English and Sailing Programme
Dates:
24th July - 19th August
Ages:
11 to 17 years old
Location:
Malahide, Dublin
Camp:
English & Sailing Programme
Homestay =
Walking Distance/Very Short Bus Journey
English & Sailing Programme
English & Sailing combines our flagship academic programme and four afternoons of sailing per week at Howth Yacht Club. It is based on a strong academic foundation where progression is our focus. Lessons are held every morning, from Monday to Friday and each course is supported by its own carefully planned syllabus and course book. Lessons focus on developing the core language skills, with specific emphasis given to speaking and listening. For the sailing programme, we use J80 keelboats, with an Irish Sailing qualified instructor accompanying the trainees in each boat.
Perfect Location
The Irish College of English has been in the heart of Malahide for over 25 years. Situated on Dublin’s coastline, Malahide’s many attractions include Malahide Castle, a beautiful Seaside Village, Marina and Coastal Walks. Our location offers students the best possible experience of Dublin. Students enjoy Dublin city’s highlights while living in a safe residential area. Uniquely, our juniors can either walk to school or are a very short bus journey away in surrounding neighborhoods.
Host Families Nearby
All our students stay in carefully selected families either in Malahide or surrounding areas, so that they can walk to school or take a very short bus journey. Our families are the highlight of the experience and have quality assurance procedures in place, ensuring great stays for all our students.
Choosing Dates
We are flexible regarding arrival and departure days and times. The majority of students arrive on a Saturday or Sunday and begin school on a Monday and leave on the corresponding Saturday or Sunday e.g. Sat to Sat or Sun to Sun. (We may sometimes also accept weekday arrivals and departures e.g. Mon to Mon, Wed to Wed etc. but please contact us pre-booking to advise). Extra nights are also available if necessary. We operate professional airport transfers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by a member of our staff should you require this service.
Award Winning School
We were delighted to be voted ‘Best Language School in Ireland 2019’ by students based on Google and Facebook ratings. Uniquely, this Education Stars Award is based on student ratings only.
We were also shortlisted for ‘Best Language School’ in The Irish Education Awards 2021 & 2022. In addition, we were the First language School in Ireland to be ever shortlisted for the Study Travel Magazine Star Awards – Junior Course Under 18’s Global Industry Award in 2015 and were again shortlisted in 2016, 2017 and 2019. We were also shortlisted for English Language School Europe in 2017 and 2019.
In 2022 we were shortlisted for Best Professional Service the Fingal Business Awards. We were previously also honoured by Malahide Chamber of Commerce with the ‘Service Excellence Award’ for a clear demonstration of excellent and consistent customer service and with the ‘Organisation of the Year’ Award.
Sample 2 Week Timetable
- 15 hours English Tuition per week: Mon – Fri 8.45am – 12.00pm
- Packed Lunch at School: 12.00pm – 12.30pm
- 4 Afternoons of Sailing: 1.30pm – 4.00pm
- 1 Half-Day Excursion per week: 1.30pm – 5.00pm
- 1 Full-Day Saturday Excursion
- Sunday is a Free Day to Relax with the Family or Meet with Friends
- 2 Free Optional Evening Activities Including Disco and Movie Night
- Activity Programme rotates on a 4 Week Cycle
Junior Photo Gallery
What’s included?
All Inclusive
We believe in offering an all inclusive course price. Everything is included, there are no extra charges for registration or administration. All activities, travel passes, entrance fees and meals are included.
Tuition
We have a specially designed Junior Syllabus to encourage your child’s progression and confidence. We believe in real materials and growing to love the language by living it. Classes are international and have a maximum of 15 students per class. 15 full hours tuition per week and use of text book is included (Classes 8.45am – 12pm each day with a 15 minute break).
Intercultural Irish Teenage Programme
As part of our continuous efforts to maintain high quality classes and to enhance our student’s intercultural experience, we have weekly lessons called the Intercultural Teenage Programme. Irish teenage students will join lessons to lead an exercise alongside the teacher which allows our students the opportunity to connect with Irish teenagers, their peers, and we have had an incredibly positive response to this programme.
Accommodation
All our accommodation is in homestays either in Malahide in walking distance of our school or in surrounding areas with a very short bus journey. Our hosts typically take 2-3 students at a time. Families will do student’s laundry as part of their normal home routine. We carefully match students with families.
Meals
Families provide breakfast, packed lunch and evening meal. Meals are nutritious and we can cater for some special diets on request. On arrival we also give students a welcome pack including a reusable water bottle and our school has a water refilling station.
Weekday Activities
Students have a full schedule from 8.45am – 5pm each day from Monday to Friday. Classes in the morning and sailing & tours in the afternoon/evening. Students have an experienced Irish Leader with them on all activities. Our students go to Dublin city centre once a week. Please note also that that classes and sailing will operate as normal for all student on the English & Sailing Programme for Monday 6th Aug – Bank Holiday.
Full Day Trips
Each Saturday our students have a full day trip accompanied by an Irish Leader to see the best of the surrounding areas. Sample Day Trips: Glendalough, Kilkenny, Belfast, Dublin Zoo.
Private Transfers
Students have a private transfer to and from Howth Yacht Club and to Dublin City Centre for tours.
Student Report & Certificate
Students receive a Certificate of Attendance and Attainment at the end of their course and also an individual hand written teacher report on their progress.
Programme Fees
2 Weeks : € 2,399
3 Weeks: € 3,580
4 Weeks: € 4,869
Airport Transfers: € 55 each way
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, for most of the students this will be their first experience sailing.
We divide riders into 3 groups – Beginners, Intermediate and Advanced.
Yes, we can cater for high level sailors and will ensure they are challenged.
