Terms and conditions 2024

 

General Information

  • In booking with us, you agree to accept LSI/IH Portsmouth’s Terms & Conditions
  • If you book via a representative or Educational Tour Operator (ETO), their terms & conditions may apply
  • The minimum age for General English, Cambridge IELTS and Pre-Sessional courses is 18. The minimum age for Business English programmes and Executive courses is 25. The minimum age for the English for Adults over 30 course, is 30.
  • LSI/IH Portsmouth is open from Tuesday 2nd January 2024 to Friday 20th December 2024. We reopen on Monday 6th January 2025. Summer period is from Monday 3rd June 2024 to Friday 23rd August 2024.
  • The school is closed on public holidays for GE, 30+, Exam and Pre-Sessional courses. Executive courses run as usual on public holidays; the Business component of both the GE + Business English classes run in the afternoon only. 2024 Public Holidays: Friday 29th March, Monday 1st April, Monday 6th May, Monday 27th May, Monday 26th August.
  • LSI/IH Portsmouth has a 24-hour emergency phone number: 0780 339 2476 (or +44 780 339 2476 if phoning from outside Britain).
  • For Pre-Sessional, 30+ and Business English courses, you should arrive at school by 8:30am on your first day. For GE and Exam courses, you should arrive between 8:30 and 8:45am.
  • INSURANCE: We strongly advise you to take out travel and medical insurance before leaving home. This should cover loss or damage to personal possessions and loss of tuition fees if you have to finish your course early for any reason.
  • LSI/IH Portsmouth keeps personal information in both electronic and paper format. When requested, this information is passed onto third parties such as the British Council, ISI, and UKVI.
  • LSI/IH Portsmouth may use photographs or short video clips from school social activities for marketing and promotional materials. You will be asked whether you are happy for us to use images that you may feature in at the start of your course.
  • For school rules, policies and procedures please see www.lsi-portsmouth.co.uk/school-policies.
  • A minimum of 90% attendance is required in order to pass the Pre-Sessional course.
  • Please note, for Pre-Sessional courses, you will be expected to have your own wireless-enabled laptop computer – this is essential equipment for the course.

Visas

  • It is your responsibility to ensure you have the correct type of visa and appropriate leave to remain in the UK. For the latest information about student visas for the UK, please visit https://www.gov.uk/check-uk-visa.
  • If you do not have the correct type of visa to study, or lose your right to remain in the UK, any contract with the school will be cancelled and you will not be allowed to study.
  • If you apply for a Student Visa, we will only issue you with a CAS number if we are satisfied that you both intend and are able to complete the course of study booked, your visa application meets UKVI requirements and all your tuition fees and cost of the CAS have been paid in full.
  • We are obliged to inform the Home Office if you do not follow your visa conditions.

How to Book:

  • Please complete our REGISTRATION FORM and e-mail it to us, or book through our website. In order to process your booking we must receive a non-refundable £80 registration fee/deposit (General English and Exam courses), or full tuition fees if booked onto a Pre-Sessional course, which you can send to us via Flywire or bank transfer (please send us proof of this payment).
  • After receiving your registration form and required fees, we will send you a booking confirmation and any necessary immigration documents for short term student visa applications. Documents for Student Visa applications will be sent once the terms and conditions above have been met. We will also send an invoice; the balance of this is due at least 3 weeks before the start of the course.
  • After receiving your registration form and required fees, we will send you a booking confirmation and any necessary immigration documents for short term student visa applications. Documents for Student Visa applications will be sent once the terms and conditions above have been met. We will also send an invoice; the balance of this is due at least 3 weeks before the start of the course.
  • Accommodation details and taxi transfer details (if booked) will be sent around 2 weeks before the start of the course (Final Confirmation) – please send us your arrival information as soon as possible.
  • For more information about application procedures for Pre-Sessional courses please refer to the brochure.

How to pay:

  • LSI/IH Portsmouth Portsmouth have partnered with Flywire to make your international payments easier. Flywire allows you to pay from almost any country by bank transfer, credit card and other local payment methods. To make an international payment, please go to lsi-portsmouth.flywire.com and follow the simple instructions.
  • You may also pay via bank transfer. Our bank details are:
    LANGUAGE SPECIALISTS INTERNATIONAL, National Westminster Bank PLC, Commercial Road Branch, Portsmouth, England, PO1 1EJ.
    A/c No. 89795481
    Sort Code 56-00-64
    SWIFT Code NWB KGB 2L
    IBAN Code GB15 NWBK 5600 6489 7954 82
  • Please note that you are responsible for covering the cost of bank charges. Please state the INVOICE NUMBER and STUDENT NAME in the details e.g. ‘34567-Smith’

