borders of the Ukraine and Slovakia. It takes less than two hours by car or by train to get to the medieval university city of Cracow, a former capital of Poland.
• ATTRACTIONS:As noted, Dębica is a fairly small town but it is not a village. There are two cinemas (which show British and American movies in the original version with Polish subtitles), a small concert hall, an olympic-sized swimming pool, an artificial skating rink, tennis courts, restaurants, cafes, bars, corner shops and supermarkets. The surrounding countryside offers great possibilities for those who enjoy walking or cycling. Life is relatively cheap [when you live] in a town like Dębica. Big cities are more expensive when you take into consideration the higher prices of food and accommodation.
• POTENTIAL PROBLEMS : A lack of entertainment can be one of the potential problems especially for those who seek the atmosphere of big cities. But if Dębica does not have enough to offer, you can always travel cheaply to Cracow which is full of attractions all year round.
• DETAILS ON THE COST OF LIVING.The cost of living is not high. The school pays for the half of accommodation, the teacher pays the rest and utility bills (telephone, gas, water and electricity). So he/she can live very comfortably on what remains when you deduct the bills and the cost of food from the salary. You can easily save your money or travel during the holidays.

Requirements

• B.A./M.A. – preferably in humanities
• CELTA Certificate or Diploma (TEFL, Trinity etc). For those who are not fully qualified we recommend taking a CELTA Course at th nearest British Council in Kraków.
• at least one year teaching experience
• commitment
• motivation and enthusiasm

Terms and Conditions

• full-time (24 – 26 hours per week) renewable employment contract
• guaranteed minimum weekly workload
• free accommodation on arrival
• help provided with visas and work permits (cost refunded)
• competitive local salary paid monthly
• induction and teachers training
• excellent teaching resources
• friendly and professional working environment
• a contact person to assist teachers with any challenges of daily life in Poland
• bonus based on performance
• free Internet access
• free lessons of emergency Polish

The ideal candidate will be responsible, flexible, articulate and willing to work closely with both students and the staff. Extra artistic talents would be appreciated.

Probation Period

• your first 3-months in the job will be treated as a probationary period

When and how you get paid

• all staff members are paid monthly on the third working day of the month by bank transfer
• day to day money matters are handled by the Administration and Finance Director or his deputy
• please note that part of your last month’s salary may be held back until your bills are paid and your flat inspected.

Medical insurance

• a private medical insurance is paid for by the school

Contract length

• 9-10 months for those recruited for a September start or shorter for those recruited during the school year

First day of teaching

• the first day of teaching is usually one week after the agreed date of arrival

Holidays

• usually you can expect to work from September to December 23rd then have a break till January
• there is also a 2-week winter break either in the second half of January or in February
• all non-national holiday dates need to be approved by the director

Visas, Work and Residence Permits & Other Documents

• visas are not necessary for EU citizens
• work permits are arranged by the school and the costs are covered by Brytania
• when accepted new teachers are expected to provide a Certificate of Residence ( for tax purposes) and a health certificate ( for insurance purposes)

Some information about flats

• flats usually are within a walking distance from the school
• there is a bed or a sofa bed and linen is provided by the school
• teachers can expect also a washing machine
• the kitchen will have a cooker, a fridge, some pots, pans and plates

Teaching materials

Teaching materials such as: Student’s Book ,Teacher’s Book, Workbook, and cassettes or CDs are available for the teacher in the library as well as any extra resources he might need like: encyclopaedias, grammar books , dictionaries , grammar charts, games (e.g. Scrabble), video cassettes etc.

Social Events

The staff meet twice a year: in the school to celebrate Teachers' Day ( in October) and at the end of the school year to enjoy a barbecue for all teachers in Brytania’s garden. There may also be one more informal meeting before Christmas.

What do our teachers say?

About the students:

“Students seem to enjoy participating actively in discussions and do not hesitate to try new activities. Most of them were also aware of their weaknesses and used the class time to work on improving their English. It is rewarding to see people with such thirst for knowledge and an awareness of the benefits that the mastery of theEnglish language can have for them personally and for their future.” Anne Lech, USA

About the school:

“The school is situated in a centrally located building. It is kept in very good order. The well-appointed classrooms are always clean and in good condition. They are also generally bright and pleasant to work in. Brytania supplies all the necessary teaching materials along with a photo-copying service for teaching-related items. There is a computer with internet access available free of charge for teachers.

I found my fellow teachers (both Polish and other native speaker teachers) to be, in general, knowledgeable and friendly. The non-teaching staff at the school are exceptionally good. They are both friendly and highly efficient. (They are all English speakers.) For a teacher “finding his feet” in a foreign country and teaching in a new field this made a great difference.

Finally, I think the level of support available at Brytania and high level of organization make it especially suitable for a newly qualified teacher. It is not without its demands as one would expect of a well-run school. But the demands are realistic. I commited myself to teaching at Brytania knowing relatively little about the school or Poland. I am happy to say that more than once in the course of the year I considered myself very fortunate to have made that decision.” Paul Sludds, Ireland

About the town:

“Dębica has enough to keep you occupied outside of school hours. There are plenty of grocery stores, some located very close to the school, and the selection is good. There is a large grocery store and shopping center located about a 15 minute walk away from school as well. The restaurants Herbaciarnia (excellent naleśniki) and Gościniec are good and fairly priced, and the bars Szwejk and Zaułek are pretty popular and good places to spend some time in.During the warmer months there are also tents set up in the main square where people hang out.” Adam T. Dupaski, USA “While Dębica does not have nightlife to rival that of London, Paris or New York there are a few bars where native speakers are very welcome! I am thinking particularly of Roma and Szrek where, on a significant number of nights, native speakers can be seen arguing over the finer points of English grammar and teaching methodology…amongst other things. Paul Walsh, Great Britain