These terms and conditions are important so please ask us if there is anything you are not sure about. We want you to enjoy your course and hope these details explain what happens in every possible situation.

 

Enrolment and payment
1. If you want to pay by credit card

To book an individual place direct with the school for any course (face to face or online), please book and pay through our online store and complete our online registration form. We will then confirm your booking when we have received your payment and form. The total amount due will be shadowed in your account and will be released on our confirmation. We will contact you within 24 hours (Monday – Friday) to confirm availability.

 

2. If you want to pay by bank transfer

To book an individual place direct with the school for any course (face to face or online), please complete our online registration form. We will then send you a course invoice which you can use to pay directly from your bank.  Please pay as soon as we confirm your chosen course and accommodation are available- this is necessary to secure your place in our school. Don’t forget to add bank charges for local, intermediary and receiving banks to the final amount you pay.

 

If you need to apply for a visa, please pay in full first, then we can issue an acceptance letter.

 

3. For group bookings

Please contact the school directly for payment terms for group bookings.

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Fees
Course fee covers group or individual tuition.

Accommodation fee covers homestay, bed and breakfast or cottage/apartment accommodation. Please note that if we book bed and breakfast, hotel or apartment/ cottage accommodation on your behalf there will be a one-off booking fee payable to the school.

Transfer fee covers an airport / station pick up by a taxi / mini bus and transfer to accommodation or meeting point. Please note that if your flight is delayed and the taxi or transfer has to wait then you will be charged waiting time usually £20 per hour extra.

Registration fee - we charge one registration fee per course booking.

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Accommodation
If your choice of accommodation is not available for the dates you wish to take your course we will suggest alternative accommodation. We do not ourselves own the accommodation and the individual providers may change their own terms and conditions at any time without notice. The EiT team is here to support you both before and during your stay so please ask us for help about your accommodation if you need it.

 

 

Visas
UK law will always take precedence and EiT is not allowed to offer advice on visa application. We cannot be held responsible for any decisions made by embassies or immigration officials regarding the granting, refusal or extension of visas.

Please ask for professional advice about your visa application and read all the information provided by the UK government.

EiT reserves the right to report low and non-attendance by students to the authorities based on specific law in the UK.

 

Free travel and medical insurance included for all student bookings as per the terms of our Endsleigh policy.

 

Refunds and Cancellations
If you cannot attend your course for some reason, then please cancel it in writing- we cannot accept verbal cancellation.  We will take the cancellation day as the day we receive the written cancellation taking into account that the EiT office is open Monday – Friday (0830 – 1700).  Fees will be refunded to the account / credit card of the original payment.

 

In all cases UK law will take precedence regarding legal conditions for students with visas and course termination. A cancellation due to visa refusal will only be accepted if you send us a copy of the official refusal document.  EiT also reserves the right to demand the return of all letters and documents sent by the school for the visa application if your visa is refused.

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Deposit and cancellation fees for course and host family

1. If you cancel 30 days or fewer before your course start date, your course materials & tuition fees, minus a cancellation charge of £400, will be refunded less any bank charges. If applicable, your homestay fees minus one week’s cancellation fee will be refunded, less any bank charges.  Your registration and accommodation placement fees are non-refundable.

2. If you cancel 31 days or more before your course start date, your course materials, tuition and accommodation fees will be refunded less any bank charges. Your registration and accommodation placement fees are non-refundable.

3. If you cancel your course because your visa application has been refused you will need to provide documentary evidence from the relevant embassy before any refund can be considered. Once we have received a copy of all pages of the visa refusal letter including the last page with the signature of the Entry Clearance Officer & date of refusal we will refund all monies received except the registration fee and accommodation placement fees, minus bank charges.

4. If you have booked and paid through a representative the refund will be made to the representative.

5. If, in exceptional circumstances, the school cancels the booking because we are unable to open, you can receive either a full refund (minus bank charges), a credit note, valid for two years from the course start date, or transfer to an online course for the equivalent value. Any accommodation fee paid will be refunded in full (minus bank charges).

6. For all courses booked online you can cancel within fourteen days (provided you have not already started the course within that period) and receive a full refund.

This does not apply if you have booked bed and breakfast, hotel or apartment/ cottage accommodation through the school as they are external providers and we will abide by their individual refund policies. These do not usually allow for refunds.

