Staff Spotlight: Fernando Pérez Cos

I was born in Santander but grew up in Madrid. After spending a decade working as a Spanish lecturer in England, we settle back in Northern Spain and created our own business: The Spanish Course

My favourite travel memory is when we traveled along the Northern coast of Spain, through Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia. It was 2015 and we spent the whole of the summer in our little caravan with our two, four year old twin girls. Most nights we parked up on beaches and watched amazing sunsets. It was an incredible summer, one we will never forget.

After growing up in Spain and then later teaching in Great Britain, it became an ambition of mine to teach the Spanish language and share its amazing culture and history with as many people as I could.

I started 'The Spanish Course' with my wife, Merche, in 2004 and since then we've created so many wonderful memories with our students. Football matches, tortilla making nights, visiting castles, museums or simply sharing family meals together. I've loved every minute. Receiving students from all over the world into our home is a wonderful experience. It made me realise that the world is really a small place but an amazing one and we all need to enjoy it while we can.

A few years ago we had a student, Mike, from Dublin staying with us. He was obsessed with improving his Spanish level and stayed three times with us in total. He was great at playing the guitar and had spent some time busking around a few European cities. We had many sing-a-long nights listening to him on the guitar.

Anyway, recently we received an email from him out the blue and it seems he's in South America on tour with a Queen tribute band. I bet he didn't think he'd be doing that when he grew up!

I would choose the total immersion program that we offer at our home. I would spend four months at the Universidad de Cantabria, studying my chosen subjects in Spanish whilst living with us at our 18th century family home just outside Santander. Its the best way by far to improve your Spanish level and get some credits at the same time.

We offer 2 programs were students can study their chosen subjects in Spanish or English at one of the top 3 universities in Spain whilst living 'at home' with either a Spanish or an English family. All this situated in Cantabria, one of the safest places in the whole of Europe and voted 2nd best destination 2018 by Lonely Planet. I'm really proud of what our company offers and believe we offer real value for money when compared to other Study Abroad providers.

I believe that the biggest factor in being a successful company is being 100% committed to our students, understanding their needs and differences whilst remembering that every one of them is unique and special. It is also important to offer a top quality service and welcoming students to live with our family is the best quality anyone could offer.