Holidays:

  • You may take a holiday during your course, up to a maximum of 4 weeks, provided you give LSI/IH Portsmouth at least 1 week’s notice. The holiday weeks are given as a course credit and you can take these unused study weeks at a later date, within a 12-month period. Please note that course credits are non-refundable and must be taken as study weeks.
  • Homestay accommodation: If you are away for a full week (weekend to weekend) and give 1 week’s notice, we will refund 50% of the fees.
  • Self-catering: There are no refunds for holidays taken.
  • Students following a Pre-Sessional course are not allowed to take holidays.

For General English Students

Before Starting a Course:

  • If we receive notice of cancellation before the start of the course, all tuition and accommodation fees will be refunded less 10% of tuition fees or £80 deposit, whichever is the higher.
  • If we receive notice of postponement for a General English course less than 1 week (5 working days) before the start of a course, you will lose the £80 deposit and be required to pay another deposit before we can confirm a new start date.
  • If you are waiting for a visa and think that you may be delayed, you must let us know at least 1 week before your planned start date or you may lose your £80 deposit and have to pay another £80.
  • If your visa application is refused for a General English/IELTS/Cambridge course, all accommodation and tuition fees will be refunded (less irrecoverable costs e.g. bank charges and CAS fee if applicable) but only when we have seen a copy of the visa refusal letter. The £80 registration fee is non-refundable in any case.
  • Different cancellation terms apply to Executive courses (please refer to the course information and prices).
  • For full Pre-Sessional terms and conditions please see page 2 of the dates and fees sheet.

After Starting a Course:

  • It is LSI/IH Portsmouth’s policy that all tuition fees are non-refundable once the course begins, so you should make sure your insurance policy will cover this in case you have to stop your course early.
  • Homestay fees are refundable subject to 1 full week’s notice.
  • Self-catering fees are refundable subject to 4 weeks’ notice.
  • If you have a Student Visa, accommodation fees will only be refunded if you show us documentary evidence that you are enrolled and sponsored by another UK institution or have booked and paid for a flight home. Refunds are usually made to the person who paid the fees (not necessarily to the student). Bank charges are at your expense.
  • LSI/IH Portsmouth reserves the right to ask students to leave the school without refunding tuition fees in the event of misconduct, criminal behaviour or serious attendance problems. Please see the school’s website for our disciplinary procedures.
  • Unacceptable behaviour in accommodation arranged by the school may result in students being asked to leave – we cannot guarantee that we will be able to find suitable, alternative accommodation.

 

For Pre-Sessional Students:

Before Starting a Course:

  • Refunds for cancelled places will only be made in the event that students are refused a visa. If this should happen, a copy of the visa refusal letter should be sent to LSI/IH Portsmouth and once received all tuition fees, less an administrative charge of £80 or less 10% of tuition fees, whichever is the higher, will be refunded.
  • Homestay fees are refundable subject to 1 full week’s notice.
  • University Halls of Residence fees are non-refundable in any case.

After Starting a Course:

  • If a student, due to exceptional circumstances, needs to terminate his/her course prematurely, it is LSI/IH Portsmouth’s policy that all tuition fees are non-refundable.
  • Homestay fees are refundable subject to 1 full week’s notice.
  • University Halls of Residence fees are non-refundable in any case.

 

Other:

  • LSI/IH Portsmouth reserves the right to ask students to leave the school without refunding or crediting tuition fees in the event of misconduct, criminal behaviour or serious attendance problems. Please see the school’s website for our disciplinary procedures.
  • Unacceptable behaviour in school accommodation may result in students being asked to leave – we cannot guarantee that we will be able to find suitable, alternative accommodation.
  • Your level of English must be the required level for the course you have booked. If we think your level is not suitable for the course you booked, we reserve the right to move you to a more appropriate course. If the new course is more expensive, you will be expected to pay the difference. If the new course is less expensive, you will receive credit for the difference.
  • The School reserves the right to cancel or alter a course. If we do so, we will offer either an alternative course or a refund of all fees. If you decide not to take the alternative course offered, we will not be liable for any losses incurred by the student for cancelled travel arrangements.
  • Where there is only one person on a particular group course, we reserve the right to offer the cost-equivalent number of individual lessons instead of the group course.
  • The school reserves the right to change teachers at any time during the course.
    In the event of ‘force majeure’, such as fire, flooding, infectious diseases and other events outside our reasonable control which may cause the closure of the school, refunds will not be made.