Terms and Conditions

The terms and conditions apply to all students at the school and you should try to read and understand them. If you need help to understand them, please ask a member of the school’s office staff.

 

General

Opening times: The school and its facilities are open to all students from 09.30 to 21.30. The school is closed at weekends, on public holidays, Easter and Christmas holidays (2 weeks) as well as a summer holiday in late August (1 week). Please note, there is no reduction of fees if the course includes a bank holiday. For up to date information on exact closure dates, please refer to our Student Handbook.

Tuition hours: Every lesson is 50 minutes long, followed by a 10 minute break. Students are expected to attend classes regularly and on time. No refunds or credits are given in respect of missed classes.

Changes in courses: The school reserves the right to alter the timetable, transfer students from one class to another, combine classes and cancel courses.

Discipline: In cases of flagrant misconduct or proven criminal offence, the school reserves the right to expel any student. In the event of an expulsion, no refund of fees will be made.

 

Payment

Course fees do not include books, registration, accommodation or airport/station transfer fees. You must pay in full for tuition before you can start a course at the school.

Course books may be purchased from the school office at £12-£30.

Registration fee: £30.

Transfer of payments: Please note that payments made by one student cannot be transferred to another student at the School.

Accommodation will only be arranged if a full payment plus a booking fee of £25 is received in advance (see accommodation details – terms and conditions). Please note that the school acts in good faith and in arranging student accommodation is acting as the supplier’s agent. We do not accept any responsibility for the acts/defaults of third parties, but will do our best to help with any problems occurring as a result of the above.

Airport/station transfer fees are payable in advance. The fees table gives you the options available. Arrangements can only be made once proof of payment has been received.

 

Refunds

A refund is only issued if a student is refused entry to the UK by the immigration or visa authorities or if an extension of his/her visa is declined.

There are no other grounds for a refund. A refund will not be considered if any of the following have occurred:

  • The student has broken the law, or breached the conditions of their visa and is therefore required to leave the country;
  • the student’s visa is refused as a consequence of not having attended the course regularly;
  • an appeal is pending;
  • the student leaves the UK during his course and is subsequently refused re-entry.
  • the student applies for the wrong type of visa.

Decisions as to whether a student is entitled to a refund are based on original refusal documents, which must be provided.

The School reserves the right to seek independent confirmation of visa refusals from the British Authorities.

The student must inform the school about the refusal and apply for a refund within 28 days of the visa refusal date.

In the event that a visa is refused in the UK or abroad and a refund is requested, 20% of the fees paid will be retained for administrative purposes, subject to a minimum £100 charge (see Non-refundable Payments).

Please note: Non-visa students, who have booked and paid for their course, are not entitled to a refund under any circumstances, however at the principal’s discretion, their course may be deferred to a later date.

Non-refundable payments: Registration fee, accommodation booking fee and airport / station transfer fee once paid, are not refundable under any circumstances, but at the principal’s discretion, may be deferred to a later date.

 

Postponements

Students wishing to postpone their course must notify the School at least 2 weeks beforehand. Replacement enrolment letters can be issued on request.

 

Student holidays

The school is closed for two weeks at Christmas and two weeks during Easter. We are also closed for a holiday of one week in late August each year. Up to date information about closure dates, can be found in our Student Handbook. Should your booking include any of the above holidays, your course will be extended by the respective number of weeks.

All students must notify the School office in advance if they take a holiday outside of the above dates. Failure to do so may result in being marked absent, and the school may notify the Home Office or immigration authorities.

Students are entitled to a holiday of one week for every 8 weeks of study.

There is no personal holiday entitlement for courses of less than 8 weeks.

Holidays must be booked at least 1 week before the holiday start date and can only be requested for full weeks (Monday to Friday). Your course will be extended accordingly to your holiday booking. Important: Holiday requests cannot be backdated or refunded.

 

Complaints and Feedback procedure

 We do our best to make your experience at Speakeasy a really happy and positive one, but we understand we can make mistakes and we really appreciate your feedback. If you are not satisfied with any aspect of the service we offer, please visit the reception, where our reception staff will be more than happy to note down your comments. Alternatively, you might prefer to speak to the School Director, or email us at info@speakeasyschool.co.uk and you will receive a reply within 24 hours. All complaints and problems are treated in confidence, in accordance with our school procedures.

If you are dissatisfied with the response you receive from us, and would like to take your complaint further, you can do so by contacting the British Council (an agency that the school is accredited by) at accreditation.unit@britishcouncil.org.