country cousins - sprachenmarktcountry †cousins premier english educational holidays since 1951...

country•cousinsPremier English Educational Holidays since 1951

Country Cousins invites you to improve yourEnglish through quality educational Courseswith fun and exciting Activity Programmes.

www.sprachenmarkt.de, Tel: +49-711-45 10 17 370, [email protected]

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CONTENTS

We are one of the oldest 'English asa Foreign Language' providers inEngland. Country Cousins is a smallfamily-run business which has beenproviding high quality Englisheducational visits to Juniorstudents and families since 1951.

Our vacation courses combinelearning with a fun-filled holiday.Outside of English lessons you havethe opportunity to learn new skillsand enjoy a wide range of social orsport activities.

Our hope is that you enjoy gettingto know England and Englishpeople and share this wonderfulexperience with many otherstudents from around the world.

Why choose us?

•We have been organising courses forteenagers and young learners for over 55years.

•North Devon has the warmest climate inBritain.

•Our host families are carefully andfrequently inspected by our staff and localsocial services. They are very reliable andcaring families.

•We guarantee a 24 hour emergency service.

•You can choose from a range of varied,innovative Programmes. You will belearning English in ways you neverimagined!

•You will meet students from many differentnationalities.

•You will have many opportunities to speakEnglish and make English friends (see pages7 and 8)

Your English Skills

On arrival you will be tested and thenplaced in a class of the appropriate levelwithin your age group. Our structuredsyllabus is designed to improve speakingand listening skills, pronunciation,vocabulary and functional language, usingbright, interesting materials particularlysuited to short-length courses. You willusually have more than one teacher so thatyou experience different teaching stylesand accents.

WELCOME TO COUNTRY COUSINS

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page

Welfare and Accommodation 4

Travel information 5

St Michael’s Residential for 11 to 14 year olds 6

Barnstaple School of English for 14 to 17 year olds 8

Complete Immersion 10

Channel School of English for 6 to 17 year olds 12

Adventure Sports 14

Discovering Devon 16

Fitness 18

Modern dance 18

Tennis 19

Football 19

Golf 20

Riding 21

Surfing 22

Frequently Asked Questions 23


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We have a comprehensive travelservice to and from Heathrow, Bristoland Exeter Airport every Saturdayduring our season.

All travellers are met by a CountryCousins escort in the arrivals area ofthe airport, who ensures that they aretaken to the correct vehicle for theirdestination. This is an ideal service foryounger travellers. Our escorts alsooffer a departure service, meeting ourbuses, supervising young travellersand assisting passengers through thecheck in procedure.

Airport transfers

Our escorts meet and greet allCountry Cousins travellers in thearrivals area and take them to thecorrect vehicle for their onwardjourney. Escorts carry this CountryCousins sign which also bears thecompany’s red and blue logo.

Please make sure you look out forsomeone holding a sign like this at the airport.

On departure, we help you to check in and see you through to thedeparture lounge.

Please note, Country Cousins vehicleswill not operate between the hours ofmidnight and 6am. Please check flighttimes are suitable before bookingyour ticket.

TRAVELOur primary concern is student safetyand welfare.

We regard our English host families asplaying an extremely important role andso all host families are carefully selected,visited and inspected by ourexperienced Welfare Staff.

All our host families are checked withthe Police and local Social Services.

Welfare Staff are always on hand toliaise with students and families shouldany misunderstandings arise. Familiesunderstand that they are expected totreat their visitor as one of the family,providing a happy and secureenvironment.

Staying with a friendly family andstudying with a good school will result inconsiderable progress and a greateducational holiday

For our school students, we generallyplace them with families who live withinwalking distance of the schools.Nevertheless, Country Cousins operatesa free bus in the mornings to takestudents to school who live furthestaway and in the evenings to take anyYoung Learners (7 to 11 year olds) andoutlying students home.

