Terms of service

How to book a course

To secure a place on an Edinburgh School of English course, please return the Application Form together with payment of non-refundable deposit

Payment of fees

On receipt of the application and deposit a letter of confirmation is sent with a Statement of Fees which should be settled at least 4 weeks before the course starting date. In the case of registration less than 6 weeks before the course starting date, the full amount of the cost of the course must be sent with the Registration Form. PLEASE NOTE: students will not be allowed to start their course unless FULL PAYMENT has been received by the School. All bank charges must be paid by the student. PLEASE NOTE: if you require a visa the school will provide the visa letter only when full payment has been received by the school. All bank charges must be paid by the student. In the event of an unsuccessful application all fees will be returned in full.

Accommodation address

Accommodation begins on the Sunday before the course starts and finishes on the Saturday after the course ends. Students who have requested the School to book host family accommodation on behalf of the student will receive details of their host family address at least 5 days before the course starting date, unless they enrol late. This enables those students travelling independently to let the host family know of their approximate time of arrival.

Conditions for cancelling or changing a course by the Student

• If the School receives the cancellation before the course starting date, the School will retain the deposit.

• After the course has started, a student must give 10 days’ written notice to the Principal of changes to or cancellation of a course. A cancellation fee equivalent to 1 week’s course fees will be charged. Refunds cannot be made for non-attendance, absence due to illness or any other cause.

• If a student wishes to be absent from the course for 1 or 2 weeks for the purposes of taking a holiday s/he must give the Principal at least 2 weeks’ notice in writing.

• Students who choose to exchange their original choice of course for one of greater value must pay the difference between the two at the time of requesting the upgrade.

• Any refund due when a course is changed or cancelled, or a holiday taken, will be paid to the person who paid for the student’s course at his/ her home address at the end of the course. ‘End of the course’ here is defined as the last date of the course specified on the booking form (i.e. if a student books a 12 week course and decides to leave after 4 weeks s/he will not be refunded until 12 weeks after the start of the course).

• If a student is denied a student visa or study permit and provides the School with a copy of the rejection letter on or before the first day of classes, the School will refund the course fees.

Change or Cancellation of a course by the School

Sometimes it is agreed between the School and a student that it would be beneficial for the student to be moved to another School course. When this happens only a course of at least equivalent cost will be offered by the School.

The School reserves the right to cancel a course, or make changes to course arrangements, without liability, if forced to do so for reasons beyond its control. If this happened, the School would seek to offer alternative arrangements, dates or venues.

If the School cancelled a course booked and paid for by a student in accordance with these terms other than for reasons beyond its control, and did not offer an alternative acceptable to the student, the School would pay compensation as follows:

• Where the cancellation is before the start of the course, compensation equal to the deposit paid by the student or

• Where the cancellation is after the start of the course, compensation equal to one week’s fees.

• We reserve the right to postpone the start of the course for students aged under 18 years if we are not able to source a homestay with the required level of child protection status.

• Maximum class size: during the last 50 years, we have always managed never to exceed the maximum class size described in its course descriptions. The new landscape post Covid19 might mean that in exceptional circumstances, the quality of the education delivered may need to trump the rigour of an exact class size. Therefore, we reserve the right to exceed the maximum class size by up to 4 students in cases of force majeure. Such measures would only be taken in circumstances that can be clearly demonstrated as inevitable and a refund would be offered for the difference in the value of the course linked to class size.

Liability and Insurance

Students should make sure that they organise their own travel insurance to cover medical costs and repatriation costs in the case of an illness or accident.

The School acts only as an intermediary between its students and travel organisations and between students and host families. Unless and to the extent caused by the School’s negligence, the School cannot be held responsible for any delay or accident during a journey nor for any incident which may happen during the student’s stay with the host family. The School will, however, endeavour to defend the student’s interests in the event of breach of contract on the part of the travel organisation or the host family.

The School reserves the right not to allow on the course a student suffering from any illness, medical condition, or mental or physical disability which has not been disclosed on the Application Form.

This brochure, issued by the School, gives the only terms and information that can be referred to in the event of a disagreement between the student and the School. These terms and conditions are governed by English law and do not affect your statutory rights under English law.

Students aged 17

The minimum age to study at the school is 17. Students and the parents/guardians of students aged 17 should understand that they will mix with adults in both lessons and in regulated social events. We offer care and welfare support for students aged 17 though please note supervision outside the school is limited; parents/guardians who feel more support is required should consider a young learners programme.

Personal Information and Photographs

We use the personal information that you give us, including information about your health and religious or dietary requirements, to perform our contract with you. We may also use it to ensure that we comply with UK law, for internal training, or to send you further information about our courses and services. We do not share your details with third parties other than as necessary to perform our contract with you. The information you give us is kept securely on our computer system, and is accessible by the schools and offices in the group of companies to which the School belongs, including those outside the European Union. If you do not want to receive further information from us, please write to us at the address below. Please contact us if you want to see a copy of the information we hold, or have questions about our use of your information.

The School reserves the right to use photographs taken during courses to illustrate its promotional material. If a student wishes that his or her photo should not appear in this material, they should advise the School during the photo-shoot. These photos have no commercial or contractual value.

Information about the School

The School is closed on 25 December, 26 December and 1 January.

In these terms “the School” means Edinburgh School of English

In the UK, courses are operated by Instill Education Limited, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 01293463 and with registered office at 14 Friars Entry, Oxford, OX1 2BZ, United Kingdom

All information correct at time of upload.