Help

Attending an English course is what you should do to improve your English, but, of course, you need accommodation. In addition, to not feel lonely, you need to be part of a group or, anyway, enjoy some social activities.

Accommodation

You will need somewhere suitable to stay when you get to London and while you study here. We know that the quality and location of accommodation are two of the most important factors in determining students' overall satisfaction of their London study experience.

The schools we select can help you arrange your accommodation. There is a wide range of accommodation options to suit your requirements and budget. We strongly suggest that you live close to the school, you'll save your money and spend less time on travel. But, please, never forget that London is an extremely wide city, so that it is usually difficult to find home stay accommodation very close to the school: you will normally have to take the bus (cheaper) or the underground system or overground trains (more expensive) to get to your school.

You can choose from the following accommodation options:

• Homestay
  The best way to learn about the culture of the United Kingdom is to stay as a paying guest in a private home. Most of the students who first get to London, they choose this solutions spending their time living with selected families. Of course, when staying with a host family you can have as little or as much contact with them as you wish. Living in an environment where English is spoken all the time, gives you the fantastic opportunity to use your English in a variety of practical situations. Homestay is usually the place where you make firm friendships: many students keep in touch with their homestay families once they have returned home and remain friends for many years. Accommodation may be in single or twin rooms. If the room is shared, the schools ensure that the students speak different languages, unless they want to share with a friend. You will have use of all essential facilities including the kitchen and bathroom. Depending on your budget, you can choose standard accommodation, superior accommodation (more elegant house) or executive accommodation (in addition to the previous solution you also use a private bathroom). About the meals, you can choose bed & breakfast (BB) – the students will be given storage space in the kitchen/fridge for their own food and drink that they purchase for their evening meal - or bed, breakfast & evening meal (HB), or Full Board (three meals a day, breakfast, lunch & dinner) or Half Board with packed lunch containing a sandwich, fruit, drink and a bag of crisps or a bar of chocolate. Rooms are cleaned frequently and bed linen changed weekly. One load of laundry a week will be usually done for you. You will allowed to receive incoming calls but not make outgoing calls, so we would recommend bringing or buying a mobile.
• Studios & Flatshare
  If you would rather have your own independence or prefer to cook for yourself, you have two options: self-catering studios or flatshares. When you choose a studio solution you live alone, whereas when you choose ‘flat share’,  you rent a room in a shared flat (apartment) or house, that means that you live with other students. This is really a great opportunity to live with new friends from all over the world. You share the kitchen, bathroom and other facilities with your housemates. Bed linen is usually provided and most student houses have a washing machine or you can use a nearby launderette. Rooms are cleaned thoroughly prior to your arrival and you are expected to keep your room clean during your stay.
• Halls of residence
  Halls of Residence are only available for booking for students of 18 years or over. Staying in a student residence gives you the opportunity to live according to a more independent lifestyle.
• Hostels
  It's a cheap solution but not ideal when you plan to stay in London for a long while.
• Hotels
  It’s an expensive solution. You should choose it only for a limited period of time, just to look for a cheaper accommodation.

Social activities

You can get lonely when living in a big city like London! To enable you to make the most of your time in London, develop your English communication skills and make friends, every month several activities are organised by the schools for their students to do in their spare time. These activities, in and out of the school, help you meet other students and make new friends, they are also a good opportunity to practise the English that you have learnt in class. In addition, they help you enjoy all of the culture and entertainment that London has to offer and explore the tourist attractions of London. The activities range from walks around London's most interesting districts, picnics in Royal Parks, guided museum visits, theatre trips and weekend excursions to other British and European destinations, such as Stonehenge, Cambridge, Oxford, Canterbury, Stratford upon Avon, Bath, Reading, Hastings, St Albans, and so on. Most of social programme activities are free, however, some require payment.