Our staff

Our staff are always native Englishspeakers. They are carefully interviewedguaranteeing that they are professional,capable, caring and motivated. Lessonsare carefully planned by our teachers,who are all qualified to Teach English asa Foreign Language, to ensure thatlearning is fun and effective. Our ActivityLeaders are energetic, open and friendlypeople who relate well to all ages.

WELFARE & ACCOMMODATION

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Sunday meeting for new students

Picnic area at Channel School


“ It was a greatexperience again. Ihave been herefor several timesbefore.”

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ST MICHAEL’S RESIDENTIAL

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Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Saturday

A typical week’s Programme with 12 hours of lessons might be:

Arrival day forstudents

Unpack and settle

English Test &Orientation

Music and artworkshops

Mini-Olympics

English Classes English Classes Big Sheep attraction park

Outdoor AdventureCentre, Skern Lodge.Climbing, teamassault and highropes.

Quad BikingExcursion toArlington Court,Regency House

9.30am

2.00am

7.30pm

lunch

English Classes

packed lunch lunch

Surfing

Team “ice breaker”games

Dodge Ball andgames

Swimming Bowling Adventure in thewoods

Disco BBQ, Games and chill out

Film night

Welfare and accommodation

Our main priority is student safety andtherefore we provide:

•A safe, secure andfriendly environment

•On-site centremanager and staff, 24hours a day

•Separate boys andgirls dormitories

•Mixed nationalitydormitories toencourage your English development

•A good menu which caters forstudents from many cultures

•An English ‘Buddy’ during socialactivities and at meal times

St. Michael’s Residential Centre and woods

Skern Lodge

St. Michael’s Junior Residential Courseis available in the centre of NorthDevon, near Barnstaple, and is aunique opportunity for students aged11-14 to study English through art,music, and adventure sports.

Make friends with English children

St. Michael’s offers more than just aneducational holiday. Not only can youmake friends with other visitingstudents, but we will also team you upwith an English child for all meals,sports and social activities, resulting innatural opportunities to speak Englishall day long. Life long friendships canbegin with fellow students fromaround the world.

for 11 to 14 year olds

Full daytrip to ExeterCathedral & City(packed lunch)

Adventure in the woodsSkern Lodge


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Barnstaple is a bustling town, nestling inthe valley of the River Taw, seven milesfrom the mouth of the river, with apopulation of approximately 25,000residents. Barnstaple is known as thecapital of North Devon.

Welfare and Accommodation

•Students stay with carefully-selectedhost families

•24 hour emergency telephone service

•Families provide full-boardaccommodation at weekends and breakfast & evening meal on school days.

•Bus service for students that are notwithin walking distance from school.

School

•Classes are held at North DevonCollege within walking distance of thetown centre.

•A free 2 coursebalanced lunch isprovided in thefood hall onschool days and students areexpected to eat there.

•A good menuwhich caters for students from many cultures

•Discovering Devon Programme with15, 18 or 21 hours of lessons

“ Games havealways cheered upthe studentsmaking themimprove theirEnglish.”

BARNSTAPLE SCHOOL OF ENGLISH

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Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

A typical week’s Programme might be as follows:

Student’s arrivals toHost Families

Unpack & Settle withfamily

Induction, EnglishTest & Orientation

English Classes

Visit Clovelly Saunton Sandsbeach

English Classes Full daytrip toPlymouth City

including boat trip

English Classes9.30am

1.30pm

7.30pm

lunchlunch with family

EnglishClasses

packed lunchlunch

Visit Lynton &Lynmouth

Sports on site Ten Pin Bowling

Evening with yourEnglish family

Cook your nationalmeal for your hostfamily

Disco Stay at home withyour family

Karaoke night All nations & centresBBQ at St. Michael’sResidential

Stay at home withyour family

for 14 to 17 year olds

Afternoon at Woolacombe Beach

North Devon coastal walkCommon room for students

Wells City


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Country Cousins has been successfullyarranging Immersion Programmes since1951. These are total ImmersionProgrammes for all – children, adultsand families. We place individuals inEnglish farming, business andprofessional families where they can bemade welcome and absorbed intofamily life.

