5 Best English Classes in London in 2026

Key takeaways

• Best for improving spoken English with personalized one-on-one lessons: italki
• Best for business English courses: London School of English
• Best for exam preparation courses: Wimbledon School of English
• Best for an intensive English course: St George International
• Best for part-time English classes: Rose of York

The best English classes in London give you regular speaking practice, useful corrections, and a schedule you can maintain around work or study. If you understand English but hesitate in conversations, look for lessons that help you practice responding, asking questions, and explaining your ideas.

italki, trusted by over 10 million learners since 2007, connects you with English tutors in London and around the world for live one-on-one lessons. Your teacher builds sessions around the English you need, from contributing to workplace discussions to handling everyday conversations, without a commute or fixed school term.

This guide compares five English learning options by teaching format, level, schedule, and total cost, covering personalized online lessons and in-person courses across London.

Find an English tutor in London who helps you put your English into practice and book a trial lesson.

How we chose the best English classes in London

We evaluated each English class against five criteria: teaching quality, level fit, speaking time, price, and flexibility. For the schools, the location is noted as well.

Evaluation criteria	What was evaluated
Speaking opportunities	Lesson format, published class sizes, and opportunities for conversation practice.
Teaching quality	Teacher qualifications, teaching specialties, and British Council accreditation for language schools.
Level suitability	Entry requirements, placement assessments, and progression from beginner to advanced, including alignment with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) where stated.
Scheduling flexibility	Start dates, weekly attendance requirements, part-time options, and flexibility to book or change lessons.
Total cost	Tuition, minimum booking requirements, registration charges, and additional materials or exam fees.

Each provider receives a “Best for” label based on its format and the type of learner it serves. These labels are editorial recommendations, not an overall ranking.

Best English classes in London at a glance

School/Platform	Best for	Format	Typical pricing
italki	Improving spoken English with one-on-one lessons	Live one-on-one video lessons, online	From $4 per lesson
London School of English	Business English courses	Groups averaging 7, 12 to 30 hours a week, Holland Park	About $930 per week for 24 hours of General English, plus $125 registration
Wimbledon School of English	Exam preparation courses	Groups of up to 14, 21 hours a week, Wimbledon	About $585 per week, plus $80 registration and materials
St George International	An intensive English course	Mini-groups, 15 to 22.5 hours a week, Holborn	About $400 to $565 per week
Rose of York	Part-time English classes	Morning, afternoon and evening groups, Oxford Street	About $320 per week for four mornings, plus $65 registration

Pricing reflects rates as of November 2026. Check each platform’s site for current offers.

What are the best English classes in London?

1. italki: best for improving your spoken English with one-on-one lessons

• Format: Live one-on-one video lessons
• Price: From $4 per lesson, no subscription required
• Location: Online, anywhere in London
• Level: Beginner to advanced
• Ideal for: Working adults and students who want speaking practice around their timetable

italki is a leading platform for one-on-one online language learning. Private English lessons focus on the skills you need to develop, including conversation, pronunciation, grammar, and vocabulary. Your teacher helps you work through specific difficulties, such as understanding a question but struggling to form an answer.

You can practice everyday conversations, prepare for interviews with business English teachers, or work on speaking and writing with IELTS tutors. Choose a teacher experienced in your goal and agree on what you want to achieve in your lessons.

Pros

• Personalized English lessons. Your teacher adapts each session to your level, goals, and recurring difficulties, so you work on the skills you need for everyday life in London, workplace conversations, or exam preparation.
• Dedicated speaking practice and corrections. Speak directly with your teacher, who helps you correct recurring pronunciation, grammar, and word-choice mistakes.
• British English practice. Choose a UK teacher to work on British pronunciation, vocabulary, and expressions you hear in everyday conversations.
• Speaking progress supported by research. An independent efficacy study found that 71.6% of participating italki learners improved their oral proficiency by at least one level after roughly two months of lessons (Vesselinov & Grego, 2018), providing evidence of measurable progress for learners focused on speaking.
• Flexible lessons without commuting. Book individual sessions around your schedule and pay per lesson without committing to a full course.

Cons

• No set course curriculum by default, so the lesson structure depends on the plan you agree with your teacher.
• No fixed course, so you have to keep booking lessons yourself to make progress

What English learners say about italki

English learners on Trustpilot describe how their teachers support conversation practice and specific learning goals:

• Feeling comfortable speaking English. A learner values practicing with a professional British English teacher who puts them at ease.
• Targeted job interview preparation. A reviewer describes a personalized plan for high-level interviews, with support and challenges suited to their needs.
• Lessons shaped around the learner. Reviewers appreciate teachers who adapt the course to what they need to learn.

