School that helped people in Hamilton learn English for 28 years closes its doors

Aura Carreño Rosas · CBC News

· Posted: May 01, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

When Gus Andrikopoulos started teaching English astatine a tiny schoolhouse successful downtown Hamilton, it was to gain a dependable paycheque. But helium soon fell successful emotion with the job.

"As corny arsenic it sounds, seeing [my students] advancement and larn the language" was what sealed the deal, helium said. "Gratifying isn't a beardown capable word."

Andrikopoulos has worked astatine Metropolitan College connected 146 James St. S. for implicit 15 years.

On April 25, the schoolhouse closed its doors for good, mostly owed to the cap the national authorities imposed connected the fig of planetary students past year, helium said.

"To accidental I'm devastated would beryllium an understatement. For astir 2 decades, Metropolitan College has been my 2nd household and my home," helium wrote connected Facebook, announcing the closure. 

Founded successful 1997, the schoolhouse has taken pridefulness successful its tiny people sizes, lighthearted and enthusiastic teachers and lessons that included euphony and tract trips.  

During his past time of teaching connected April 23, Andrikopoulos was his accustomed lively self, cracking jokes and trying to "be successful the moment."

He doesn't retrieve the acquisition worldly that day, helium said, "but precise happily, I volition ever retrieve however overmuch amusive we were having."

'No drain connected the system'

Student numbers began dropping astatine Metropolitan College successful aboriginal 2024, Andrikopoulos said, and determination was a big dip successful August. By December, helium said immoderate days helium was sitting successful an bare classroom.

The national authorities archetypal announced successful January 2024 it was capping the number of permits for planetary students, stating its goal was to target institutional "bad actors" — and amid interest astir the impact international students were having connected the lodging market.

Andrikopoulos blames authorities argumentation for the school's deficiency of students, but said helium doesn't clasp immoderate bitterness.

"I truly privation they had done thing a small spot much surgical," he said. "Everybody that came to our schoolhouse was self-supported … determination was nary drain connected the system."

Andrikopoulos had gotten much than a 100 messages from past students since the closure was announced, thanking him for each the lessons.

"[My students] expanded my satellite successful ways I couldn't ever person dreamed of," helium told CBC Hamilton.

From animator to educator

Born successful Hamilton to Greek immigrants, Andrikopoulos studied successful Greece for a while, which helium says gave him important penetration into learning a caller language.

He was an animator and a small-business proprietor successful the 2000s, renting a country retired of the school's building, erstwhile his friend, the erstwhile proprietor of the school, asked him if helium wanted to try teaching.

It was a nerve-racking happening astatine first, helium said. "I would thatch my acquisition … [then] I would find a bully quiescent spot and person a mini panic onslaught and past get retired determination and support going."

He was yet offered a full-time presumption and didn't look back.

Student says schoolhouse was 'really beauteous and human' 

At Metropolitan College, Andrikopoulos taught radical from each ages and walks of life, helium said, from 13-year-olds to retirees, assemblage deans, rocket scientists, hairdressers, mechanics, and more.

The bulk of students were on visitor visas, portion astir 40 per cent were here on study permits, helium said. Most conscionable came to Canada temporarily to larn the language.

Kamila Balcova is simply a pupil from Slovakia. She said the school's intimate and affable attack helped her amended her speaking skills.

"It's a pity [the schoolhouse is closing] due to the fact that it made a quality successful my beingness already. I deliberation my English got better," she said.

Metropolitan College's 2 full-time teachers often took students connected outings paired with vocabulary lessons, a antithetic mode to prosecute students.

Balcova said each people was absorbing and filled with laughter and friendliness. "When you travel arsenic an planetary pupil oregon erstwhile you're caller to the country, it's not easy. You person to header with galore things. You whitethorn beryllium homesick," she said.

"Here, you forgot astir each the things that whitethorn beryllium a small spot bittersweet to you successful your idiosyncratic life."

Losing the schoolhouse is similar 'losing family'

Jihun "June" Chun, called the schoolhouse a benignant and lukewarm place.

"Some colleges deliberation that students are money, but I can't consciousness that here. It's truly beauteous and human," helium said.

Chun said helium worries astir cuts astatine different Ontario colleges and the interaction successful his plans to physique a caller beingness successful Canada.

He came to state successful hopes of staying and surviving a "slower life," due to the fact that of the stressful enactment environments successful his location country, South Korea, but he's disquieted helium won't beryllium capable to.

Hao Jing, different student, said she wants to get a master's grade successful Canada earlier returning to her location successful China. She arrived successful Hamilton successful 2023 to travel her son.

She was accepted to Western University for their postgraduate program Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, a vocation she's passionate about. That imagination is threatened present by caller visa limits.

Losing the schoolhouse is similar "losing family," for Hao, who saw it arsenic an outlet to conscionable caller radical and walk her clip during the day.

Teachers went supra and beyond, she said, organizing barbecues and costume parties for everyone to stock their culture.

"We conscionable wage the tuition fee, and it's not their work to [help america learn] astir the civilization here," she said. "[The teachers] supply america much than the modular level."

Andrikopoulos said his clip spent with the schoolhouse was life-changing. "I was learning astir each these cultures … I've got friends each implicit the planet."

His biggest lesson? "We person far, acold much similarities than differences," helium said.

He hopes the schoolhouse volition travel backmost successful immoderate mode successful the future, but without him astatine the beforehand of the class. "I'm done," helium said. "But I volition assistance the schoolhouse to beryllium Metropolitan College again."