The sailing programme will use J80 Keelboats, with an Irish Sailing qualified instructor accompanying the trainees in each boat.
Please bring swimwear for under wetsuit, old runners to wear on boats (wetsuit booties are ideal), towel, shower toiletries, any medication taken, such as inhalers, suncream, warm, woolly hat, suitable warm change of clothing after sailing.
By our private coach which collects student outside school each day and brings them back to their home stay area after the activity.
Hot drinks (soups, hot chocolate, tea, coffee) and snacks, hot showers & changing facilities
A Typical Day: Students are woken by their host mum, have a shower and eat breakfast. Students are given a packed lunch for the day. Students walk to school or take the bus using their Dublin Travel Pass. Students return home at about 6 pm after their tuition and activity programme. On returning home, students have dinner with their host family and chat about their day. Students may spend the evening relaxing with the family or friends or attend an organised evening activity (2 evenings per week). A strict curfew of 9.30pm applies when all students must be home on our English Summer Camps. Students and families have 24 hour access to an emergency phone number and a member of our team is always on duty to help.
At any one time we normally have between 15 and 27 nationalities represented at our school.
A deposit of 200 euro on booking is paid. The remainder of fees are due 4 weeks pre arrival.
The programme is all inclusive with no extra costs. Most students bring between 80 and 100 euro pocket money per week for souvenirs, sweets etc.
We base a 2 week stay on 14 nights accommodation, 3 weeks on 21 nights and 4 weeks on 28 nights. Most students arrive on a Sat or Sun and depart on the corresponding Sat or Sun but we are also happy for students to arrive and depart during the week. Should you require an extra night in the home stay a 40 euro additional fee applies. We are very flexible as to arrival/departure time so please book best available flights and we can organise airport transfers 24 hours a day with under age sign in should you require it.
There is a maximum of 15 students per class with on average 13 students per class
All our teachers have a Bachelors Degree and a further Teaching English Qualification and all our teachers are recognised as qualified English Language Teachers under ACELS.
We test students on arrival and monitor their progress including weekly tests so students are able to move levels should we feel they are not in the correct level.
We have from A1 to C1 Levels.
A strict curfew of 9.30pm applies.
Yes, we offer a 24 hour emergency contact number and are always available to help.
Hosts will show students to school. On arrival they will be tested and given welcome information and shown to their correct level class.
Yes, we provide letters for all students coming from outside the EU who need a visa to enter Ireland.
Sailing is a sport that involves risk and your choice to sail is voluntary. Buoyancy Aids are provided along with waterproof gear and there are qualified instructors on site. All students must have full personal insurance and check with your provider that sailing is covered. Sailing Waivers will be signed by parents before arrival.
Deposits are non refundable, for cancellations made 21 days or more pre arrival, the remainder of fees will be refunded.
Yes typically once a week by the host.
Yes you will receive a packing list within the student handbook pre arrival.
No, students are not allowed to leave Malahide/Portmarnock or their neighborhood, without written consent from their parents and we would advise parents not to encourage students to travel to Dublin City alone.
No, you will need to book your own flights
Approximately 40% of our students are individuals and the rest come with organised groups. Individuals will all be together for afternoon activities and are separated by age so it is easy to make new friends.
No, our age range is from 11 to 17 years of age.
Yes, all students and parents receive a Handbook and Packing List pre arrival.
You will receive your host family profile including a map of their location 3 weeks pre arrival.
Yes, their email address will be on their profile.
We are always here to help and will move a child to a new family or class and assist in whatever way we can to ensure your child is happy.
Yes, on our homestay programmes students are often unsupervised e.g. going to and from school, in the evenings, during free time etc.
We have a member of our staff wait for your child at the airport with a sign. We also ensure we have your child’s mobile number and they have our driver’s number and also our emergency number in case of any delay etc.
Yes, just request help on departure and our driver will help your child check in and bring them as far as security if you wish and there is no extra charge for this.
Yes, we are happy to do any sign ins at no extra cost.
All our hosts are from our locality which means they are all within walking distance or a very short bus journey away from the school. This ensures they are members of the local community which we feel is very important. We visit all hosts and ensure they and their homes are suitable for hosting students. We also ensure all family members are garda vetted and continually monitor feedback to ensure we work only with welcoming caring hosts.
The majority of hosts have twin rooms but some have single or triple rooms. You can request that your child shares with another child, or if you prefer a single room you can also request this and we will do our best to accommodate these requests. Students may share their room with a student/s of the same gender and similar age. Most families host 2 or 3 students at a time.
We try to arrange a mix of nationalities to stay together where possible, however there is no guarantee. So students may be sharing with another student of the same nationality in the house. We can also arrange for your child to stay with their friend on request at the time of booking.
Yes, an extra night is 40 euro.
Students either walk to and from school (within a 30 minute walk) or take a short bus journey. As students have a travel pass with most programmes, they can also take a local bus for a few stops if they prefer not to walk.
Yes, they are all English Speakers.
Sunday is a free day to relax, we ask both families and students to spend at least part of the day together taking part in the normal family routine, students are also free to meet up with friends but must stay in their locality and not go to Dublin city.
Yes, just note it at the time of booking as a special request.
Yes we can cater for some special diets within reason, just check with us pre-booking and sometimes a supplement will apply. Please note that host families don’t operate professional kitchens and therefore cannot accommodate students with severe allergies or complicated food requirements.
Yes, this is your choice. We would however advise all children to have our airport transfer service meet them at the airport for safety reasons. Also Immigration at Dublin Airport states that all children under 18 years of age should have someone to meet them at Dublin Airport.
Yes, we will coordinate a time between you and their host.
Your child will receive a certificate of attainment and attendance and also an individual teachers report on their progress.
Brochures and Price Lists