This is by far the fastest way of learningEnglish. This scheme is particularlygood for young people wishing toimprove their fluency after studyingEnglish in their own country. When weare placing students we always try tomatch their interests and backgroundto that of the English family. We cannothowever always guarantee a child ofthe same age.

Students live as a member of the familysharing in their day to day life. Studentsdon’t have any lessons or attend schoolduring the day.

Our families understand that the mainreason for the visit is to improveknowledge and use of English, by beingimmersed in an English-speakingenvironment and not using the student’smother tongue.

This Programme has been designed toprovide interested people with theopportunity to make rapid progress inEnglish.

This Programme extends theHomestay philosophy to include one-to-one tuition. Students who feel theyneed a structured course of lessons,but also want the total immersion ofthe Homestay Programme, are cateredfor in this scheme.

The great advantage of thisProgramme is that it is completelytailored to the specific needs of eachindividual student.

The teacher carries out a needsanalysis at the start of the visit toascertain the type of work required.The Programme is ideal for teenagersor adults requiring specific Englishcombined with social English.

Students who have missed school orfallen behind with course work, orstudents requiring very intensivecourses will also find this course highlysuitable.

A typical Stay with an English Teacher family

The Cross family live in a very ruralarea of Cornwall. The family home is abeautiful detached country house. It isa very pleasant home with attractivefurnishings and a warm familyatmosphere.

Mr Cross is self-employed and runs hisinternet company from home. MrsCross enjoys her TEFL teaching and hasmany years experience of workingwith children and young people. Theirson, Ollie, aged 16, is currentlystudying Agriculture at college and is avery busy teenager.

Family interests include music,reading, beach, climbing, tennis,walking, theatre and sightseeing. Thefamily have no pets.

COMPLETE IMMERSION

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Stay with an English Teacher

The Homestay Programme

We can arrange for serious students tospend a term (Autumn, Winter orSpring) or a year at a private school inNorth Devon, studying subjects withinthe English National Curriculum. Wework with some of the best private andboarding schools in the country.

We can arrange for students to stay withhosts, living as a member of the family,or enjoy the benefits of boarding at theprivate school with Country Cousinsacting as guardians.

Academic term in North Devon

for 10 year olds to adults


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Channel School of English is located inIlfracombe, a stunning coastal townwith grand Victorian villas and terraces,nestling between the National Park ofExmoor to the East and the golden coastwith the surfing beaches to the West. Itis an ideal place to learn English, offeringa safe, clean and green environment foryoung people.

Channel School of English is situated inBicclescombe Park (Ilfracombe town’smajor park); with children’s play area,landscaped gardens, public café, lakesand tennis courts, which are used forour Tennis Programme and tennistournaments.

The majority of students are teenagersand younger learners, but we canorganise family visits on request.

Welfare andAccommodation

•Students staywith carefully-selected hostfamilies

•24 houremergencytelephone service

•Families provide breakfast, packedlunch & evening meal on school daysand full-board accommodation atweekends.

•Bus service for students that are notwithin walking distance from schooland young learners (6-11)

“ I stayed with thesame host familyfor fourth time andwouldn't changethem for anythingin the world!”

CHANNEL SCHOOL OF ENGLISH

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Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

A typical Activity & 15 hours of English lessons weekly:

Induction Meetingfor new students

Unpack & Settle with family

English Test andOrientation

Your ActivityProgramme


English Classes

Combe Martin Wildlife Park

English Classes

English Classes English Classes9.30am

2.00am

7.30am

lunch with family

Full daytrip toExmoor NationalPark, Lynton &Lynmouth(packed lunch)

packed lunch packed lunch


Free afternoon

Evening with yourEnglish family

Boat Trip aroundNorth Devon(optional)

Disco at JaxNightclub

Rock Concert at theMarlboro club

Karaoke, Pool andSkittles at theMarlboro Club

Barbecue and Tennisplay at the school

lunch with family

for 6 to 17 year olds and family groups

View of Ilfracombe Harbour

Free internetaccess

Lunch at the Old Mill


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This Programme offers many differentsporting activities, most of which takeplace along the beautiful North DevonCoastline. This includes quad biking,abseiling, surfing, canoeing, coastaltraversing, kayaking, sand boarding,adventure swimming and archery.Country Cousins is licensed by theAdventure Activities Licensing Authority(AALA).

