Brasshouse Languages

Negative experience: I attended an IT course and had a very difficult experience regarding communication and how my situation was handled. I have a long-term disability and provided medical certificates covering my absence. Despite this, I was removed from the course without a formal warning, meeting, or clear prior discussion. I only found out through reception staff rather than being contacted directly, and I was not clearly informed about any requirement for additional updates during my medical absence. Because my absence was related to my disability, I felt that the way the situation was handled was unfair and may have amounted to discrimination. I felt unsupported throughout the process. I hope the college reviews how students with medical or disability-related needs are communicated with and supported, to ensure clearer and fairer procedures in the future.

Negative experience: I studied several foreign languages there but last time I was there, 2019 - 2021, I got abused so horrifically that I wouldn't advise anyone to even set foot into that place! Someone had mentioned to the tutor that I was at risk of redundancy, the tutor in turn got me booked in with the counselor - all without asking me whether I actually wanted that - so before I knew it, I was sitting in front of a counselor still hoping to get some useful advise as to how to avoid unemployment and subsequent destitution. Next thing, the counselor, the appropirately named Luna - Luna the Lunatic - "advised" me to, I cite: "go to your GP and pretend to be severely mentally ill and completely off your rocker, then you get sectioned and you won't have to worry about what to live on and paying bills and all that". I have to say, Brasshouse - I've come across some severely unstable people in Birmingham but your staff top anything I've ever encountered! Is this what you class as appropriate advice to someone worried about redundancy and unemployment??? My formal complaint got thrown out of course with a total denial that this ever happened and false accusations about my mental health (note: no history of mental illness here - unlike your staff...) so I left, not prepared to pay an absolute fortune just to get abused like that! For this, the prices are through the roof, more than what I would expect to pay for a fulltime college course and yet it's only two hours per week for the language courses, and only a few weeks per year as they don't even go by the academic year. Almost all courses are online now as the heavily promoted move from the building at Sheepcote Street to the library resulted in nowhere near enough space. The building at Sheepcote Street is still empty by the way, ten years after that move and yet that building was perfect for a language school. Worse than a bad joke - stay away, folks, you'll learn more online and you don't get abused! I know one cannot learn a language online as one needs proper tutoring but you won't get that with the Brasshouse anyway, all you get is a bit of messing around online and you'll get abused on top, and for that you pay an absolute fortune! And no don't tell me to "contact us on this and that email" - you know fully well that I made a formal complaint at the time, in 2021, about your Lunatic Luna, only to get falsely accused of lying and to get subjected to false accusations about my mental health!!!

Negative experience: I wish I could give them 3 but for all the potential they have but waste because they don’t want to put any efforts, they don’t deserve it. The staff is the opposite of welcoming and friendly. They won’t give you any information and no thank you or bye. Unfortunately as you can’t do anything on their website and they don’t answer emails, you Ill have to go in person. The teachers: I can only speak from my experience but be careful. Some of them are just random people who speak the language and followed the brasshouse teacher training. They won’t have any qualifications and thus, aren’t always very good. My class didn’t follow any program or book even tho it is supposed to. They also don’t disclose any bio about the teachers so you don’t know what you will get and you have to pay, of course, the full amount before the first class. Moodle and website: horrible. Good luck to find any information on there. The website, their new and old one are awful. It doesn’t contain any useful info, just broken links and fluff. Price: honestly, it’s not expensive, especially if you are have a discount. Overall, if you have to pay for a class, i will think twice or even four times, as it’s just not that good. They will ask for feedback but won’t change a single thing.

Negative experience: This place is a complete circus Only one student allowed on a computer per day, reception staff clueless and giving wrong info, about 50% classes get cancelled. Reception thinks being enrolled means you’re not actually a student—makes zero sense. Equipment barely works, and the principal’s roaming asking why you’re even there. Feels like they want your fees but not your attendance. Total joke.

Fantastic experience: Language I was one of the students learning English .