Founded in 1999, we gave our company the name “New Century Study”, a name which reflects our determination to develop a modern approach to English teaching and learning, fit for the new century. Our “New Century Study” puzzle logo brings our brand into line with the progress we have made since 1999, providing a new look for the company to celebrate eight years of development. We are a family-run business, originally based in Essex, to the North-East of London and served by Stansted Airport. In the years since 1999, we have expanded into Kent, to the South-East of London and served by the Ashford Eurostar Rail Station. Both areas are also convenient for day trips to London.
Prior to founding New Century Study, we hosted students in our own family home for a number of years. It became clear to us, from these experiences, that English has now become the global language and that the ability to write, speak and use English, to a high standard, is vital for anybody seeking success in the newly enlarged Europe and our globalising world. England is the "land of Shakespeare" and English is the native language but, as more and more parents and visitors recognise the need to invest in acquiring the ability to write, speak and use English, we have found that there is a real demand for a modern alternative to the bed and breakfast, one-size fits all, large-group, school classroom-based approach, so typical of old-century stays in England.
In response to this demand, we have thrown out old-century approaches and developed our own fresh approach, with new-century stays combining value for money with the peace of mind which all parents and visitors need when travelling to another country.
Rather than providing a "bed and breakfast" experience, all our stays include full-board accommodation, with host families who have the interest to spend time with visitors, helping to develop visitors’ accents and use of English, through intensive conversation, and developing knowledge of English culture, through local excursions to places of interest. These host-families are the core of our approach. We currently have over 200 families, many having worked with us for years, receiving repeat visits year after year - in fact, more than half of our stays each year are repeat visits or visits on recommendation from previous visitors.
We offer real peace of mind for parents and visitors alike: all our stays include escorted airport, or Eurostar rail station, transfers and insurance. We also inspect every host home, and reference every host family and teacher, before allocating visitors. We meet visitors and families during the stay, we provide 24-hour mobile telephone support for parents, visitors and families, throughout the stay, and we encourage and welcome the many friendships between families and visitors, some lasting for years after the stay. Our quality standards are underpinned by our accreditation from ABLS (the Accreditation Body for Language Services).
We have a menu of standard stays, but many visitors take advantage of our commitment to adapt any aspect of any stay, whenever possible, to meet individual requirements. For example, we have provided: four weeks of intensive tuition to assist an African peace envoy in his diplomatic career; two weeks of tailored tuition for two French boys with visual impairment; six months of tuition for teenage Korean soccer students, starting with them learning the English alphabet; a year of conversation tuition for an Italian businessman, as and when his business brings him to England; and one week of intensive cultural experience for a German family, staying in a Kentish oast house and including three tailored trips to London, visiting all the sights.
We specialise in individual stays, or stays shared between relatives, including whole families, and friends, rather than large group stays. This means that our tuition does not need to be school classroom-based; instead, we specialise in individual tuition, or tuition shared between relatives or friends of a similar standard, provided in the host-family homes. Tuition is usually provided by visiting-teachers but, in a few instances, teachers' own families may also host visitors. We have more than 40 teachers, all of whom are qualified, specialist teachers of English and many of whom have trained through our partnership scheme with INTESOL, a distance-learning EFL trainer, accredited by the College of Teachers, which is recognised by the British Council.
We offer real value for money. Our prices include all of the services relevant to the particular stay and our flexibility allows visitors to arrange their own return travel to England at times, and prices, best suited to their individual circumstances.
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