Welcome to International House Belfast - the leading English Language and Teacher Training Institute in Northern Ireland!
Established in 2007, International House Belfast (a member of the International House World Organisation) is a British Council accredited centre, a certified Cambridge ESOL Examination and Teacher Training centre and a member of English UK and MEI Relsa. We are proud to be accredited by the Green Standard Schools as an environmentally friendly language learning school.
We aim to provide English language students from all over the world with a comfortable, friendly and technologically advanced environment in which they can develop their language skills.
We are located in Belfast’s University Street, just south of the city centre in the bustling University Quarter. The school is situated a 5 minute walk from Queens University in a beautiful historical Victorian terrace featuring 12 spacious classrooms as well as a study room; a computer room; a wellness lounge; a self-service kitchen and dining area; a snack area and a small terrace with a hosting bar.
Our Vision
Our vision is to provide people with the opportunity to create better lives for themselves and others, both locally and globally through improved communication skills: Communicate. Create.
We will build the business through diversification, consultancy and partnerships. We will fight against becoming the norm. Satisfactory is not good enough.
We will create a cloud of trust so that our customers and clients know exactly what we stand for.
Success will be based on IH Belfast being:
Professional
Organised
Contemporary
We are Green!
IH Belfast is very proud to have co-founded an accreditation to encourage green language schools and to reduce the carbon output associated with international travelling. Green Standard Schools is a global, not-for-profit association of language schools that are seriously committed to protecting the environment.
Through their 12 commitments, accredited member schools of GSS aim to:
- Lessen the impact that language teaching has on the environment by developing a set of policies and practices that language teaching institutions and their stakeholders can adopt and adhere to.
- Award accreditation according to these policies and practices to providers of language education everywhere.
- Develop resources designed to encourage environmental sustainability in language teaching and learning and offer training and support in the application of these resources.
Meet the Team!
Get to know a little bit more about the IH Belfast family...
Duanes Santos
Director
Originally from Brazil, Duanes studied English and Literature at the Universidade Federal du Amazonas in Brazil, and started teaching English as a Foreign Language as soon as he graduated in 2003. He has an absolute wealth of experience in the industry! Over the years, he has taught in Brazil and England and in 2007 he earned his DELTA. In 2015 Duanes came to IH Belfast as a Teacher Trainer and Business Development Manager, squeezing in an MA in English and Linguistics in 2019 before accepting the role of Director at IH Belfast in 2021.
Stephen Farren
Director of Studies / Cambridge Exams
Stephen studied English Literature at Queens University Belfast. After his degree Stephen pursued his love of poetry and started writing. He moved to Spain so that he could learn and read poems in Spanish, and it was here that he started teaching English. In 2008 he moved back to Northern Ireland to teach English in Derry, where he grew up. He completed his CELTA in 2010 here at IH Belfast and we swiftly recruited him! Stephen became Director of Studies in 2021, but still keeps it real by teaching exam classes.
Carole Kane
Operations Manager
Carole joined IH Belfast in 2013 and has been a keystone in the smooth running of operations ever since. Born and bred in Belfast, she graduated from the University of Stirling with a BA(Hons) in French and Human Resource Management. With her background in languages, she has spent time travelling and teaching English. She still has a passion for travelling when she isn’t managing the office here.
Alice Boyle
English Teacher
Originally hailing from London, Alice studied in the United States and graduated her TESOL degree in 2011, before teaching in Puerto Rico for 3 years. She went on to teach summer camps in Russia and London and adults online. Alice spent several fond childhood summers in Belfast as a child, so in 2020 she relocated here permanently, completed her CELTA at IH Belfast and has been working as a teacher here since!
Adam Jones
English Teacher
Adam graduated from the University of Kent in 2013 with a BA in English and American Literature. He went on to graduate from Trinity College Dublin in 2017 with an M.Phil in Literary Translation. His first role as an English teacher came in 2017 at an academy near Venice, before moving to Madrid in 2018 where he taught in-company English. He completed the CELTA in 2019 and joined IH Belfast in 2022!
Shane Nolan
English Teacher
A native of County Kerry in Ireland, Shane graduated from University College Cork in 2018 with a BA in English and History and an MA in Irish History. He completed the CELTA the following year and taught in English language schools in Cork and Limerick before moving to France in 2020 to teach in a French university. Shane moved back to Ireland in 2023 and soon joined us here at International House Belfast.
Diane Petrie
Visa Officer
After studying Spanish and Portuguese at the University of Edinburgh, Diane took herself off to Spain – for the next 12 years! As well as teaching English, she worked with an NGO which took her to West Africa and Brazil among other places. Diane joined the IH Belfast team in 2008, first as a teacher and then in admin. She loves welcoming people to Belfast from around the world.
Joanna Unsworth
Admin Officer
Joanna has been working at IH Belfast since 2012, supporting the administration of the school. Prior to working at IH Belfast she was organising people and projects in London, Canada and South Sudan, resulting in a diverse range of experience and a love and enthusiasm of other countries and cultures.
Ann-Marie Kerr
Finance Manager
Ann-Marie started working at IH Belfast in 2017. She is an ACCA qualified accountant and has been managing the books of businesses around Belfast for the last 20 years.
