Bygone days! An important feature of Whitby for many years was Functional English, a language school founded by John and Jill Karlik, occupying for most of its life the now-demolished former convent on Chubb Hill.
Students came from all over the world to learn English, sometimes for professional purposes, and in many cases, to enable them to serve as Christian missionaries abroad. Many of them went on to learn another language through the medium of English before taking up this latter career. Marcus, Stefan and Andy, all Swiss German, are pictured in Pannet Park, just opposite the school, posing with symbols of their career or interests (folk-rock music, IT and brass band).
The school closed only last year bringing to an end a period which had enriched the life of the town and particularly of the churches of Whitby which many students attended and served in regularly during their stay.
