Our teenager program takes place in the ancient Roman port city of Tarragona, on a rocky bluff above the Mediterranean the second oldest city of Catalonia. Tarragona is a pleasant, safe, coastal town (approximately 100-km south of Barcelona) and was once the former capital of the Roman province of Tarraconense with interesting Roman remains and was once the home of Julius Caesar.

Tarragona today consists of an old quarter filled with interesting historic buildings, particularly the houses with connecting balconies.

The old city is built on the southern side of a rocky hill, 67 meters high, which slopes gently down to the sea on the left bank of the Francol¡ river and is surrounded by Roman walls on three of its four sides.

Tarragona has a population of around 115,000 and the town is lively, but not too big , making it a perfect location for a teenage program of this kind. It has its own sandy beaches within walking distance of the school; it is very close to Port Aventura (one of Europe's largest theme parks) and is only an hour from Barcelona by bus or train.

This program has been designed for students who would like to learn a language but also enjoy a full schedule of activities, with an element of independance but under supervision.

Our summer school was established in 1980 and is housed in a beautiful building on a broad tree-lined avenue (the Rambla Nova) in downtown. Located on two floors of the building it offers spacious classrooms and excellent facilities.

Our course is designed to ensure that students enjoy their Spanish classes as much as they enjoy the rest of the course program. Classroom activities are therefore varied and where possible involve tasks or games that make the learning process interesting and fun.

The aim of the course is to develop the students' language skills in all areas but the emphasis is on developing speaking and comprehension skills, so there are a lot of practical activities that involve a great deal of interaction. As we have students from very many nationalities, it is relatively easy to ensure that everyone uses Spanish to communicate.

School facilities include:
10 bright & spacious classrooms
social areas / reception area
Small class sizes max 12 students
Free internet access in computer lab
Video and satellite TV facilities
Large selection of books, cassettes & study materials

We also try to ensure that students get the most out of their visits to places of interest in and around Tarragona so some class time is devoted to project work focused on the social program activities.

Spanish program: 3 group lessons daily (15 per week)
> max of 12 students per class

Lessons are 55 minutes long, are taught by native Spanish teachers and take place in the mornings from Monday - Friday. Students have one or two breaks in the morning for a total of 15 minutes.

The first day at the school is dedicated to welcoming students, to testing students language level and to make sure everyone is familiar with the school premises, regulations and its surroundings.

On the first day of school a placement test is administered to determine the student's level of Spanish. This way, students can start lessons straight away after they have been placed at the appropriate level. If a student is an absolute beginner, they do not have to take a test, and they can start lessons immediately.

There are many different levels of Spanish, from complete beginner through to advanced speaker. All teaching materials, tests and certificates are included.

After classes are over for the day, our program allows the student plenty of time for the full program of activities and excursions. It also allows the student to make new international friends among their new classmates, experience cultural activities together and practice their new language skills.

Example of social and cultural activities

School residence: (shared / private) with 3 meals daily

Our school residence is called Sant Jordi residence and is located in the city center and is less than a 10 minute walk from the school.

Students life together with other international students aged (13 - 17) in shared spacious double rooms with shared washrooms and showers on each floor. Students are divided by per gender and each life on different floors.

School staff live on site in the residence, which also has a 24 hour reception. Three meals are provided daily and the residence has strict curfew rules.

Additional information on our residence