“What drew me to Ellie was that she’s based in London, she’s a native British English speaker… I feel comfortable with her, she’s a real professional, and she’s got a lovely voice and a pleasant British accent…”

— Trustpilot review

“Bruce is an incredibly patient and focused teacher… He adapts to his students’ needs while also challenging them in ways that help them develop their language skills. He has put together a tailored plan to help me succeed in high-level job interviews in English.”

— Trustpilot review

“Jack tailored the course specifically to my needs, always going the extra mile.”

— Trustpilot review

Not sure who to choose? Read our guide on how to choose an italki tutor for further guidance.

How to get started on italki

1. Create a free account on italki
2. Browse London English tutors by price, availability and specialty, and watch two or three introduction videos
3. Book a trial lesson with each one to see whose teaching style works best for you
4. Decide on a weekly lesson time and book several lessons ahead

Ready to start? Find an English tutor in London and book a trial lesson.

2. London School of English: best for business English courses

• Format: Groups averaging 7 students, 12 to 30 hours a week, in person
• Price: About $930 per week for 24 hours of General English, about $1,910 per week for 30 hours of Business and Professional English, plus about $125 registration
• Location: Holland Park, 15 Holland Park Gardens, W14 8DZ
• Ideal for: Working adults who want a full-time or half-day course with business and professional options

London School of English is an adults-only school accredited by the British Council. Its General English courses are offered as 24 hours a week from 9:30 am to 4 pm, or 12 hours a week in the morning or the afternoon, with nine levels from beginner to very advanced. Courses start every Monday, and the minimum age is 20.

Business and Professional English is offered at 15 or 30 hours a week in groups of up to 6 and focuses on workplace communication skills. The school also offers legal English, a four-week IELTS course, online courses and one-to-one training in person or on Zoom. Fees include materials, a progress report and a certificate, and the course book costs about $55 extra.

Pros

• Groups averaging 7 students, with business English classes capped at 6
• Half-day General English options in the morning or afternoon
• Business, legal and exam courses alongside General English

Cons

• About $930 per week for the 24-hour course, before the $125 registration fee
• Adults only, with a minimum age of 20
• IELTS is offered only as a fixed four-week course, at about $3,820

3. Wimbledon School of English: best for exam preparation courses

• Format: Groups of up to 14, 17.5 to 24.5 hours a week, in person
• Price: About $585 per week for the 21-hour Standard course for 1 to 4 weeks, falling to about $420 per week from 24 weeks, plus about $80 registration and $60 to $145 for materials
• Location: Wimbledon, 41 Worple Road, SW19 4JZ
• Ideal for: International students preparing for IELTS or a Cambridge exam who want a set course with exam dates

Wimbledon School of English is a British Council accredited school in south-west London. It offers General English, IELTS, Cambridge First, Advanced and Proficiency, OET and Business English and Professional Skills courses, all priced at the same weekly rates as General English. General English and business courses start any Monday, and beginner and exam courses have fixed start dates through the year.

Classes have up to 14 students, or 16 in July and August, and one-to-one lessons cost about $120 an hour. Exam fees are paid separately, for example about $365 for IELTS in 2026.

Pros

• Exam courses timed to IELTS and Cambridge exam dates
• Three course intensities, from 17.5 to 24.5 hours a week
• Weekly price falls for stays of 5 weeks or more

Cons

• Classes of up to 14 students, so speaking time per student is limited
• Registration, materials and exam fees are added to the course price
• Beginner and exam courses have fixed start dates, so you may wait for the next one

4. St George International: best for an intensive English course

• Format: Morning groups of 20 lessons a week, or mini-groups of 30 lessons a week, in person
• Price: About $400 per week for the Standard course, about $565 per week for the Intensive Mini-Group, and about $465 per week for the Business English Mini-Group
• Location: Holborn, central London, a short walk from Holborn station
• Ideal for: Adults who want small groups and a full day of English

St George International (SGI) is a language school in Holborn. Its Standard English Course has 15 hours of morning classes a week and can start any Monday. Its intensive English course, the Intensive English Mini-Group, adds afternoon classes for 4.5 hours a day.

Evening courses meet on Monday and Wednesday from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm for a minimum of four weeks, in groups of 6 to 10 students, for intermediate learners and above. The minimum age for all courses is 18.

Pros

• Small groups, with evening classes of 6 to 10 students, and intensive courses of up to 22.5 hours a week
• Weekly prices fall with longer bookings, from about $400 to $305 per week on the Standard course
• Evening courses in General English, business English and pronunciation

Cons

• Prices for the evening group courses are not published, so the school has to be contacted for a quote
• Evening courses require an intermediate level, so beginners need a daytime course
• Evening courses require a minimum booking of four weeks

5. Rose of York: best for part-time English classes

• Format: Morning, afternoon and evening group classes, 2 to 4 days a week, in person
• Price: About $320 per week for four mornings of General English, about $245 for three mornings of business English, about $175 for two mornings of exam preparation, plus about $65 registration
• Location: Oxford Street, 277 to 281 Oxford Street, W1C 2DL
• Ideal for: Londoners who want a few hours of English a week around a job

Rose of York is a British Council accredited school on Oxford Street and a registered Trinity College London exam centre. Its part-time courses meet on two, three or four days a week, in the morning from 9:30 am to 12:45 pm or in the afternoon from 2:15 pm to 5:30 pm, with evening sessions from 6 pm to 7:30 pm. Optional booster classes add one or two extra hours at lunchtime.

