#1Summer School in BrightonBritish Council Ranked
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Brighton is a small city by the sea with a large reputation for music, food and independent shops. Here is what our students actually do with their free time, including the parts that cost nothing.
Brighton's pebble beach runs the length of the city, and Brighton Palace Pier sits in the middle of it with its arcade games and fairground rides. Walking the seafront from Hove towards the pier is the classic first afternoon in Brighton, and it is free.
In summer the beach fills with students from every school in the city. In winter it is quieter, windier and, many of our students say, more beautiful.
The Lanes are the narrow historic streets behind the seafront, full of jewellers, cafés and small restaurants. The North Laine, just north of them, is the busier area of record shops, vintage clothes and street food.
This is the best part of the city for practising English without trying: ordering coffee, asking prices, making small talk with shopkeepers who are used to visitors from everywhere.
Go on a weekday afternoon rather than a Saturday if you want people to have time to talk to you.
The Royal Pavilion is the former seaside palace of King George IV, built in an Indian style with a Chinese interior — there is nothing else quite like it in Britain. Brighton Museum & Art Gallery is in the gardens behind it.
Entry to the Pavilion is ticketed, and students should ask about a concession rate. The surrounding gardens are open to everyone.
The South Downs National Park begins at the northern edge of Brighton, so you can be walking in open countryside within half an hour of leaving your host family's house. Devil's Dyke, a deep green valley with a view over the whole coast, is reachable by bus.
Along the coast, the walk west from Hove towards Shoreham is flat, quiet and good for a Sunday morning.
Brighton is a good base. London is about an hour away, and trains run all day and late into the evening. Lewes, a small county town with a castle, is fifteen minutes inland. Eastbourne and the white cliffs at Beachy Head are along the coast to the east.
Students on our courses often travel at the weekend and come back the same night, which keeps costs down and means you are not paying for a hotel.
Trains are much cheaper if you book a few days ahead. If you are staying three months or more, look into a railcard.
You do not have to work all of this out alone. Our social programme includes trips and activities in Brighton and further afield, and young learner programmes have a full activity timetable with staff supervision throughout.
We are a not-for-profit English school in Portslade, part of Brighton & Hove, with a maximum of 14 adults in a class. Our team can help you plan your course, your accommodation and your arrival.