What is Intensive?
Enjoy privileged access to British culture and maximize your campus experience by boosting your skills and confidence beyond fluency and independence in real-life situations. Obtain academic recognition of your language progression and journey to excellence with a Cambridge certificate (Linguaskill) preparation and sitting.
Power Up Your English
Intensive is a fun and engaging summer course for young learners aged 12-17 from B1 level. Live and learn at an award-winning boarding school in the heart of Britain’s academic capital. Intensive offers 21 hours of tuition per week, combining general English with focused speaking practice. The course takes a thematic language-learning approach encouraging team building through sports and group activities while exploring themes such as Living Green, Exploring Creativity and Feeling Good. Students boost fluency and earn an Englishspeaking qualification – all while enjoying sports, excursions, and a vibrant international community.
Student Experience
Typical Week
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15 hours of General English lessons integrated with the rest of the school, ensuring a comprehensive learning experience delivered by passionate and qualified English teachers
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6 additional hours dedicated to enhancing spoken English, culminating in an internationally recognized Linguaskill speaking exam
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1 full day & 1 half day excursion
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full-board with 3 meals per day
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variety of sports, arts and crafts, and other engaging daily activities designed to make learning fun
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weekly excursions across UK
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graduation ceremony
How Students Grow
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improve their spoken English through daily interaction and classroom communication
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increase their English vocabulary across a range of topics
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encourage language use through teamwork and enjoyment, proving that hard work and fun can go hand in hand
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balance rigorous academic learning with enjoyable extracurricular activities, ensuring students thrive both inside and outside the classroom
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make new friends from around the world
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immerse yourself in the UK’s unique educational culture by experiencing group work, interaction, autonomy – the very DNA of academic success in the UK
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feel more prepared for studying in an English-speaking environment
Safety & Welfare
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dedicated house parents and pastoral care in each boarding house
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safe & supportive boarding with keycard entry
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24/7 supervision
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1:5 adult-to-student ratio
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DBS checks for all staff
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on-site medical support
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emergency contact line
Landmarks that shape global minds
Excursions
Students can choose from our Excursion Menu, which includes destinations such as London, Bath, Cambridge and Windsor. Each trip offers a mix of walking tours, visits to cultural landmarks and time to explore with friends. Our excursions are designed to be enjoyable, social and culturally enriching, giving students the chance to experience different parts of the UK while having fun and making memories.
Available excursion options include:
• Roman Baths
• Windsor Castle
• London Eye
• Shakespeare’s Birthplace
• Cambridge Punting
• Tower Bridge
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, breakfast, lunch, and dinner are included every day, including excursion days. Meals are served as hot and cold buffets with options for all dietary needs. Students eat together in a communal dining hall with staggered timings during peak times.
There is weekly laundry and room cleaning.
• Your smartphone
• A towel
• A hairdryer
• A travel adaptor (for the UK – it is different to the rest of Europe)
• Clothes for rain eg a raincoat, umbrella
• Clothes for sports/activities eg shorts, t-shirt, trainers
• Comfortable shoes for walking on excursions
• Nice clothes for graduation
• Toiletries: shampoo and conditioner, shower gel/soap, toothpaste and toothbrush
• Sunglasses, suncream, sun-hat
• A mesh laundry bag
• Spending money: we recommend bringing a pre-paid debit card. We recommend not to bring cash. Most shops in the UK are cashless now
For your travel to the UK, we recommend you bring:
• snacks for the plane and the airport
• water
If you are not travelling with a group/Group Leader, please send a photo of yourself to younglearners@ihlondon.com so we know what you look like. This photo will be stored privately on our Head Office system.
Shared transfer (London Heathrow only):
One of our Young Learner members of staff will be waiting for you in arrivals. They will be wearing a bright orange t-shirt with International House London Young Learner Centres logo on it. They will take you to the waiting area. There will be water and a snack if you are hungry. When all the students have arrived, they will take you to the coach, which will take you to your centre.
The shared transfer coaches leave the airport at 12:00, 15:00 and 19:00. If there are delays in immigration and you miss one coach, you will travel on the next one.
Private transfer (taxi):
If you have booked a private transfer, IHL staff (in orange t-shirts) will meet you in arrivals and take you to the taxi. Our staff may not travel in the taxi with you. All our taxi drivers receive security checks and are trusted partners.
Private transfer (group coach):
Our staff will meet your group and take you to the coach.
Please note that we our meet and greet airport teams work from 09:00 to 19:00. If you are arriving earlier or later than these times, please contact younglearners@ihlondon.com for instructions.
Unaccompanied Minor Service:
If you are under 15, your airline may ask you to travel as an ‘Unaccompanied Minor.’ This is a special service, and we will send you a document before you travel with our IHL staff information: please bring this document with you. On the plane, the airline staff will give you special care and attention. When you arrive, they will take you to the airline desk where you must give the IHL document. They will call our staff who will come to collect you.
Transfer time:
Oxford – Transfer time from London Heathrow Airport to Oxford will take
approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes
Frensham – Transfer time from London Heathrow Airport to Frensham will
take approximately 1 hour 15 mins.
Any questions?
Get in Touch
Spaces fill fast, start planning your child’s summer today! Complete our contact form or speak with a course advisor over the phone, email or a video call. We are always happy to answer your questions and our team will get back to you as soon as they can.
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