 

 

You have a legal right under the Consumer Contract (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 to cancel your booking within 14 days (the “Cancellation Period”) without giving any reason. This excludes any cancellation on accommodation. The Cancellation Period will expire 14 days from the date of our Confirmation. To cancel you must inform us by a clear statement. Please note that a cancellation is only valid when it has been acknowledged by email receipt from English in Totnes.

 

We will not start providing the Services to you during the Cancellation Period unless you expressly request us to do so.

If you cancel in accordance with the Consumer Contract, we will refund the Fees you have paid within 14 days of the date on which you inform us that you wish to cancel. However, if you have expressly requested that we start providing the Services within the Cancellation Period then we will be entitled to charge you a reasonable sum for the Services based on the proportion of the Course you have undertaken and the overall cost of the Course and we can deduct this sum from any refund payable to you.

 

Time off for students
1 – 12 weeks: no holiday
13 – 23 weeks: 2 weeks holiday
24 – 48 weeks: 12 weeks holiday
Holiday must be booked in writing at least two weeks in advance and any breaks taken must be covered by the terms of visa issued by the UK government. No credit is given for accommodation during holidays.

 

Public holidays / school closure
Lessons continue as usual on national public holidays, except for the Christmas holiday period when English in Totnes will be closed from 20/12/2024 - 06/01/2025.

 

Timetable and courses

Our year-round General English 15 timetable is based on two 1.5 hour lessons a day. There is a break of 30 minutes between  lessons. Please note if we do not have a course at your level, we reserve the right to convert your course to half the number of private 1:1 lessons.

Our year-round General English 23 timetable is based on 2 hour lessons on four afternoons after the General English lessons in the morning.  

Please note the  timetable can sometimes be changed- we will tell you in advance if this is going to happen.

One-to-one lessons are arranged throughout the day based on availability of teachers.

Summer course, 50 plus and Walking timetables- please see our website for up to date information.

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Level of English
You need to do the online test at least six weeks before your course starts, or later if you book nearer the time. . Minimum level for General English courses is elementary. 

 

Learning Difficulties and / or disabilities

English in Totnes welcomes applications from potential students with learning difficulties and / or disabilities and will treat each one on a case by case basis. The school is in an old building with stairs but without lifts. Please inform us about your needs and we will discuss all practical issues.

 

Medical and psychological conditions

Whilst the school welcomes students with independently manageable medical and psychological conditions, we do need to know details of the condition and its management before we accept the student’s booking. We will treat each one on a case by case basis. However, if the school is not informed of the condition prior to enrolment and the condition precludes independent living in a host family with other students or managing in the classroom, we reserve the right to refuse host family or school access and send the student home at their own expense.

 

First Aid

As part of induction you will be introduced to the First Aid system where there is a trained First Aider, a standard First Aid Kit and an accident book.

 

Respect

Students come from all over the world and the UK is a cosmopolitan country with populations from different ethnic and religious backgrounds. Teaching staff and homestay hosts are chosen because of their ability to treat students well and carry out their roles professionally and to the highest standards and not because of race, colour or nationality. All students and those who work for English in Totnes must treat each other equally and with respect.

 

Exclusion / expulsion

English in Totnes reserves the right to expel a student for continued poor attendance (below 85%), repeated late arrival, abusive or bullying behaviour to another student, employee or person connected to English in Totnes (e.g. homestay host) or for non-payment of fees. this applies to both face to face and online classes.

 

Airport Transfers
Airport transfers (taxi or minibus to take students to their accommodation or a central meeting point from the airport or station) can be arranged. The fee includes one hour waiting time and any extra time (delay at immigration, waiting for baggage) will be charged on arrival at school on the first day.

 

Liability
EiT will not be held liable for loss, damage or injury to persons or property except when students are the direct responsibility of the school, for example during lessons or on excursions organised by the school.

 

Force Majeure
EiT will not be responsible for failure to comply with any obligations if this failure is caused by anything beyond our reasonable control. Compensation cannot be provided in this instance nor can English in Totnes be responsible for any costs incurred. As is normal in these conditions, such causes can include but are not limited to: war (or threat of), terrorist activity, civil actions and strikes, natural disasters, extreme weather conditions, infectious diseases (or threat of).

