LINES Downe House Berkshire (Ages 6 – 18)
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LINES offers a premium English language summer immersion program for children and teens aged 6 – 18 at Downe House, a prestigious boarding school known as “the Eton College for girls” in the beautiful English countryside. The summer program combines General English lessons with Acquiring Skills in English lessons so that students make the most of their learning experience. The programs also include evening activities, excursions and optional professional sports training and activities.
LINES Downe House is located in the village of Cold Ash, in Berkshire County, where it is surrounded by beautiful countryside. Berkshire is one of the oldest counties in Britain (circa 840) and is home to one the oldest and largest royal residences in the World, Windsor Castle. The castle remains one of the Queen’s official residences, and for this reason the county is known as the “Royal County of Berkshire.” The Thames river runs along Berkshire’s north east border, from Old Windsor, via Henley, Reading and Pangbourne up to Goring. This scenic waterway was once a major trade route for the county, but is now mainly used for boating, leisure craft and pleasure trips.
Downe House School, founded in 1907 and in its present location since 1922, is a selective independent day and boarding school for girls aged 11–18. The Good Schools Guide has described Downe House as an “Archetypal traditional girls’ full boarding school turning out delightful, principled, courteous and able girls who go on to make a significant contribution to the world.”
Downe House won Tatler’s “Best Public School” award in 2011. It is widely known as the “Eton College” for girls, having had as former students many notable women in the arts and politics, as well members of the British Royal family, including Lady Gabriella Kingston and more recently Catherine Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge.
Downe House School is located approximately 40 minutes by car from Oxford and 1 hour and 40 minutes from London.
LINES DOWNE HOUSE AT A GLANCE
- Location: Berkshire, England
- Age Range: 6 – 18
- Maximum number of students: 220
- Number of lessons per week: 32
- Maximum number of students per class: 10, average 7
- Ratio of staff to students: 1 : 4
- Number of full-day excursions per week: 2
LINES Downe House: Hermitage Rd, Cold Ash, Thatcham RG18 9JJ, United Kingdom
“I met the founder of LINES, Dirk van Nieuwenborgh, several years ago at ICEF in Berlin, an annual fair connecting educational providers and agencies worldwide. From 1987 to 1997, Dirk and his wife were directors at one of the highest quality programs in the world for juniors. He went on to found the LINES programs with many of the same advantages that it offered (intensive language lessons in small classes, a high level of individual attention, and a wide variety of on and off-campus activities, including professional sports training.) The program at Downe House in the UK was the first of the three LINES programs. I find it unique when compared to other summer camps in that it is available to a complete age range, allowing for siblings or friends of very different ages to attend it, but the student body is narrowed down into four specific age groups which have their own classes and social activity calendars. For students who like London, the county of Berkshire is not far from there, allowing for visits to the city, many of which are included in the price of the program.
One of the things I appreciate most about LINES is Dirk himself. In responding to inquiries for availability or more information about anything, he provides some of the fast replies I have ever seen despite the fact that outside the summer he is often traveling. He is more than enthusiastic about offering these programs to my clients, and has gone to great lengths to present information about them and render them easy for them to book. This is the type of behavior I value most in a service provider, as I know that discerning parents can rest assured that their children will be taken care of, and that by enrolling them on a serious program, they will return with a high level of progress in their language learning.”
LINES Summer Programs
Why study English on the LINES Downe House summer program?
- The prestigious Downe House boarding school is located in the village of Cold Ash, surrounded by beautiful countryside. It is equipped with modern facilities, has private access and is set in acres of forest. Girls of the modern British Royal family have attended Downe House for secondary school.
- The LINES English language summer program is a complete immersion program offering 32 lessons per week which combines language lessons with various skill acquiring lessons.
- The LINES English language program divides students into 4 age groups: Kids aged 6-9, Teens aged 10-12, Juniors aged 13-15 and Seniors ages 16-18, providing age-appropriate lessons, workshops and activities.
