Arrival
On arrival, our friendly driver will collect you and take you to Petersfield. We will tell you his/her name and ID details before you come, so that you and your family know you are safe.
The best airports to choose are:
- Southampton (35 minutes)
- Gatwick (70 minutes)
- Heathrow (55 minutes)
You can also get to Petersfield by ferry to Portsmouth (from France) or Eurostar from Paris/Brussels to London and then direct to Petersfield.
If you are over 18, you can choose to use public transport to get to Petersfield - we will give you all the information you need on transport options.
Low-cost transfers from London Heathrow (LHR), London Gatwick (LGW) at weekends
We offer low-cost (£75 each way) airport transfers in and out at weekends from London Heathrow and London Gatwick.
These transfers are offered on the following 2023 dates only:
On other days, students will need to use our taxi service – prices below, unless they are over 18. Students over 18 can use public transport if they prefer.
Note that:
- on arrival you may need to wait some time for students arriving on other flights before leaving for Petersfield.
- on departure you may be taken to the airport earlier than necessary because another student may be leaving on an earlier flight
On a day-to-day basis, students will walk to the school, or will use public transport (included in the price).
Host families
Accommodation is in host families, with full-board (all meals - packed lunch on weekdays).
English Naturally has a great reputation for the quality of its host families, and we are very careful in inspecting and monitoring hosts. Hosts not only give you a bed and meals – they are there to take care of you and to spend time with you, which will help in your English language improvement.
You will be placed singly. There may be other students in the family, but none of the same nationality. (Please note that group students may be placed in pairs, however).
Some hosts live in villages near Petersfield. Transport tickets will be provided. Hosts will drive students if/when public transport is not available.
Welfare and safety
Your welfare and safety are very important to us. We have a 24-hour number for contact for urgent matters, which students or their parents can access - we ask you to send a text/SMS and we will reply within minutes. You will be helped to get to class on your first day. Petersfield is small, so after that you will walk to school, maybe with other students living near you. We have a full-time Course Director, who is responsible for looking after all students and if you have any problem, all you need to do is speak to your teacher or the Course Director.
All of our taxi drivers (used for airport transfers) are known to us and have police checks. Their cars are fully insured. You must wear a seat belt when travelling in taxis or on coaches when on excursions. If you have any medical problem during your stay, you are covered as an EU citizen. We will make sure you get the medical attention you need. We keep basic First Aid supplies at the teaching centres.
We will do everything to make sure you are safe and happy during your stay.
Our Eco credentials
We try to run our programmes in a way that does not overly affect the environment in a negative way.
- We offer shared (low-cost) taxi transfers from/to airports
- Hosts, teachers, activity leaders are nearly always local people, who do not have to travel far to deliver our programme
- We minimise the use of coaches, keeping most excursions local, and using public transport where possible
We do not deal with flights and do not get involved in carbon offsetting, but if you are concerned about the impact of your flight please investigate the options. If you are travelling from somewhere that is less than 1000 kilometres from your summer school, why not look into bus and ferry connections? Portsmouth is close to our summer school centres, and we can arrange taxi transfers from there