The school also offers full-time General English, IELTS, Cambridge and Trinity exam preparation, and courses for professions such as aviation, law and medicine. A free trial lesson is available before you enroll.

Pros

• Part-time options from two days a week, in the morning, afternoon or evening
• A free trial lesson before you enroll
• Trinity exam preparation at a registered exam centre

Cons

• Part-time courses cannot be used for a student visa, which requires at least 15 hours a week
• Classes depend on a minimum number of students, so a course can be merged or cancelled
• The published part-time price list dates from June 2025, so current prices may differ

Online vs. in-person English speaking classes in London: which should you choose?

Choose online one-on-one lessons if speaking time and flexible hours matter most, and an in-person group class if you want classmates, a set syllabus and a fixed weekly timetable.

Factor	Online one-on-one lessons on italki	In-person group classes in London
Speaking practice	Conversation directly with your teacher, without sharing turns with classmates	Pair work, group discussions, and teacher-led activities
Individual attention	Your teacher focuses on your learning needs	Teacher attention is shared across the class
Feedback	Corrections focused on your pronunciation, grammar, and word choice	Feedback during classroom activities and on assignments
Lesson content	Adapted to your level, pace, and goals	Usually follows a shared syllabus and course schedule
Scheduling	Book individual sessions at available times that suit you	Attend classes at set weekly times
Payment	Pay per lesson without committing to a full course	Usually pay for a course or block of weeks
Social experience	One-on-one interaction with your teacher	Learn and practice alongside classmates
Commute	Learn from home or another suitable space	Travel to and from the school

Research supports video conversation as a way to develop spoken English. In a 12-week study of 36 university English learners, students who practiced through videoconferencing with native speakers scored higher overall on the final speaking assessment than the classroom group, particularly in pronunciation and vocabulary (Alshahrani, 2016). The findings suggest that meaningful speaking practice online can support progress without attending a physical classroom.

For London learners, choose the format that gives you regular opportunities to speak, useful feedback, and a schedule you can maintain.

For a closer comparison, read the guide on italki private lessons vs. language school classes. If you’re ready to start, find an online English tutor offering lessons that fit your schedule in London.

Which English class in London is best for you?

• Choose italki if you want to improve your spoken English with one-on-one lessons built around your goals, real-time corrections, and lesson times that fit your week.
• Choose London School of English if you want a full-time or half-day course with business and professional English options.
• Choose Wimbledon School of English if you are preparing for IELTS or a Cambridge exam and want a course timed to the exam date.
• Choose St George International if you want small groups and up to 22.5 hours of English a week in central London.
• Choose Rose of York if you want a part-time class two to four days a week around a job.

Ready to start speaking English in London?

Learn English faster with a qualified English teacher in London who adapts each lesson to your goals and corrects you as you speak. Trusted by more than 10 million learners since 2007, italki offers flexible, one-on-one lessons. Find a teacher who fits your schedule and book a trial lesson.

FAQ

What are the best English classes in London for beginners?

For beginners, the best English classes in London are one-on-one online lessons on italki, where the teacher starts from your level, speaks slowly and clearly, and bases each lesson on the English you need for daily life. Your first lesson can be the day you sign up. If you prefer a classroom, an accredited English school in London will have beginner courses with fixed start dates a few times a year.

How much do English courses in London cost?

One-on-one English lessons on italki start from $4 per lesson, with no subscription, and teachers set their own rates based on experience and specialty, as explained in the guide to English tutor cost. Full-time courses at London language schools typically cost about $400 to $930 per week, plus registration and materials, and part-time courses cost about $175 to $320 per week.

Are there English classes for kids in London?

Yes. On italki, children learn from home in one-on-one online lessons with English teachers for kids, who match the lesson to the child’s age and level and let the child work at their own pace. After-school and weekend lessons are easy to find, with no travel. Some London language schools also offer junior courses during the school holidays.

How do I find the right English teacher for my learning goals in London?

Find an English teacher experienced in your specific goal, such as everyday conversation, job interviews, or IELTS preparation. On italki, compare London English teachers by specialty, price, and availability, then review their profiles and student feedback. In a trial lesson, explain what you struggle with and ask how they would structure lessons to help you improve.