Work and Study

Students aged 16+ are able to travel. In Germany accommodation is only available to students 18+ but if you have independent accommodation we are happy to discuss a tailor-made solution with you as we have offered many students in the past.

If you are a teacher wanting to take a class of students, we can arrange a tailor-made trip for your group organising transport, accommodation and language school and/or work placements for each of your students.

Yes! We are happy to arrange for pairs or small groups of friends to travel and stay together.  Each student creates their own booking and deals with payment and administration independently.

Work placements are typically independent and we rarely recommend attending the same placement.

Accommodation can be arranged together or independently but we only provide same-sex host accommodation sharing for under 18s.

Every trip we have many students who travel on their own.

Travelling alone can be a great experience and can be a good practice for going away to university. It also fosters independence in a safe and supported environment.

The language school will give you plenty of opportunity to meet new people and socialise in and out of the school. The staff at the school are also very supportive and used to having independent travellers. The host will also be available to welcome you and introduce you to the area.

We suggest about £150, bearing in mind you have to buy your own lunch each day.

If students want to join in with all the social activities at the language school and buy presents for their friends at home etc, you may want a little more.

Students may require public transport to get to their work placement although many are very central their accommodation. Students should budget a small amount of money for this but will know before they go if it is necessary.

You should consider taking some Euros and having access to either withdraw more or be able to spend on a debit card. Many banks now provide services where you can spend abroad without being charged an additional fee other than the exchange rate. Feel free to ask us for more details.

These courses are sold for individual (or pairs or small groups of friends). However, once you arrive at the school there will be lots of other students there. In any given week, it is hard to know how many students will be travelling from the UK but there will always be lots of international students and usually plenty of people your own age around the school to mix with.

We have 16 business categories of placements. Students are required to complete an application form including the opportunity to choose 8 of our 16 business categories. We are usually able to provide a placment in the top 3/4 prefrences. (In the case of late applications choice of placements can sometimes be more limited).

Placement allocations are based on your profile combined with the availability of placements.

Students will also be asked to write a letter to their prospective employer in the language of the destination country. All of the information given on the application form and in the letter is taken into consideration when we choose your placement, as is the level of your language skills as outlined by your teacher on the booking form.

Placements are allocated prior to travel and students are informed of their placement two weeks prior to travel by means of a final mailing and via their MyAccount.

We have an extensive range of placements. No two are the same and the tasks at each vary considerably. Students will be given some indication of the tasks when they receive their placement, however, they should be prepared to fully engage in all the aspects of the work at the placement.

It is important to note that the main aim of the work experience trip is to improve students’ linguistic abilities as well as providing the opportunities to learn and apply tranferable skills.

It is also worth noting that some roles will involve tasks similar to that of a part-time job in the UK, others may involve shadowing your supervisor whilst they carry out tasks. There is a lot of variety between placements. You are welcome to ask for more guidance in choosing your placement preferences.

Students will normally spend 5 half days at their work placement in a typical week. Ocasionally, due to Bank Holidays, weekday closures or other constraints some students may work less than five days. In these instances additional opportunities for recreation, discovering the local area etc. are usually available.

We aim to provide in the region of 15 hours work over the week. This may vary depending on the nature of the work placement and this will not be the same for every student on the trip as workplace opening hours vary.

We recommend booking at least 10 weeks prior to travel. This gives plenty of time to arrange the appliation, enrolment at the language school, work placement and accommodation.  

Late applications may sometimes be accepted so it is worth contacting us to enquire about booking. We recommend booking early to to avoid disappointment.

The package is detailed above. 

We recommend allowing £150 to cover the following:

• Lunches
• Food for the journey
• Optional Social and Cultural Programme
• Local transport if required
• Souvenirs

Optionally, you may want to allow a small amount of money for a gift for your host or placement supervisor or you may choose to bring something from the UK.

