The New School of English

The New School was established in 1962, and is accredited by the British Council. The school is in a 19th century Victorian house located in central Cambridge. We are a small school, with about 70 students during the year and about 130 students during the summer. We pride ourselves on being a warm, friendly and personal school, and we aim to create a welcoming atmosphere for all our students. Many students compare us to a ‘big family’. We try to ensure that your stay with us is as enjoyable and rewarding as possible, and we have enough staff at the school to deal as quickly and efficiently as possible with any problems that might occur. The minimum age to study at our school is 16 years old, but the typical age of our students is 18-30 years old. We have students from all over the world, and we make sure that there is a good nationality mix in the whole school in general, and in each class in particular. We have a total of 8 classrooms, and we have a full range of facilities with a digital language lab, a self-study centre, a free video library (with over 400 videos), an Internet room with free access, a cafeteria serving drinks and snacks, a common room with widescreen satellite TV, and a patio garden.

Cambridge has 120,000 people, and consequently everything in the city is very accessible. The New School is located in a residential area of the centre, about 10 minutes on foot from the historical university centre. It is also very close to the train station, the sports hall, the Grafton Centre shopping area, and the student accommodation. Most students hire bikes during their stay, and this is the quickest, cheapest and most convenient way of moving around the city. However, it is also possible to walk easily from one place to another, and you can also get a weekly bus pass (about £8) to use the city’s public transport. Cambridge is beautiful old city, famous for its prestigious university. It has a young student population and there are large number of social and cultural activities you can enjoy. In addition to this, Cambridge is only 50 minutes (80 kms) away from London by train, with regular fast trains to central London every day. The nearest airport to Cambridge is London Stansted, about 30 minutes away by train and bus. Full information about getting to and from Cambridge can be found on www.nationalexpress.com (bus) and www.thetrainline.com (train).

The school is open all year, although we are closed for 3 weeks at Christmas. It is possible to start a course on any Monday – we have open start dates. The minimum course is usually 2 weeks, but we do have 1-week courses for business and corporate clients who have limited time available. Students can study for as long as they wish, and they can also extend their course while they are here. We have 2 basic types of course – Standard (15 hours a week – mornings only) and Intensive (21 hours a week – mornings and afternoons). The morning classes are normally general English, but we have Cambridge exam preparation courses as well which can be taken at certain times of the year (winter, spring and autumn). In the afternoons, those students who are taking an Intensive course can choose between a variety of different options. These include Business English, British Studies, Current Affairs, IELTS exam preparation, and Communication Activities. The timetable is 9.30 – 11.00, 11.30 – 13.00 and then 14.00 – 15.30 (for Intensive courses only). There are no classes on Friday afternoons. Every student is given a 90-minute level test on their first day – grammar, listening, writing and speaking – before they are put into a class corresponding to their level. The maximum class size is 14, but usually the class size is 8-12 students. All students are given a course workbook to keep, and the school lends every student a class coursebook. Progress is checked by the teachers, and students are given regular progress tests on Mondays to assess their improvement. This is also the time for tutorials, when students can have 1-to-1 chat with their teacher to discuss anything that they would like to focus on or anything that they are having problems with. Students are regularly set homework by their teachers. Students can also make use of the free extra learning opportunities provided by the school. They include: • Monday – Conversation class • Tuesday – Help in the Library / Study Centre • Wednesday – Help in the Language Lab • Thursday – Grammar Clinic We also help prepare students for the Cambridge and IELTS exams (which can all be taken in Cambridge), and we help students register for these exams as well.

The school offers two main types of accommodation: Homestay - £100 per week Students are placed in a single room (or twin room, if preferred) with a local host family. Students receive breakfast and dinner every day. Laundry is also done by the host family. We realise that it is essential for a student’s accommodation to be good quality, and we ensure our homestays provide a clean, friendly and caring environment for our students. We inspect our homestay families regularly, and we also pay close attention to student comments and feedback so that we can provide the best possible service. We make sure that if there is more than one student with a family that they do not speak the same language. Residence - £110 per week We have student residence accommodation available all year, which means that students have an alternative to living with a family. The residence is at Tripos Court, 10 minutes on foot from the school. Every student has a single room with a private bathroom. In each room there is a desk, wardrobe and television / video. Each group of rooms is shared by students from the school and they share a communal kitchen between them. The residence is self-catering (no meals are provided). Students must do all their own shopping and cooking. The kitchens are fully equipped with all the necessary appliances (oven, cooker, microwave, fridge, iron) and utensils (plates, cutlery, pots and pans). The rooms and kitchens are cleaned by the school, and there is a laundry room for student use. Towels and bed linen are provided by the school.

We believe that extra activities are very important for our students for 3 main reasons: • students have the opportunity to practise their English as much as possible outside class • it helps students to make friends more easily with students of other nationalities and from other classes • it helps students learn more about British culture and way of life while they are here The school offers a very active and varied social programme. We provide a range of activities to suit everyone. These include sports (football, tennis, basketball, volleyball), pub nights, museum visits, cinema trips, university tours, punting on the river, food nights at the school, parties, barbecues and weekend excursions. Many of the activities are free or cost very little. The school organises full-day weekend excursions to various places of historical interest around the UK – London, Oxford, Stratford-upon-Avon, York, Bath, Brighton and Stonehenge. The excursions cost £15-£20. Further information about what activities we offer can be found on our website at www.newschool.co.uk