Earlscliffe is a private sixth form college during the academic year and offers an intimate, highly personalised environment. Earlscliffe was built in 1870 and underwent complete renovation and refurbishment in 2011-12. It is located in the desirable West End of Folkestone, within walking distance of the elegant Leas promenade, the high-speed train station to London St Pancras and the town centre’s shops and amenities.
The Earlscliffe course is enriching, motivational, stimulating and unique. It is intended for intermediate English level learners and above. Students are tested on arrival and are given an approximate CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) Level on exit, ranging from A1 (novice) to C2 (expert), based upon their classwork throughout the course. In class students will spend time on the standard areas of reading, writing, speaking and listening. However, at Earlscliffe a student will develop their language skills through engaging with varied tasks, themes and topics.
Students play volleyball, basketball, badminton, billiards and table tennis on-site at Earlscliffe in the summer and within walking distance we have football, other field games, swimming, tennis, squash, a fitness gym, basketball and dry slope tobogganing. These sports are offered from midafternoon, after the day’s lessons have finished. Weekly competitions add to the fun.
Day Trips
An Earlscliffe highlight is our weekly trip to London (Capital Wednesday™) when over the course of the summer we visit the following: Tate Modern; Chelsea Football Club; the London Eye; St Paul’s Cathedral; the British Museum; the London Dungeon, and Buckingham Palace. On Capital Wednesdays™ we use the high speed train link from Folkestone which has a journey time of 55 minutes. On Sundays we may visit Canterbury including a river boat tour and its world famous cathedral; Leeds Castle and Bluewater; Hever Castle and Royal Tunbridge Wells; Thorpe Park theme park; Dover Castle. Our day trips are supervised at all times and include all admission costs.
Social and Cultural Activities
Supervised afternoon and evening activities include karaoke nights; a ‘Summer of Talent’ show; themed disco nights; quiz shows and casino nights. Our Fashion Show night every two weeks is a spectacle for all to enjoy. We are fortunate enough to be both close to Folkestone’s town centre and its shops, the artistic Creative Quarter, the beach and oceanfront, all of which offer our students moments of both discovery and relaxation.
Catering & Accommodation
Most rooms are spacious twin or triple rooms with private WC and bathroom. All rooms are Wi-Fi connected. Meals are taken in the college dining room. Meals are varied and often international, such as Chinese, Mexican or Indian, but not forgetting occasional British fish and chips!
