Frequently asked questions
Information about our English courses, Jersey and travel below
About us
St Brelade’s College was established in 1978, so we have 45 years of experience in providing quality English programmes for young international students. We aim to provide a safe environment where young students can develop their English skills and make new friends from other countries.
St Brelade’s College is the only English language school in the Channel Islands accredited by the British Council. This means the school is regularly inspected across a wide range of criteria to ensure it meets the high standards both for the tuition and welfare of our students.
Jersey
Jersey is known to be a safe, clean and beautiful island. For our younger students we offer a range of exciting beach activities such as surfing, kayaking and banana rides. Teenagers can also participate in a range of evening activities in the summer such as sports evenings and our renowned weekly barbecue.
Accommodation
Homestay accommodation is intended to give students a taste of British life. They live with local people and take part in their daily lives. In this way, they have an opportunity to practise English and learn about British culture. However, you should also consider that they may not live in the same way as you do. Their customs, routines and eating habits may be completely different to your own. If you do not feel your child can easily adapt to this way of life, we suggest residential accommodation. We also recommend the residence for students who want to be guaranteed to be near St Helier.
Students (13-17 years) generally share a room with students of different nationalities in their homestay accommodation, however we cannot guarantee this, especially during peak periods. Juniors under 13 years must share with a friend or family member. Unless requested, we only place two students to a room, with a maximum of four students per homestay. Please note that outside summer, it is more likely that young students will be alone in the homestay, as there may not be any other nationalities in the school at that time.
Yes. Please write the name of the person they wish to share with on the application form.
We try to place students of different nationalities together, however we cannot guarantee this, especially during peak periods.
We have specially selected hosts for this age group. Nevertheless, younger students can be prone to home sickness, especially if it their first trip away from home alone. This is why we insist that students aged 12 and under stay in a homestay with a friend or older brother/sister.
Our hosts can cater for basic diet requirements such as a vegetarian diet at no extra cost. Specific dietary requirements, catering for intolerances & allergies may incur an additional charge of £27.50 per week if staying in homestay or residence. Please give as much information as possible to the office in order for the hosts to prepare for this.
Wherever possible we try to take into account students’ preferences. However we are unable to guarantee such requests, and students should be aware that during busy periods, it is more difficult to meet requests about homestay location. We recommend that students who want to be near St Helier should choose residential accommodation.
Wherever possible we try to take into account students’ preferences. However it is not always possible to meet these requirements, especially at peak periods. Please also consider that English teenagers, like all teenagers, can be very independent and may not necessarily wish to spend their free time with students.
Please read our terms and conditions for details on supervision for juniors.
St Brelade’s College has a duty of care to young people attending courses and aims to ensure that staff, group leaders, accommodation providers and other suppliers help to keep them safe. Find out more by visiting our safeguarding policy website.
Courses
Holiday courses include activities every afternoon, while the semi intensive course includes English lessons on two afternoons and activities on three afternoons. The semi intensive course is available for students aged 14 years and above.
For more serious students we suggest the adult intensive course which includes morning lessons, plus four afternoons. The course is available for students aged 16+ years.
Outside of summer, all junior and adult courses are held at St Brelade’s College in St Aubin.
In the summer, all holiday course students (12-16 years) study at Highlands College (a local college of further education), close to St Helier. Older teenagers on the semi intensive or adult intensive courses (16 & 17 years), along with adults, study at St Brelade’s College.
Lessons take place every morning, Monday to Friday on all junior English courses, with lessons some afternoons on the more intensive English courses.
Courses at St Brelade’s College take place at the below times. Please note: morning lessons at Highlands College start 15 minutes later.
- 9:00 – 10:30
- 11:00 – 12:30
On the semi intensive course, students also study on two afternoons from 13:30 – 15:40 (2 hours of lessons with 10 minutes break).
During the summer, 2 or 3 optional evening activities are offered for students aged 13 and over, plus a Sunday afternoon meeting on the beach. Pre-teens (12 years) can also participate in weekend beach games during the summer, as well as a BBQ. Outside of summer there is a weekly evening BBQ for all juniors. These are all supervised by St Brelade’s College staff.
Jersey is an ideal destination for families and we have designed our programmes to take families into account.
During the summer, parents with teenagers on semi intensive and intensive courses (16 & 17 years) all come to our main school in St Aubin.
Pre-teens (12 years) study at Highlands College in the summer, and a private minibus can bring them to St Brelade’s College in St Aubin to meet parents at the end of the school day. Teenagers (13 – 17 years) at Highlands College, who are staying in homestay are provided with a free public bus pass (if not within walking distance) so they can travel independently to meet parents.
Outside of summer, all students study together at the main school.
At our adult student residence, a number of twin rooms are available for single parents sharing with one child and there is the option to add a temporary bed to our superior inland room for couples with a younger child (under 14 years).
Transport & arrival
You can call Condor Ferries in France on +33 (0)2 99 40 78 10.
All juniors (other than those travelling with an arranged school group from the E.E.A or Switzerland) must have a valid passport to enter Jersey. An ID card is no longer accepted.
For EEA or Swiss nationals studying in Jersey for up to 6 months, a visa is not required.
We recommend that you visit the UK Borders Agency for more details about which countries require visas and the visa application process.
Children under 16 cannot travel alone with Condor Ferries. St Brelade’s College offers a chaperone service to Jersey. If you are interested in arranging this then please contact our office and we can provide you with more details.
We need accurate information concerning the date, time and place of arrival in Jersey at least four weeks before the start of the course. It is essential we have these details in time to inform the hosts so that they can make the necessary preparations ahead of your child’s stay.
No! Please ensure that the arrival details are provided directly to St Brelade’s College. It is our responsibility to be sure that all students are collected by their host when they arrive. For this reason we need to be sure that all the hosts have the correct arrival details for their student(s). However, this does not mean that you should not contact the host prior to arrival. In fact we encourage students to contact their host ahead of their stay.
If you are accompanying your child to Jersey we will organise a meeting time and place. This will usually be the harbour or study centre, as it is easy to find.
In order to allow the host time to prepare for the arrival of their next students, we ask all students to try to arrive on Sunday and leave on Saturday. If they are unable to arrive on a Sunday, a Saturday arrival is accepted for an additional fee but we regret that Sunday departures are not usually possible.
The host or residence staff will meet your child at the harbour or airport when they arrive. They will be holding a St Brelade’s College arrival card with their name on so that they can be easily recognised. They will also take your child back to the airport or harbour at the end of their stay. Please note that students staying in the residence may also be collected by a taxi driver.