We are just 15 minutes from Dover by train, where ferry services operate to France.
Our philosophy
We are proud to be a family-owned language school in Canterbury
This and the fact that we keep our class sizes small means we are able to offer a student-centered experience.
In addition, you will also have regular tutorials with your teacher; this ensures we can plan lessons to help you make good progress.
The school has seven classrooms, all with DVD and audio equipment. We have free broadband access and can recommend specific websites to help you improve your English.
One way of improving your English vocabulary is to read extensively. We have a selection of contemporary and classic fiction and non-fiction student readers. To help improve your listening skills, we have an audio and a DVD film library.
The school provides homestay which means students live with hosts. Hosts can be a couple or a single person with or without children. We also provide “private accommodation”. This means students stay with hosts, but there are more than three students in the home at the same time.
Please respect your homestay by not making too much noise in the evening – they may have their own children or have to get up for work early in the morning.
Students should not help themselves to food unless agreed with the homestay.
If you wish to use the home phone, you will need to ask the permission of the homestay even if you use a phone card. All bills will be charged to the student, the parents (in the case of minors) or agencies if permission was not sought.
we are committed to protecting and safeguarding all our students from harm and abuse regardless of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, disability or beliefs. There are, however, particular measures applicable specifically to under-18s (hereafter referred to as “child” or “children”).
We are committed to reviewing policies and procedures annually unless changes in legislation and requirements of our accrediting bodies require the policy to be reviewed more regularly than once a year.
There is a curfew time of 10.30 at night for students under 18 staying in homestay accommodation. The school social programme is optional for independent students but a part of our group students’ weekly programme. Social programme events are supervised and risk assessment has been carried out for all social activities. Students who are under 18 and not part of a group programme are not closely supervised outside class times. All our homestay providers understand that they need to advise students on the safest and easiest route to and from school as they will not be escorted. If parents and guardians are worried about this, bus travel passes can be purchased from Canterbury bus station.
All homestay providers sign a self-declaration stating they have had no criminal offences and know of no reason why children should not be accommodated with them. The main caregiver is DBS checked. Homestay providers need to be aware that any adult visitors to their home may not have been checked. Daily access to washing facilities (bath or shower) is essential and privacy needs to be respected both in the bathroom and bedroom areas. No student shall share a bed. All students need to feel comfortable and safe in the accommodation. The students need to know where to exit the building in case of fire and of safe routes to and from the school.
It is a legal requirement for taxi and coach companies to only use drivers who have been properly DBS checked. We require written confirmation from transport companies that we use that this has been carried out.
It is the school’s policy to ensure that under 18s who are studying as part of a closed group are accompanied by their group leaders on excursions. The ratio is 15-20 students to 1 group leader. Social evenings at the school are supervised by our social organiser; an extra member of staff is used when the number exceeds 15 students. If you would like your under 18 year old child to have a supervised excursion, we can only guarantee this if they are part of a group or if they study at the school when we are running our Course B + Summer Activities Course for four weeks in the summer.
Offer him / her reassurance without making promises, and take what the child says seriously.
The school has over 30 years’ experience in helping foreign students to obtain visas to enter and stay in the UK to study
We are a member of English UK and accredited by the British Council.
