Our Activity Programme

Our activity programmes are specifically designed with teenagers in mind and include a balanced mix of sports, activities, workshops, local visits and excursions to ensure our students have fun, make friends, practice their English and learn more about British culture & heritage.

We aim for students to maximise their use of English outside of the classroom and this is achieved through participating in activities, interacting with our staff, making friends with other students and through our Activity Books, which support students’ language learning whilst on local visits and excursions.

We offer a wide range of sports and other activities on campus. Sports may include football, basketball, tennis, volleyball, rounders, swimming and beach volleyball  depending on the facilities available on campus.  Other activities include discos, quizzes, fashion shows, talent shows, film nights, treasure hunts, karaokes and more! We also offer free optional Drama workshops every week with specialist facilitators.

Enhanced Excursion Programmes

We believe an important aspect of the study holiday is for students to learn about the local history and culture of the area in which they are staying. As such, we put a lot of emphasis on full and half-day excursions and local visits to places of historic and cultural interest. In all locations there is a minimum of 1 full day excursion, 1 half day excursion and 2 local visits every week. In selected locations we offer an enhanced excursion programme: 

  • Excursion Premium – Hatfield. Includes 3 full day excursions & 6 half day excursions per 2 weeks (plus dinner at Planet Hollywood and Hard Rock Cafe)
  • Excursion Extra – Preston: Includes 3 full day excursions & 4 half day excursions per 2 weeks
  • Excursion Plus – Lincoln & Hull: Includes 3 full day excursions, 2 half day excursions & 4 local visits per 2 weeks
  • Excursion standard – Bath & Liverpool:  Includes 2 full day excursions, 2 half day excursions & 4 local visits per 2 weeks

All our activity programmes also include:

  • Daytime activities on campus consisting of a mix of sports, activities and games
  • All entrance fees and travel costs as required for the programme
  • Evening activities including discos, talent shows, karaokes and more
  • 1 late return excursion per course with dinner out (£10 dinner vouchers)
  • Weekly optional 90-minute Drama workshop with specialist drama facilitator
  • Morning and afternoon teaching timetable operates in peak weeks. Students alternate weekly between morning classes/activities and afternoon classes/activities (Except in Hatfield where lessons are morning only throughout.)
  • Daytime activities between 09:00-12:30 or 14:00-17:30. Evening activities between 19.30 – 22.00. Exact times  may vary dependent on campus 

Please refer to the downloadable Centre Profile for full details of the activity programme for each centre.

Sample Programme (with morning lessons)

 Week 1  Sunday  Monday  Tuesday  Wednesday  Thursday  Friday  Saturday Sunday
 AM  Arrival  Test & Induction Lesson  Lessons  Lessons  Lessons  Lessons  Full Day Excursion Sports on campus & local visit or  optional full day excursion
 PM  Local visit – guided walking tour of city centre  Sports  Half Day Excursion  Sports  Local visit to city & museum
 Drama  Activities 
 Eve  Welcome Party  Quiz Night  World Cup  Disco  Karaoke  Fashion Show  Film Night Treasure Hunt

Drama Workshops

Optional Drama workshops, led by a drama specialist, are offered weekly to all students and are included in the package price.  Each 90 minute workshop is a stand alone class. Workshops may take place during the day as an alternative to sports and games or in the evenings. Students can sign up for the workshops at the centre if they want to get involved. Drama workshops are suitable for all levels including beginners.

All students will have the opportunity to sign up for at least 1 x 90-minute workshop per week. 

Activity Books

All students receive one of our unique, centre-specific Activity Books, designed to compliment the excursion and local visit programme and enhance the language-learning experience. The Activity Book is packed full of information about the places students will visit and includes a wide variety of English language activities for students to complete during or after the trip. This colourful and informative guide also makes a nice souvenir of their study holiday which students can take home to show their families what they have done on their holiday.

Activity Staff

Students are supervised by Activity Leaders on all our trips and excursions as well as during all on-site activities. Our Activity leaders are usually native speaker undergraduate students who are enthusiastic about working with young international students. Activity leaders are required to follow strict guidelines on supervision and safeguarding as well as motivating students, being friendly, informative and supportive. All Activity Leaders are invited to attend a full induction and training weekend, which includes a 3-hour First Aid course, before taking up their post with us. In each centre there is an experienced Activity Manager  who is responsible for coordinating the programme and managing the Activity team.