- LINES has 20+ years experience offering summer language immersion programs for children and teenagers, including at its other locations of Queenswood, England and Valbonne, France.
- LINES Downe House guarantees small class sizes with an average of 7 students per class.
- Like all high quality junior program, LINES limits its attendance to 15% of a single nationality at one time. The school welcomes more than 25 different nationalities each year.
- LINES Downe House has a staff to student ratio of 1 : 4, guaranteeing a high level of attention to each student.
- The summer school is fully residential, and students will be accommodated according to their age, gender and nationality.
- The LINES Downe House summer program includes exciting daily activities, one academic excursion and one full-day excursion every week.
- LINES Downe House offers Professional Sports and Activities programs taught by qualified instructors.
- LINES UK is accredited by the British Council and is member of English UK.
The facilities
LINES DOWNE HOUSE FACILITIES AT A GLANCE
- Tennis Courts
- Swimming Pools
- Common Rooms
- Sports Pitches
- Computer Rooms
- Free Wi-Fi
- Theatre
- Indoor Gym
- Art Studios
MORE ON THE LINES DOWNE HOUSE FACILITIES AND SERVICES
Student Welfare
On the campus, there is a dedicated office and staff for student welfare. Residential staff will be living on site with students to provide 24-hour supervision.
Medical Facility
Qualified first-aiders are available on site 24 hours a day.
Airport Transfers
Transfers to and from Heathrow airport can be arranged for an additional fee. Arrival must be on Saturdays (except for the first arrival day which is a Sunday) and departures on Saturdays. Marshall Language Services will need to furnish the participant’s flight information to LINES Downe House so that the airport transfers can be organized. Parents will receive detailed instructions on what the student should do when their flight arrives. It is also possible for parents to accompany their children to the campus personally.
When the program is over, staff will accompany the participants back to the airport and check them into their flights. If they are traveling as unaccompanied minors, they will hand over the children to airline staff.
The courses
COURSE CONTENT AND SAMPLE TIMETABLES
Intensive English Language Academic Program
The LINES summer program is an intensive, full immersion English Language program offering 32 lessons per week comprised of General English language lessons and various skill acquiring lessons. Skills lessons include development of personal skills, social and psychological skills, development of management skills and development of entrepreneurial skills.
The programs provide:
- Pre-course assessment
- International classes
- 32 lessons each week (each lesson is 45 minutes)
- Maximum class size of 10
- Progress monitoring
- All educational materials
- Daily evening activities
- 2 excursions per week
- Certificate at the end of the course
Sample Timetable:
RESIDENTIAL ACCOMMODATION
The LINES Downe House summer program includes residential accommodation on site. Kids will be accommodated in rooms of 3 or 4, Teens in rooms of 2 or 3, Juniors and Seniors in rooms of 1 or 2.
Meals
Residential accommodation includes a full-board meal plan (breakfast, lunch and dinner).
Laundry
Bed linen is provided and changed once a week. Laundry service is offered once a week.
Student Welfare
House Parents manage student residences and supervise students at all times.
Insurance
Insurance covering medical and travel assistance, personal liability and trip cancellation is not included in the price of the program. Marshall Language Services has a policy available through Guard.Me that covers these elements, as well as an additional policy through CareMed that covers cancellation under a wider range of circumstances, including the need to repeat school exams. A summary of these policies may be downloaded below.
Dates and Fees
Other Programs by this School
LINES Valbonne French Language Summer Program
LINES Valbonne, located in the beautiful French Riviera offers children and teenagers aged 10 and above quality French language summer programs combining academic tuition, workshops, hands-on classes, activities and excursions.
LINES Queenswood Language Summer Program
LINES Queenswood offers premium English language summer immersion programs for children and teens aged 10 – 17 in a prestigious boarding school in the beautiful English countryside. The summer program combines intensive English lessons, skills lessons, activities, excursions and optional professional sports.
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