Life at inlingua Cheltenham
Social programme
Lessons finish at lunchtime or mid-afternoon. What you do next is where a lot of the English actually happens. inlingua Cheltenham runs an afternoon social programme from 15:30 to 17:00 on weekdays — bowling, karaoke, afternoon tea, quiz and chess nights, summer barbecues — and day trips on most Saturdays to London, Oxford, Bath, Cardiff, Birmingham and the Cotswolds. Most activities cost £5 to £20 and some are free. Day trips are £30 to £60, which is the cheapest way to see the country.
- Weekdays
- 15:30–17:00After class
- Activities
- £5–£20Some are free
- Day trips
- £30–£60Most Saturdays
- Optional
- AlwaysJoin what you like
Why bother?
Because the classroom only gets you so far. In class you have a teacher who is being paid to understand you, classmates at your level, and time to think before you speak. None of that applies at a bowling alley, and that is exactly the point.
The social programme is where students stop translating in their heads. It is also, for most people, where the friendships happen — and students who make friends in their first week tend to have a much better month than students who do not.
Before going to the school, I honestly thought I wouldn't make many friends. But on the first day, I made a lot of friends! And I learned a lot of English because it was the only way to speak with each other. Junior student
On-site activities
Some afternoons we stay at the school. These are the easiest things to join — you are already in the building, there is nothing to book in advance, and several of them cost nothing at all.
- Karaoke
- Quiz nights
- Chess and board games
- Movie nights
- Pizza parties
- Summer barbecues
- Team building challenges
- Sports afternoons
- Arts and crafts
Five photos — swipe, drag, or use the scroll bar.
Cost
Most activities cost between £5 and £20, and some are offered free of charge.
Off-site excursions
Day trips, most Saturdays
The weekend is the time to explore properly. On most Saturdays we organise a day trip to somewhere worth the journey.
| Destination | What it is |
|---|---|
| London | Two hours away. The big one, and worth a full day. |
| Oxford | An hour away. Colleges, museums and the oldest university in the English-speaking world. |
| Bath | An hour and a quarter. Roman baths, Georgian crescents, a UNESCO World Heritage city. |
| Cardiff | An hour. The Welsh capital, a castle in the middle of the city, and a different country. |
| Birmingham | An hour and a quarter. Britain's second city, and the best shopping in the region. |
| Bristol | An hour. Harbourside, street art and a suspension bridge. |
| The Cotswolds | Fifteen minutes. Honey-coloured villages that look exactly like the postcards. |
| Stratford-upon-Avon | Forty-five minutes. Shakespeare's town. |
| Gloucester and Tewkesbury | Fifteen to twenty-five minutes. A cathedral and an abbey, both older than most countries. |
Five photos — swipe, drag, or use the scroll bar.
Cost
Tickets cost £30 to £60 per trip, covering travel and entry. This is by some distance the cheapest way to see the top sights in the country — and we plan everything, so you can relax, take photographs and practise your English with your friends rather than working out train connections.
Joining in
Everything is optional
Activities and excursions are optional extras. Join everything, join nothing, or pick the two things you actually want to do — nobody minds.
You must sign up
Put your name down for anything you want to join, so we can arrange the right staffing and transport. This applies even if you have already paid for it.
Subject to numbers
Activities run when enough students want to do them. If a trip does not have the numbers, we will tell you and suggest something else.
Offered at cost
Where inlingua Cheltenham incurs a cost we pass it on at cost price. Where we do not, the activity is free.
Students who prepay activities on the summer programme are normally guaranteed a place on the activities and excursions they have paid for — but must still sign up for each one so that staffing and transport can be arranged.
Ask reception about festivals too
Cheltenham runs festivals through the whole year — jazz in April and May, science in June, literature in October, the Cheltenham Festival horse racing in March, and a Christmas market in December. Our reception team can often help you get tickets or advise on what is worth seeing, and we sometimes organise group trips so students can go together.
Junior programmes
Students on junior courses have their own activity programme, supervised by our teachers and activity staff throughout, with activities and excursions already built into the weekly price rather than paid for separately.
Junior courses
Summer Camp includes twelve activities and two excursions every week; School Holiday Camp includes four activities and two excursions. Both are staff-led from morning until evening.
See junior courses →Common questions
How much does the social programme cost?
Most afternoon activities cost between £5 and £20, and some are free. Saturday day trips cost £30 to £60 per trip, which covers travel and entry.
Do I have to join in?
No. Activities and excursions are optional extras. Most students do join, because it is the fastest way to make friends and to stop translating in your head, but nobody will chase you.
When do activities happen?
Weekday afternoons after class, from 15:30 to 17:00. Day trips run on most Saturdays and take the full day.
Do I need to book in advance?
You need to sign up for anything you want to join, so that we can arrange staffing and transport. Sign-up sheets are at reception. Activities run subject to sufficient numbers, so signing up early helps.
Can I go on a trip with a friend who is not a student here?
Ask reception. It depends on the trip and whether there is space, but we would rather you asked than assumed either way.
What if there is somewhere I really want to go?
Tell us. The Saturday programme is built around what students want to see, and if several people ask for the same place we will usually try to arrange it.
Come and use your English somewhere it counts
The social programme runs all year and is open to every student at the school. Book a course and you can join from your first week.
Activity and excursion prices are indicative and valid for 2027. Activities run subject to sufficient numbers. Last updated August 2026.