 

Photography and filming
Group and individual photographs may be taken professionally for use in marketing materials (e.g. brochure, website) or regularly as part of the day-to-day life of English in Totnes for social media (e.g. Facebook and Instagram) and blogs. If you don’t want us to take photographs of you please tick the relevant box on the reply pack sent in advance of your arrival.

 

Security Statement
We have taken all reasonable steps and have in place appropriate security measures to protect your information. If you require further information about the data on individuals we store please contact the School Manager.

 

Policies
Please review our policies on our Policies page.

 

Visa / Non EEA Students

Punctuality, Attendance and Exclusion

• You must attend at least 85% of your classes

• If you are persistently more than 15 minutes late you will not be allowed in your class if you are an adult; if you are a junior or young adult then we will look for you as per our Attendance and Lateness Policy on our website.

• If you are not at school (ie absent) for 2 days, the Academic Manager will check with you to find out if you have a good reason for being absent- or she will send you an email reminding you that you need to attend at least 85% of your lessons to get a final leaver’s certificate..

• If you continue not to attend school then after 4 consecutive days of being away without reasonable excuse, then the Academic Manager will meet you for a mini-tutorial and give you a verbal warning. Or we will send you a second warning email as above.

• If you continue not to attend school then after 8 consecutive days of being away without reasonable excuse then the Academic Manager sends you a final written warning as above.

• If you continue not to attend school then after 10 consecutive days of being away without reasonable excuse then the Office Manager contacts your agent/ embassy/ parents/ guardians and we make arrangements for you to leave the school and accommodation immediately, usually without refund.

• We will keep copies of all meetings and emails and they will be available on request to relevant internal personnel and external authorities.

 

Complaints and Grievances

We aim to offer you the best quality in terms of classes and overall experience, and therefore we actively ask for feedback on anything related to the school that might improve your experience. If any part of your experience does not meet what you expected, then please come to the office and talk to us.

This might include:

• Accommodation problems

• Class issues (level/teacher(s)/other students or classmates/ timetable/course duration/final examinations, assessment, feedback, etc.)

• Social activities

This is not an exhaustive list.

We try to work out most things immediately but sometimes it might take longer so we aim to acknowledge your comments or complaints within three days and to respond or resolve them within ten working days.

For complaints about classes – students talk to/contact the teacher or make an appointment with the Academic Manager.

For complaints about homestay accommodation – students talk to their host first or to the Office Manager (info@englishintotnes.com).  Or students go direct to the School Directors (Margieandpaul@englishintotnes.com).

We try to resolve most issues at the first point of contact. When things have gone wrong we will do our best to resolve matters quickly and fairly.

We will:

• explain what went wrong and why

• apologise when it is appropriate

• take action to solve the situation, when possible.

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can take the matter further by contacting our umbrella body: English UK Tel: +44 20 7608 7960  Email: info@englishuk.com

 

Holidays and Breaks

Student holidays and breaks cannot at any point exceed one third of the total weeks of the course elapsed. Please try to book your holiday in advance before your course starts. If you are a visa student then we may pass these details to the visa authorities and no changes to dates may be made.  If you are a non visa student then you can arrange to take time off by completing a Holiday Request Form and giving it to  the Office  Manager provided that you do not take more than 1/3rd of your total course weeks so far (as above).  You cannot go on holiday without telling us first except if you are sick and bring us a Doctor’s letter or if someone close to you dies. In such cases a written request should be sent to the School Directors (Margieandpaul@englishintotnes.com).

 

Sick Leave

Please tell the school should if you are absent due to sickness on the first day of your sickness and each day after that. This may be by email (info@englishintotnes.com ) or telephone (+ 44 (0)1803 865722), or text (+44 (0)7760309246).

Please give us a certificate from a doctor on the first day of your return to school. Where uncertified sick leave extends beyond that of statutory entitlement and the 85% attendance, and or one third total elapsed time on the course, the Exclusion Policy (see above) will be enforced.

 

Social programme
We offer a paid excursion programme every week- it is more economical to book this in advance. Activities may be changed or replaced according to circumstances outside our control.

 

Cancellation
We reserve the right to cancel the course before the specified date if there is insufficient demand; however, as much as possible we will convert the group lessons into half the number of one-to-one lessons, having notified the student in advance that this will happen.