English Academy at TASIS England

The main course is English. The British Council accredited English Language Program runs from beginner to advanced, with students assessed on arrival and placed in the class that matches their ability; up to five levels of instruction are available. Teaching is intensive and practical: grammar, speaking, writing and reading are built through discussions, presentations, group work and classroom activities, in small classes with experienced teachers who hold recognised British or American teaching qualifications. Alongside the main course each student chooses one elective — creative art, digital journalism, graphic design, music, performing arts, robotics or video production — and some electives include field trips in London and southern England. Students bring their own laptop for their courses.

The academy is a residential programme for students aged 11 to 17 on the TASIS England campus. The fee covers tuition on the main English course and the elective, boarding accommodation on campus, meals in the School dining service, the daily sports and activities programme and the excursion programme. Students travelling on their own and arriving on the opening day of a session can be met at London Heathrow or London Gatwick by a School representative at no additional expense. Horse riding is offered at an additional cost.

Students board on the School campus in separate boys’ and girls’ accommodation, and are placed by age group. Rooms hold between one and three students, and the large majority are double rooms shared by two. Room allocation is decided by the School to keep the boarding environment safe and inclusive; friends and siblings are not placed together, so that every student meets new people. Accommodation is not available before the opening day of a session or after five in the afternoon on the published closing day.

Meals are served by the School dining service and are part of the programme. The menu changes through the week and always includes vegetarian dishes and a salad bar; dishes containing meat, wheat and lactose are labelled. The campus is nut free. Allergies, intolerances and special diets are listed by the family on the medical form before arrival, and the School then advises on the arrangements it can make.

Every afternoon and evening has a programme. On the sports side the campus offers basketball, football, tennis, volleyball, fitness training and yoga, with arts and crafts and food and nutrition alongside them, all led by the School’s own coaches; horse riding is available at an additional cost. Evenings bring social events, and weekends are given to excursions: London landmarks, West End theatre, Chelsea Football Club and the Warner Bros. Studio Tour are among the places students visit. Students who stay for both sessions also take a compulsory overnight trip to a destination in the United Kingdom between the two sessions.

The programme uses the School’s 46-acre campus in Thorpe, Surrey, west of London. It holds classrooms, boarding houses, a dining hall, outdoor playing fields, a fitness centre and the rest of the sports provision the summer programme draws on. The on-campus Health and Well-being Center has nursing staff on duty around the clock, and a hospital is nearby.

Students come from more than fifty countries, and the academy is built so that a child can arrive on their own and still feel at home: small classes, a structured day, staff on the boarding houses and a programme that fills the afternoons and evenings. English is the working language of the whole campus, inside the classroom and outside it, so progress comes from living in the language as much as from lessons. Students are encouraged to call home once they have arrived and settled.