FAQs about student courses

The more detail you can give us about what you are looking for, the better we can advise you. Just fill out our enquiry form or call us on +49 69 91 50 96 80. We will discuss your aims and wishes and send you details of a selection of suitable schools and courses..

However you like – you can either fill in the registration form of the selected language school and fax or email it to us, or you can call us and we will process the booking by phone.

We offer our consultancy service to you free of charge. No matter which language school you choose, you will never pay more than the original list price.

Yes, of course. Just call us or fill in our online form to arrange an appointment.

Most of the English courses for school students take place during the holidays, especially in the Easter, summer and autumn holidays. However, there are some offers which are available throughout the year. The language courses usually start on Mondays, and the arrival, depending on the school, should be on the Saturday or Sunday before the course starts. Some language schools choose arrival days during the week, in order to avoid travelling on the weekends which results in cheaper flights. Some special courses have fixed dates, which we will inform you about during our consultation.

Our language schools offer courses for all different levels of English, ranging from absolute beginner to advanced courses. You will provide a rough self-assessment when you book, and then you will do a placement test when you get to the school. The results of the test will be used to place you in the course that is best for you..

The minimum duration for most language courses is one week – however, we recommend you to stay at least two weeks, because the learning success is notably higher then. In particular, courses taking place at boarding schools have a minimum duration of two weeks.

The course hours should not be less than 15 hours per week, which would be three hours per day. We can offer language courses for every intensity level, ranging from 10 to 35 hours per week, according to your wishes.

We can recommend you last-minute teenager courses; however, it is recommendable to book as early as possible. In contrast to adult courses, places for children and teenager programmes are limited. Therefore, if you wish to book a summer course you should book it by March, in order to have the choice between different offers and programmes. We will immediately check availability and can inform you about free places the same day.

The prices for children and teenager courses are essentially higher than comparable adult courses, since the supervision is much more intensive and results in more costs for the schools. Additionally, most of the exceptional programmes are regularly fully booked, which gives the language schools less incentives to offer discounts. However, we can make you some special offers, if for example more than one child is going to the same school – simply let us know!

The rules for minors are much stricter in the UK and Ireland than in any other European countries. Minors can actually never be unsupervised. The safety regulations and rules of conduct for children and teenagers are strict and the language schools are legally bound to enforce them. Schools that neglect those rules lose their official accreditation through the British Council. Thus, it is self-interest of the schools to make security a priority.

Locally your child will be looked after by teacher staff and mentor of the language school and possibly the host families. During the social activities programme, the students are constantly taken care of by mentors and Activity leaders. Depending on the age of the children and on the language institute, the student-mentor ratio is about 1 to 6 for the younger ones and 1 to 15 for the older ones. Thus, your child always has a contact person who is available to help with questions and problems.

The children and teenagers will be placed in carefully picked host families that have experience in the interaction with children and sometimes have children in the same age group. Additionally, families are regularly assessed by the states’ ”Social Services Agency” and the school administration. The Accommodation Officer who chooses the host family is always available as a contact person. They can also help if problems with the host family occur and an immediate change of the host family is wished. Depending on the language school, younger students are often carried to the school by a school bus or the host family, whereas for older students an easy and safe route to the school is guaranteed.

Boarding schools always offer full board, accommodation and social activity programme in one. In nearly all schools, the transfer from the airport is included or bookable at an additional charge. As well as the teachers, there are also English-speaking caretakers who look after the students outside of the lessons. Accommodation takes place in dorm rooms, according to age, there are also some offers with single rooms, especially for teenagers older than 16.The accommodation is strictly separated by gender.

The meals are included in nearly all language schools, therefore the children and teenagers only need money for ice-cream, additional beverages, phone calls home or souvenirs. Certainly the amount depends on the age and habits. 50 Pound or even less per week with full board accommodation are quiet generous. If lunch is not included in the price, approximately 3-4 Pounds should be added on.

Certainly, we can help you find the best/ cheapest flights, you only have to book the flights yourself, since we only are a consulting agency.

You can find cheap/affordable flight with our partners from STA Travel:

Flight search with STA Travel

This depends on the language school. Many schools have fixed arrival and departure days, which you have to consider. An arrival beside the set days is often connected with an additional charge, which is not worth a cheaper flight ticket. Generally, you should assure that departure and arrival times are at reasonable hours. It is best to arrive in the morning or midday and depart in the afternoon, which leaves enough space for transfers.

In most of the children and teenager courses the transfer is mandatory. However, it is possible that those are charged additionally. In some language schools transfer is inclusive, when specific airports and arrival and departure times are considered when booking. In this case our detailed consultancy helps to clarify the conditions. Either way, it has to be guaranteed that your child is directly welcomed at the airport by a staff member of the school and is safely taken to the host family or boarding school. The younger students are directly picked up at the gate, whereas the older students meet at an assembly point at the airport. The students will also be taken to the airport for their departure flights. Either the staff members will help with the check-in or a ”Meet & Greet Service” can be booked to ensure a smooth check-in.

Some airlines offer an accompany service for minors at an additional charge. Here the child will already be greeted at the departure airport and guided throughout the flight and arrival. The school staff member has to be known by name before, in order for the transfer to function. Especially when younger children have never been on a plane before, it makes sense to book this service. On the other hand, Lufthansa for instance allows children from the age of 12 to travel without needing an extra service.