The 3 x three-hour sessions areconducted in groups of 8 with qualifiedand experienced instructors, andequipment is always provided free ofcharge by Country Cousins.

The price includes a wetsuit, shoes and alog book, all of which students can keepand take home at the end of the course.

“ One thing I foundout perfect is thenumber ofprogrammes thatcan be chosen.”

ADVENTURE SPORTS

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Kayaking in Ilfracombe Harbour

Quad Biking in the mud!

Adventure Swimming Coastal Traversing


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This Programme includes culturalexcursions and visits to places of localinterest. It provides an opportunity tolearn about the area’s history,geography and culture as well as havingfun.

The Programme includes walks in thestunning Devon countryside and alongthe coast, visits to local beaches, townsand cities, famous landmarks, as well assports activities and much more.

“ I don't think thereis anything youcould improve!Thank you foreverything! Hopeto come againnext year!”

DISCOVERING DEVON

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Roman Baths

Hunters Inn

Exmoor National Park

Exmoor National Park Wells City

King Arthur’s sword

Tintagel CastleMinehead station

Dunster CastleTorrington 1646

Milky WayAttraction Park Wells Cathedral


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TENNIS & FOOTBALL

This Course includes aerobics, skipping,stepping, ball work, stretch & tone,boxercise and kickboxing, circuittraining and gym are all included in thisenergetic, enjoyable Programme.

The lessons will include a warm-up,technical exercises and short routines,all working towards a complete moderndance performance from a LondonWest End musical at the end of thesecond week.

The Programme will include lessonswith coaching by a Lawn TennisAssociation (LTA) qualifiedprofessional and practice sessions withfellow students.

All aspects of the game from the basicground strokes to specialised shots arecovered. Match play and tactics areincluded. Students will play in very wellequipped and maintained hard courts,which are adjacent to Channel School.

The Football Programme is tutored bya qualified FA (Football Association)coach.

Students are coached to a highstandard and are taught passing, ballcontrol, running with the ball, heading,shooting, ball keeping, strategy, teamdynamics and, of course, will put all ofthe training into practice in actualgames. Match play on grass pitches.

FITNESS & MODERN DANCE

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TennisFitness

Modern Dance

Football

Seven Tennis courts at Bicclescombe Park


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RIDINGGOLF

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Lessons take at the lovely WillingcottValley Golf Club, in beautiful and tranquilsurroundings with spectacular viewsacross to Exmoor National Park.

Willingcott is a picturesque and variedcourse; some holes have water, othersundulating links-style scenery. The 18-hole course is 6422 yards, par 71.

This Programme is ideal for those whowant to play a typically English course.You will be instructed by professionalson the driving range, pitching andputting areas and you will have furtherpractice on the 18 hole golf course. Allaspects of the game will be coveredincluding swing; stance and grip as wellas an introduction to long and shortplay.

“ I had a perfect golfcoach so I've learntso much. Also thepeople at theschool have beensuperb so I'm reallyreally satisfied.”

The Golf and Riding Programmes have two four-hour sessions per week

“ ...the activitieswere reallyawesome andthe lessonswere wellorganised.”

The Riding Programme offers studentsthe opportunity to practise andimprove a wide range of equestrianskills during the two four-hour sessionsper week.

The Centre is an approved BritishHorse Society training centre offeringqualified instruction with top qualityhorses and ponies that competeregularly with success in the show ringand the dressage arena. Three full-timequalified instructors can cater for theabsolute beginner to career studentsand competition riders.

