Private Languages Schools

As the name suggests, these are privately owned schools and can be small family run schools or large organisations with several branches around the UK. Some of the bigger language school groups also have schools in the USA, Australia and Canada as well as the UK.

Location
Many of the language schools in the UK are on the south coast in places such as Bournemouth and Brighton. There are also lots of language schools in London, Oxford and Cambridge though having said this, most UK towns and cities will have at least one language school.

School Size
Some private language schools are very large and have hundreds of students and some will be very small with less than a hundred.

Start Dates
These are usually very flexible with students being able to start a course on any Monday. Long Budget courses will tend to have set start dates.

Courses
They all teach a wide range of courses from basic to advanced English, English for examinations such as IELTS and TOEFL, business English, academic English and English for specific purposes (Hospitality & Tourism, Law, Pilots, Nursing etc.), and vacation English.

Tuition Fees
Tuition fees range greatly and depend on the following:
Number of lessons studied per week - typically 15, 20, 25 or 30 hours
Length of study - the longer you study, the cheaper the weekly fees
Class size - Most range from 12 to 15 students but some of the cheaper schools may have as many as 25

Accommodation
Family Homestay is the norm but a few private language schools may have some residential student accommodation though this will be more expensive than Homestay.

Here is a list of recognised language schools, contact your local GetSet Centre to see which is the one for you.

Anglo Continental                           Basil Patterson                                Beet
Bell Language Centres                   Cicero Languages International      Colchester ESC
Concorde International                   Devon School of English                 Embassy
English in Chester                           English Language Centre Brighton Excel English Language School
Exeter Academy                              Frances King School of English      Harrogate Language Academy
Harven School of English                Hilderstone College                        Inlingua Cheltenham
International House                         Kaplan                                            Kings Colleges
Language Studies International      LSI Portsmouth                               London School of English
Manchester Academy of English     Manchester School of English         OISE
Oxford House College                     Pilgrims                                           Regent
Folkstone SES                                Sidmouth International                    Southbourne School of English
St Giles                                           Victoria School of English               Wimbledon School of English

University Language Centres

Most universities will have a language centre, mainly for presessional courses aimed at improving students' English and study skills for degree study. Some Universities will also offer year round courses for general or academic English. The main difference between university language centres and the private language schools is the start dates. Year round language courses at university language centres tend to start only at the beginning of each term and not any Monday. Another difference is that they don't normally have classes for basic or beginner English. Here are some university Language centres that offer year round courses.

Anglia Ruskin University           Bath Spa University                 Canterbury Christ Church University
INTO City University                  INTO UEA                                University of Edinburgh                         
INTO University of Exeter          Glamorgan University              INTO Glasgow Caledonian        
University of Glasgow               Gloucestershire University       London Metropolitan University 
INTO University of Newcastle    University of the Arts London   Northumbria University                  
Nottingham Trent University      Oxford Brookes University       Queen Mary University of London  
University of Salford                 Sheffield Hallam University     University of Southampton                
SOAS University of London       University of Stirling
 

Further Education College Language Centres

One of the main benifits of FE college Language centres is that students can often combine language study with any modules that the college offers depending on timetabling. For example you could study English for three hours each morning and then in the afternoon take some modules in business or secretarial studies. Of course this would depend on your level of English as your class mates would mostly be local UK students.

Accommodation
Most FE college accommodation is family Homestay though a small number have their own student residence.

Fees
FE College fees tend to be a bit cheaper but they can have bigger class sizes and sometimes not so many levels.

Here we list the Further Education Colleges that are best equipped for accepting overseas students for langauge study.

Chichester College            Bradford College                       New College Nottingham                   
Newcastle College            Sheffield College                    

Independent School Language Centres

Some independent schools have International Study Centres that prepare overseas students for integration into UK independent schools and 6th form colleges. Study is on a termly basis and will have an academic focus.

Accommodation
Mostly onsite residential dormitories though older students may get their own rooms

Fees
These tend to be higher as the teaching is quite intensive and the class sizes usually very small.

Below is a list of independent schools offering year round English language preparation.

Bellerbys Colleges                CATS Cambridge                           CATSCanterbruy                                 
Kent College                         Rossall School ISC                       Sherborne School ISC                        
King's Ely ISC                        Taunton School ISC