Programma FLASH | Learn in a Flash

Our School Houses

A School House is a great host family providing full board accommodation, quality services, possibly a full time schedule and even with a qualified professional language teacher.

See Our Teaching Method for how School Houses are selected and for the Teaching Skills categories.

View 56 School Houses →

Included Services

Assistance. From registration to and beyond your return, technical support and commercial guidance, pre-sales information and post sales assistance, 24/7 availability in case of emergency. Remote and in loco assistance with clear pricing for exceptional events.
Pick up and drop off. Your School House host will pick you up in town at an airport shuttle stop or even at the airport if more convenient for them, the same for drop off the day of departure. Individual arrangements are not necessary for group departures as your Group-Leader will lead you there.
Weekend day with the hosts. The first Sunday your host family will do something with you — visit the School House page to see what they usually do and their interests.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Your School House will provide the full board, lunch may be packed from Monday to Friday. Visit the School House pages to see their typical meals and the special diets they offer.
Single or shared room. Checking availability on the School House page, twin rooms may be shared with a foreign student (same gender and similar age). The price doesn't change.
No co-nationals. School Houses will not accept two students of the same nationality, unless you expressly request or allow it. It is our policy to guarantee avoiding the use of one's own language. We guarantee no other co-national in the same School House.
Unpaid work experience (if over 16 years of age). Either Curricular Traineeships, for EU high school students, or volunteering in not-for-profit organisations. In both cases, for our policy, you will not find another student of the same nationality or speaking the same language.
30' of conversation time Monday to Friday. Your School House will dedicate 30 minutes to you every day, from Monday to Friday, to speak about your day, your work experience, whatever you like. Mostly conversation to ensure yourself plenty of meaningful proper speaking practice, to improve fluency.

Conversation time is speaking practice, not a lesson: chatting freely, with no supporting media and material, is the best outcome possible. Any topic will do — work experience, friends and family, everyday life, culture, history, working and school here and there, typical food, Nottingham, England, gardening, cooking, technology, TV programmes, music, art.

More Dedicated Time

You might want to work part-time, or not work at all, to fully make use of this opportunity. These costs are shared among our Student Guests staying at the same School House (when 2 or more).

10 or 15 hours of conversation time Monday to Friday. Individual or sharing with your School House Mates, the cost is shared among the students (when 2 or more). It is normally expected for 14 and 15 year old students in groups. Books, materials and exam fees are paid on top of what the School House charge for their time.
Afternoon CLIL activities. Every day your School House host will take you to see places and do things, practice your language skills while exploring and having fun. Admission tickets, transport and other extra costs of activities are paid on top of what the School House charge for their time.

Visiting the city of Nottingham, there are hundreds of places to go, including free-of-charge options; 20% of the city is covered by parks and open areas, with cycle paths along many of the canals and parks. Ready-made, free guided tours are available via a smartphone app, using the city tourism office's maps: a Nottingham Trail to visit the major tourist places of interest, a Hidden Independent Shopping tour, and a Creative Quarter tour. Around Nottingham, places of cultural interest include Newstead and its Abbey, Southwell, Lincoln castle and cathedral, and the Sherwood park, Derbyshire Peak District and Derbyshire dales, as well as local boroughs and villages such as Ruddington, West Bridgford, Sherwood and Mapperley.

Free Time

You must work part-time, or not work at all, in order to have free time. You may opt for this solution to save money or simply because preferable.

Sports centre. Signing up to one of Nottingham's selected Sports Centres with gyms, swimming pools and other facilities is very easy. Most offer a pay-as-you-go plan, or a weekly/monthly membership to access all the services. We estimate the cost to be less than £50 a week, and your School House will help you sign up.
Go visiting / sightseeing. We will send you a link to a great App with virtual guide which offers three guided tours of the city of Nottingham: tourist attractions; independent shopping and Creative Quarter. The App is free.

Plan Your Week

You should decide beforehand whether to work or not and for how many hours a week. This because if you choose to work full time, you will not be able to do extra lessons, or afternoon activities, or have free time to do sports or go visiting.

On top of the included services you may ask your School House for more dedicated time in the form of conversation sessions and/or afternoon CLIL activities, all well and good to improve your English language skills.

A Real Full-Immersion

Upon arrival, each student will be welcomed by one's own School House and the personal experience will begin, with individual work experience, conversation sessions and so on. Organizationally, each student does not come into contact with other students of the same nationality or speaking the same language during the stay. We accept requests for sharing School House and lessons, but they are denied for any work or volunteering experience.

No groups of co-nationals who meet in a College or common structure: every morning, during your conversation sessions, for lunch, in the afternoon, during evening activities and on trips, at best spending time with foreign students.

This system allows you to choose your individual experience, with your teacher, in your family, with your programme and if you wish your work experience or volunteering — all chosen by you with our assistance.

Prices

Registering is free of charge and without obligations. Try the Price calculator to estimate how much it would cost you — some prices are stated as estimated as they may vary according to School House (the cost of lessons and afternoon activities) and other services.