These excellentstables offer allaspects of horsemanagement. Inaddition,ménage work isdesigned tohelp you gainconfidence inhandling yourhorse in a variety of situations, e.g.hacking, jumping, dressage and cross-country. Protective hats are providedbut students will need to bring theirown boots, though strong shoes withheels should be sufficient.


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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Learn to surf or improve your skills withus, at nearby Woolacombe Beach. Youwill follow the British Surfing AssociationJunior Athletes Award Scheme, usingqualified and experienced SurfingInstructors and Beach Lifeguards. TheCourse will cover a variety of topics,including beach and surf safety, differenttypes of equipment used, techniques forpaddling, reading and catching waves,standing up and controlling the board.

The price includes a wetsuit, shoes and alog book, all of which students can keepand take home at the end of the Course.

“Thank you for thenicest two weeksin my life!”

SURFING

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These are the most common questionswe are normally asked:

What is the maximum number ofstudents per class? In all of our centres, the maximum is 15and the average is 12 students per class.They are of mixed nationalities in orderto maximise students' use of English.

Who will help if a student has a problemduring the visit? We have very experienced welfare staffthat can assist with any problems thatmay arise. There is always someone atthe end of the phone 24 hours a day forany emergencies.

Will the host family do the student’swashing? Yes

What happens during lunch and at break times? Are young childrensupervised? Yes, students are supervised at all timesduring activities, breaks and lessons.

What is included in the Course fees? •Escort service at Exeter or Bristol airport

and Plymouth Ferry Port•Internet access at all of our centres•English Tutor assistance•Regular testing •Teaching materials •Course Certificate •Assistance of Activity Supervisors in all

activities•Placement services for accommodation•Student welfare and support 24 hours a

day•Evening entertainment programme (not

applicable to the Complete ImmersionProgrammes)

•School bus to and from the outlyingareas of Ilfracombe or Barnstaple

•Loan of sports equipment

What if the student is sick during the visit? The Host Family will make an appointmentfor the student to see a doctor at the localsurgery. If the guest requires prescriptionmedicines or medical intervention, theirparents will be informed. For childrenunder 16 there is usually no charge forconsultation, nor for medicines.

Similarly emergency dentistry is generallyfree to under 16s. Dentists will onlyperform emergency procedures that willlast until the student is back in their owncountry. Please note that it is illegal toprovide any medicine to students, soplease remember to pack some painkillersfor simple headaches, period pains, etc.

Many of our on-site staff (including officeand activity leaders) are qualified firstaiders.

How much pocket money does thestudent need?£60 per week is usually sufficient forComplete Immersion Programmestudents and slightly less for Schoolstudents

Do we deduct the £100 deposit from themain account? Yes. The deposit is included in the overallcost of the visit.

Who will meet the students? We have our own escorts at all airports, oran appointed representative.

What does the escort do? Once you have collected your luggage youwill come out of the Customs Hall and seeone of our airport representatives holdinga Country-Cousins sign. They will take youto your coach/car to your centre. Ondeparture, we check you onto your flightand see you through to the departurelounge.

Hitting the surf at Woolacombe


London Heathrow - 41/2 hours

London Gatwick - 51/2 hours

Bristol - 2 hours

Exeter- 11/4 hours

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North Devon is a safe area with 24 hoursupervision by our dedicated staff

Educational visits for students arranged since 1951

An extensive selection of activities and courses for all needs

Stimulating Programmes for all ages

We always strive for excellence in all areas of activity

Outstanding locations and opportunitiesfor students, accommodating individualrequirements.

Safety

Experience

Variety

Excitement

Quality

In Summary

Bicclescombe Park, Ilfracombe, North Devon, EX34 8JN, UK

Tel: +44 1271 862834Fax: +44 1271 865374

[email protected]


country cousins - sprachenmarktcountry †cousins premier english educational holidays since 1951...

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