Elac Study Vacations

WHY CHOOSE ELAC?

Here are four reasons why you should choose Elac for your language, culture and activity courses in the United Kingdom.

1. A proven track record
We have been working in the language school sector  since 1991. In this time we have earned a reputation for quality and for the individual care and personal service that we offer everyone participating in our courses. Since 2000, we have gradually built an impressive portfolio of centres and a very satisfied group of partners overseas.

2. A small and dedicated team
Elac is no longer a small ‘family-run’ business – we welcome around 3,500 students each year.  However, we still retain the values and ethos that characterised Elac from the beginning and which make it attractive to our staff, students and partners.  We are an organisation that is friendly, personal, loyal, professional and caring. We strongly believe in building relationships and being good partners.

3. Good knowledge of our agents and students
Elac has been co-operating with a group of agents since the beginning of the organisation in Eastbourne. These agents send students back year after year because they are completely satisfied with the courses we deliver. This has allowed us to build up excellent relationships with the key people in these organisations – if problems arise, we work closely and quickly to resolve them.

4. Loyal and experienced staff
Most of our key staff have been with us for a number of years. We rely on them in the summer to be the ‘public face’ of Elac; the promoters of our values and the deliverers of our promises. The loyalty and quality of our staff has enabled us to grow year on year.

OUR MISSION STATEMENT

Our goal is to be an independent, ethical, and environmentally-aware organisation dedicated to the teaching of English, and more generally to the nurturing of positive values in young people in an international setting.

To achieve this goal, we aim to provide a secure, welcoming, inclusive and fun environment where students can feel at ease with each other and our staff, whilst on a course which they find both stimulating and challenging.

We believe that this will provide the platform we need to deliver the following outcomes for our students:

• A development of their language skills and confidence
• A deepening of their knowledge and understanding of British life and culture
• A broadening of their outlook on the world and awareness of other perspectives
• New, wide-ranging and long-lasting friendships that cross cultures

OUR STORY

Elac began life as Eastbourne Language and Activity Centre in 1991. It was set up by John and Sara Dunster after John left Meads School of English where he was Principal. Eastbourne Language and Activity Centre was initially a homestay course based at Park College in Eastbourne. Andrew McPhee joined in 2000 when the organisation began to branch out into residential centres and became known as Elac.

In 2006, the administration of the summer centres moved to Bath, then in 2012 the office moved to 22 Milsom Street, in the heart of Bath city centre. Milsom Street is also home to the Elac Study Centre, where we run tailor-made courses for closed groups throughout the year. Tim Cooke joined John Dunster and Andrew McPhee as an Elac Director in 2015.

During the summer we run seven multi-national residential and homestay centres for students between the ages of 11 – 17 in a variety of locations in the UK. We work with students from a wide range of countries, but have particularly strong links with Italy, Spain, China, Russia, Japan, France, Poland, Austria and Turkey.

We currently welcome around 3500 students on Elac courses every year and aim to give each and every one of them a safe, fun and truly unforgettable learning and cultural experience!

OUR ACCREDITATIONS

We have been a British Council accredited provider of English language and activity courses since 2008. We are also a member of English UK and Young Learners English UK.

Our most recent British Council inspection took place in Summer 2016. 

Purpose

The purpose of Elac Education Trust is to provide English language training to non-native learners of English. The Trustees believe that communication skills, and specifically an ability to communicate well in the global language of English, can be the key to unlocking opportunities for young people. The Trustees are also aware that the ability to access good English language learning opportunities outside the UK can be limited in certain countries. As experienced Directors of a UK language school, with an extensive network of partners overseas, we are well placed to provide such learning opportunities.

PROJECTS

• 2015 Iksal, Israel
• 2016 Saknin, Israel
• 2017 Nazareth, Israel
• 2018 Dobrà Niva, Slovakia

Over the last 4 summers, we have run 4 successful Trust courses in Iksal (2015), Saknin (2016), Nazareth (2017), and Dobrà Niva (2018). Hundreds of teenagers have participated in these courses, attending communicative English lessons, activity sessions, drama and team building workshops. At the end of each course, students’ parents and members of the local community were invited to the schools to watch students’ drama performances and presentations. Each course was extremely successful, with students developing their language skills, and strong bonds built between the Trust staff and the local community.

Trust staff also spent quality time with their host families learning about the local cultures, tasting new foods, and even attending weddings! They also spent time visiting beautiful cities, attractions and seeing breathtaking scenery.