State School Placement

Full immersion, not a language course

This is the deepest immersion we offer. Your child attends a real British secondary school with real British classmates, studies the same subjects they do, sits in the same lessons and does the same work. Nobody slows down. That is the point.

We work with several state schools in and around Cheltenham. Students are placed at a school with availability that suits their age, year group and subject requests. In the evenings and at weekends they live with a full board homestay, which is where a great deal of the language actually happens.

If your child is anxious about their English before starting, they can take English classes with us first. Either way, the first day is spent at inlingua Cheltenham for induction and orientation before school begins.

The classes are really engaging, and I feel like I've improved my English a lot, especially in my speaking and confidence. Junior student

What a school day looks like

Uniform

No school will require you to buy a uniform, though you may if you want to. Schools will ask that your child dresses in smart clothes. If they already own a school uniform from home, that is the best option, and some schools will lend one.

Reports and grades

Your child will not receive an official grade report from the school. They will receive an attendance report and a written summary of their performance and participation from their teachers.

One thing to know in advance: students usually cannot join after-school clubs, because the daily pick-up and drop-off schedule does not allow for it. There are sometimes exceptions where a student is placed at a school close to their homestay.

Prices

One weekly price covering the school placement, full board homestay and daily transport to and from school. The rate falls the longer your child stays.

Includes

State school placement, full board homestay accommodation, daily school transport

Excludes

Administrative fees, school uniform, airport transfers, term breaks

Because the length of a term varies between schools and academic years, we confirm the exact weekly rate and the total when we quote for your dates.

Term dates and school holidays

British schools close for roughly thirteen weeks of the year, and those weeks are not evenly spread. Planning around them is the single most useful thing you can do before booking, so here are Gloucestershire's published dates in full.

Academic year 2026/27

Academic year 2027/28

Dates published by Gloucestershire County Council. Academies, foundation and voluntary aided schools may set their own dates, so we will confirm the exact calendar for your child's school. Schools also take five staff training days a year, set individually, on which pupils do not attend.

What happens during the breaks

Half terms and Easter are covered by our School Holiday Camp, which runs at inlingua Cheltenham for students aged 11 to 17 who are studying at a local school. A week of English lessons, activities and trips, with the full board homestay continuing.

Living with a host

Full board means all meals, seven days a week, including weekends when there is no school. Our own accommodation officers find and inspect every home against British Council standards, and hosts placed with long-stay students tend to be the most experienced on our books.

For a term-long placement this matters more than for a two-week language course. Your child will spend more waking hours with the host than at school, and it is where their English will move fastest.

If you have a problem or a concern at any point during the placement — about the school, the homestay or anything else — you speak to a member of inlingua Cheltenham staff and we deal with it. More on accommodation.

Common questions