Terms and Conditions

To secure a place on one of our courses, please enter the course you need on our Booking form together with a non-refundable deposit of £250 to Castle School.

1. Students must pay course fees in full in advance (no later than 21 days before the start of the course), unless otherwise arranged with the school.
2. Students have to pay registration fees for examinations (if any).
3. All students who require a home-stay must pay a minimum of four weeks accommodation fee as shown on the invoice (or the total fee if less than 4 weeks), at least 3 weeks before the start of their home-stay.
4. If students require transport from the airport, the transfer fee must be paid at least 3 weeks before arrival in England.
5. Once you have been resident in the UK for three months you will become eligible for our discounted resident course rate. Please enquire in the office. These special rates are NOT available online. These are for bookings made personally and do not include bookings made through third parties.

In the event of circumstances beyond our control or where the number of bookings received does not reach the minimum number required to operate a course viably, the school reserves the right to change services offered, including details of the course, facilities and dates of programmes. Alternative arrangements will be made.

In the case of acceptance letters having been sent, the Home Office is always informed of the student’s name and passport number if they cancel their course

1. Cancellations must be made in writing and will only apply from the date it is received by the school administration.
2. If notification of cancellation is received by Castle School more than 14 days before the start of the course, Castle School will give a full refund, and retain the (£250) deposit. If notification of cancellation is received less than 14 days before the start of the course, Castle School will retain 50% of the fees paid. In the event of cancellation after the commencement or before the end of the course, no fees can be reimbursed.
3. If a student cancels their accommodation less than 14 days before the start accommodation date, 1 week’s accommodation fee is charged.
4. Under no circumstances can fees or credit for cancelled courses be transferred to another student.
5. If a student has arrived at the accommodation, and requests to be moved to another home stay, 1 week’s notice must be given, or 1 week’s accommodation fee must be paid (in the event of a student or home stay provider being very unhappy with their family/student, the school endeavours to rectify the situation as quickly as possible, and investigate the cause of the problem(s).
6. If a cancellation is made (at any time) due to a student’s failure to obtain a Visa, a copy of the official refusal letter issued by the Home Office or British Embassy must be provided by the student. Failure to provide this confirmation results in the Home Office being informed of the student’s name and passport number and no refund will be given. If the confirmation is provided, all fees apart from £250 advance payment of fees are refunded.
7. No fees are refunded in the case of late arrival for a course.
8. Castle School reserves the right to charge a booking amendment fee of £100 for changes in tuition or accommodation made during the course.
9. Castle School reserves the right to refuse any student suffering from any mental or physical disability that has not been disclosed on the Enrolment Form.
10. All bookings made on-line are subject to a 7 working day cooling off period from the moment the booking is confirmed (not when payment is received). During this period only you are entitled to cancel and receive a full refund without question. Please note, if you intend to arrive within 4 weeks of making the booking, that we cannot arrange accomodation until after this 7 working day period has expired.

Castle School will be closed two weeks over the Christmas bank holidays. The exact dates change every year so please ask to ensure you do not want to study when the school is closed. The school will be closed for all other UK bank holidays.

If you are unhappy with any aspect of your course, you should contact the Reception or Director of Studies on site. If the matter is not resolved, you or your agent should write to Castle School. Any such complaint will be investigated providing:

1. It is received within one month of the course start date.
2. It was initially registered in writing to the Administration Manager or Director of Studies.
3. All invoices relating to the student making the complaint have been settled in full.

Castle School, its staff and representatives are not liable:

1. For any loss, damage or injury to persons or property however caused, except where liability is expressly imposed by law. Students are advised to purchase insurance, including medical insurance, to cover all eventualities before leaving their own country.
2. In the event that reasons or causes beyond our control prevent the delivery of any service or programme.

1. You must comply with the directions and follow the rules of the school and of your course.
2. We reserve the right to expel any student for behaviour which is unacceptable. In this event fees will be forfeited and you will have to pay any consequential travel or other costs.
3. You are liable for any damage you may cause, and will have to pay the full cost of replacement or repair.
4. Any violence, threatening behaviour or abuse will be dealt with according to the Castle School Policy. (A copy is available upon request from Reception)

Students who have been granted a student visa must report to the school on the due date then attend at least 15 hours tuition per week. Students failing to comply with Visa Regulations will be reported to the Home Office.

Students who book a course at the school must:

1. Arrive on the date that their course begins, or
2. Notify the school (prior to the course start date) of any problem preventing them from arriving at the school on the course start date. The school must be provided with documentary evidence of this problem within 14 days of notification, and arrive within 21 days of the course start date.

Failure to meet the above criteria will result in notification to the Home Office of the circumstances, including the name and passport number of the person in question.

The courses at Castle School are primarilly aimed at adults. However, subject to conditions, we do accept students under 18 on some adult courses (contact us for more information).

In the case that a student under 18 wishes to book on an adult course, the parent(s)/guardians(s)  will be required to sign a consent form that acknowledges acceptance of the school’s terms and conditions and explains some of the legal restrictions that apply to under 18s (in particular with relation to alcohol and tobacco) and some of the school’s rules and protection policies that apply for us to accept a student aged under 18.

We regard the lawful and correct treatment of personal information as important to our successful operations and to the maintenance of confidence of those with whom we deal. We will ensure that our staff and those acting on our behalf obtain, use and disclose personal information lawfully and correctly. To this end we fully endorse and adhere to the principles of data protection, as set out in the UK Data Protection Act 1998 (the "Act").

In particular we will:

1. observe the conditions in the Act regarding the fair collection and use of personal information (please see below regarding personal information collected via our website);
2. meet our legal obligations to specify the purposes for which we process personal information, this information being set out in our data protection notification particulars which can be found on the Information Commissioner’s website at www.ico.gov.uk;
3. collect and process appropriate personal information, only to the extent that it is needed to fulfil our operational needs or to comply with any legal requirement; please note we may share your details with statutory and regulatory bodies as lawfully required.
4. ensure the accuracy of any personal information kept by us;
5. apply checks to determine the length of time personal information is held by us;
6. ensure that the rights of people about whom personal information is held, are able to be exercised fully under the Act;
7. take appropriate technical and organisational security measures to safeguard personal information;
8. ascertain that personal information is not transferred outside the European Economic Area without suitable safeguards or agreement from the individual.

If we collect personal information via our website, we will endeavour to ensure that you are informed as to:

1. the purpose for collecting the information
2. what the information will be used for
3. the identity of anyone else to whom the information will be given and what they will use it for
4. how you can request copies of any personal information we hold on you.

Please note that where our website contains links to other websites, we are not responsible for the privacy practices of other websites and this statement applies solely to any personal information collected by our website.

Important Notice

Castle School acts only as an intermediary between its students, travel organisations and accommodation agencies. If you choose to use the services of one of these companies it is on the understanding that Castle School is under no circumstances liable for any delay or accident during a journey or trip.

Castle School uses social media for both the benefit of the students and the school. Castle School may use students' images for these purposes and for the general marketing of courses. If you do not wish your image to be used for these purposes please let us know in writing as soon as possible.

Castle School’s Terms and Conditions do not affect your rights under UK law.

These terms and your use of this Website are governed by the laws of England and Wales and any disputes will be decided by the English courts.