FAQs on English courses for pupils

The more precisely you tell us what you are looking for, the better we can advise you. Simply fill in our enquiry form or call us on +49 69 91 50 96 80. We talk about your goals and wishes and then send you a selection of suitable suggestions.

Just as you like – either you fill in the registration form of the language school you have chosen and fax or email it to us, or you call us and complete the booking conveniently by telephone.

Our advice is free of charge for you. Whichever school you choose, you always pay the original price.

Most English courses for school students take place in the holiday months, especially at Easter, in the summer holidays and in the autumn holidays. However, there are also offers that are available all year round and are therefore also suitable for the German Whitsun holidays, for example. The language courses usually start on Mondays, with arrival on Saturday or Sunday depending on the school. Some language schools also choose arrival days during the week, so that your child does not have to fly at the weekend and gets a cheaper fare. Some special courses have fixed start dates, but we will point these out to you during our consultation.

Our language schools offer courses at various levels, from beginner to advanced. When booking, you simply give a rough self-assessment. On the first day of school, you then take a placement test at the language school. Based on the test result, the right language course is then selected, taking the age group into account.

The minimum duration of most language courses is one week – but we recommend going for at least two weeks, as experience shows that learning progress is significantly greater. At boarding schools in particular, the language courses often last at least two weeks.

The number of hours should not be lower than 15 hours, which corresponds to three hours a day. We can offer language courses at all levels of intensity, for young people from 10 to 35 hours a week, entirely according to your wishes.

We can still recommend a course for young people at short notice, but it is advisable to book as early as possible. Unlike adult courses, places on courses for children and young people are more limited, so the early bird catches the worm here. For a summer course, it is best to book by March, when all offers are sure to still be available. We check availability at short notice and can tell you on the same day whether there is a place on the course.

Courses for children and young people are considerably more expensive than comparable adult courses, because supervision is much more intensive and the schools therefore incur higher costs. In addition, most good programmes are regularly fully booked, so the language schools have less reason to offer a discount. Nevertheless, we can often make special offers here too, for example if you send several children to the same language school – just ask us!

The rules for minors in Great Britain and Ireland are considerably stricter than in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. Minors are in fact never allowed to be unsupervised. The safety regulations and rules of conduct for children and young people are also stricter, and the language schools are legally obliged to enforce them accordingly. Schools that disregard these rules lose their official accreditation by the British Council. The language schools therefore have their own interest in always putting safety first.

On site, your child is looked after during the stay by the teachers and supervisors of the language school and, where applicable, by the host families. During the activity programme, the students are under the constant supervision of supervisors and “Activity Leaders”. Depending on the age of the children and on the language institute, the ratio of students to supervisors is about 1 to 6 for the younger ones and 1 to 15 for the older ones. Your child therefore always has someone to turn to with questions or problems.

On both children’s and young people’s courses, the students are accommodated in specially selected host families who have experience with children and sometimes have children of their own in the same age group. All host families are also regularly inspected by the state “Social Services Agency” and the school administration. The so-called “Accommodation Officers”, who select the host family, are available to your child as a contact person at any time. In the event of problems, they can also arrange an immediate change of host family. Depending on the language school, younger students are usually taken to school and collected either by a school bus or by the host families – for older students, a simple and safe journey to school is guaranteed.

Boarding schools always offer full board, accommodation and an activity programme all in one. With almost all providers, airport pick-up is included; otherwise it can be booked for an extra charge. Besides the teachers, native-speaker supervisors look after the language students outside lessons. Depending on age and boarding school, students sleep in multi-bed rooms; there are a few offers with single rooms, especially for young people aged 16 and over. The accommodation is strictly separated by gender.

At almost all language schools all meals are included in the price, so children and young people otherwise only need pocket money for ice cream, extra drinks, souvenirs and similar small items. The amount naturally depends on age and personal habits. As a generous estimate, about £50 per week with full board is recommended – but less is usually enough.

Certainly. We look for the cheapest flight connection for you; you only have to book the flight yourself, as we only act in an advisory capacity.

That depends entirely on the language school. Many schools have fixed pick-up and drop-off times at the airports. Arriving outside the time windows set by the language school usually involves an extra charge, so a cheaper flight ticket is not always worthwhile.
In general, make sure that the outbound and return flights take off and land at reasonable times. Ideally, your children should arrive in the morning or at midday and fly back in the afternoon, so that they have enough time for the transfer.

On most courses for children and young people, the transfer is compulsory – although it may well be charged extra. At some language schools the transfer is included if you keep to certain airports and times. Our detailed advice helps here to clarify exactly how and when. Either way, it must be guaranteed that your child is met directly at the airport by a member of the school’s staff, so that they can then be taken safely to the host family or boarding school. The younger students are met at the gate, the older ones meet at a meeting point. The students are also taken to the airport on the day of departure. Either the supervisors help with check-in or a “Meet & Greet Service” can be booked in addition to ensure a smooth check-in.

Some airlines offer a paid escort service for minors (“Unaccompanied Minors”), where the child is received by the airline at the departure airport and then looked after through every stage of the journey until the handover at the arrival airport. In this case, the language school’s member of staff must be known by name for the handover to work. Especially if younger children have never flown before, it makes sense to book this service. On the other hand, Lufthansa, for example, already takes children aged 12 and over without an extra service.