When you enrol and pay your deposit, we will make some preliminary arrangements. Allow 2/3 days. We will then confirm your trip by email. At this stage you can book travel with confidence. We request that you inform us of your travel plans so that we can make your accommodation/host family aware and arrange transfers if necesasary.

As with most city breaks, to make the most of exploring the area there will be lots of walking and exploring using public transport. This will help you get to know the city and give you plenty of opportunities to use your language skills.

You may be required to take public transport to get to your work placement. 

Coach Option: Coach transportation to the various destinations is normally provided from pick-up points at motorway services in England along the M1/M25 or M5/M6/M4/M25 corridors. The coach travels to Dover crossing by ferry to Calais.

Students are responsible for making their own travel arrangements to reach their allocated service station. Some students arrange to lift share. Mobile numbers of students are published in MyAccounts for those students who choose to share their numbers. This can help with lift sharing in some instances.

Air Option: Flights will be from one of the main London airports (Luton, Stansted, Gatwick or Heathrow). Students are responsible for making their own travel arrangements to the allocated UK airport.

Return transfers between the airport and accommodation in your destination are included in the package. 

We frequently have students who join the group by travelling independently. This can be due to other commitments, travelling onwards after the trip or travelling from distant locations. This can be arranged in most instances as required. You should contact us at the time of booking to discuss the options available. 

Where necessary, we will request some brief additional paperwork for students travelling independently to assist the Group Leader in ensuring that you meet up with the main group or make onward travel. 

Host Family Option: Students are welcomed into a host family for the duration of the stay. The hosts provide meals and the opportunity to speak the target language as well as being an excellent source of local knowledge. 

Residence: Students 18+ are able to stay at the school student residences. These are lively places to stay but offer independence and freedom to enjoy the city.

Hotel / Hostel Option: Older students  (18+) sometimes choose to stay at local hotels/hostels. We are happy to advise as required.

Host Family Option: Breakfast and evening meals are provided.

Residence: Self-catering – no meals provided but there are always plenty of places to eat out to make the most of the local area and culture. 

Where small adjustments are needed such as avoiding strawberries for a mild allergy reasons or avoiding certain foods out of preference (like brussel sprouts, for example), you can simply inform us on your application and we will make sure that the host family knows to avoid these foods during your stay.

If you have a more severe allergy please let us know through your application.  It is important we know this as soon as possible so that we can allocate hosts appropriately. Where slight adjustments to the food served are needed these can usually be made in most families. If more significant changes are needed we may seek a specific family who can cater for your needs.

If you carry an epi-pen (or similar) for allergies, we will inform the host family in advance if you are staying with a host.

Vegetarian, Vegan, Halal, Gluten Free and other specific diets can usually be accommodated. In some locations there may be a charge for a special diet to be provided. Again, please let us know of any requirements early in your application. 

Some host families have pets. If you have a preference to avoid staying with a host family with pets please let us know via your application.

These trips are provided for students who are confident or aiming to grow in confidence. As such, they include a level of supervision provided by the language school and the host family who are in liaison with us in the UK office as necessary. However, there is also a degree of independence and freedom for young students to use their time at their discretion in a sensible manner as a young adult.

Older students are obviously afforded the same level of support, as required.

We ask that students read, sign and adhere to the Code of Conduct and that this is supported by parents/guardians as necessary.

The Code of Conduct is part of the application process. It is an agreement that we ask students and parents/carers to sign in order to make clear the expectations of students behaviour on these trips. In general students are keen to get the most our of the trip and this is best achieved when following the simple rules.

The Code of Conduct reads:

We have put together a handy packing guide here. Of course you may need extras that are not listed here but this is a starting point.

We have a Covid 19 Policy which should offer some reassurance. We will ensure that sensible precautions are being taken and we will keep our destinations and choices of travel up to date with the latest guidance from the FCDO making sure that we minimise risk as far as is practicable.

Ultimately, the decision to travel rests with students (and parents/carers). We want you to feel safe when you travel. We recommend following the latest guidance from the national and international bodies that advise on health and safety in relation to this virus.