Accommodation:
ECS at Port Regis
Everything on one countryside campus
The ECS residential English summer camp is held at Port Regis School in the South of England, about two hours west of London.
The school is set in large, private grounds surrounded by countryside. Everyone stays on campus, where they can make the most of the great educational, sporting and leisure facilities, from swimming pool to cinema room. Children and teenagers have separate accommodation, lessons and activities suited to their age groups.
The rural setting is at the heart of the ECS experience. We hope that, after a fun holiday in the fresh air of the English countryside, pupils return home happy, healthy, with improved English, and also with a deeper connection to the natural world.
If that sounds like the summer you'd like for your child, you can find find dates and prices for our courses here. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Top learning facilities
At ECS summer school, English language lessons take place in colourful and comfortable modern classrooms. Each room has an interactive whiteboard and a flexible layout to allow for creative and engaging learning, from games to group discussions.
The academic building is designed to bring a lot of light and air into the classrooms, which is a great environment for learning. All our lessons take place in this modern building.
We use attractive and engaging classroom materials from National Geographic and take learning outside wherever possible. Pupils might spend time reading in the large treehouse, explore the woods for nature studies or try our digital photography workshop.
There are also three up to date computer suites, music rooms and a performance hall, and an educational kitchen suite where pupils can learn English along with fun and practical cooking skills,
There is a full library in the main school building with an extensive range of books for all levels. The beautiful room, which used to be the mansion's drawing room, has high ceilings, lots of lights and cosy reading corners.
> Find out more about English language lessons at ECS
Extensive sports facilities
The ECS English language summer activity camp is a great choice for young people who enjoy playing games, trying new sports, getting creative and having fun in the holidays.
We have extensive sports facilities on site, including tennis and squash courts, a gymnasium, an all-weather sports pitch, two performance halls, a large sports hall and a 25-metre indoor heated swimming pool. The school has large sports fields and its own practice golf course,
If you want to learn English and golf or tennis during your summer holidays, you can add special additional coaching to your English summer camp experience!
> Find out more about sports at ECS
Space for creativity and relaxation
As well as active fun, at ECS we also love getting creative, relaxing, watching movies and playing board games. We have a games room full of board games from Connect Four and Ludo, to Monopoly and 1000-piece jigsaw puzzles.
There are two large performance halls at ECS, which we use for drama workshops, performances, game show evenings and the End of Course Review, a lively event for all our students.
There are comfortable common rooms for relaxation in the evenings and even a grand hall with a working fireplace for stories and hot drinks around the fire on chilly evenings.
On Sundays we like to use the special cinema room, with a large screen and comfy seating.
> Find out more about the social programme at ECS
Where you'll sleep at ECS
ECS is a residential summer school, so everyone lives together on campus during the course.
Our pupils live in comfortable boarding accommodation with experienced house parents to provide supervision and support. Accommodation is divided by age group and gender.
Our younger pupils aged 8 - 12 live in a very comfortable modern boarding house on the campus called Grosvenor House. Each child has their own bedroom complete with hand basin, desk and wardrobe. A sliding partition can be removed to create a double room for those who wish to share. There is a common room with a comfortable seating area and a large TV.
Our older pupils aged 13 - 17 live in Prichard House, another modern boarding house in the school grounds. Girls live on one floor, boys on another, each with their own house parent to provide supervision and support. All pupils have their own room with a hand basin, desk and wardrobe. Prichard has an excellent recreation area with table tennis, a pool table and a film room.
Teen girls can choose to be accommodated in a separate area of Grosvenor house (see above) if they wish, while still retaining use of the Prichard recreation area in the evenings.
"The houses are stunning, with real attention to detail - soft colours and cosy sofas, as well as disco lights, adorning these home-from-home spaces." - The Good Schools Guide 2022
Delicious meals in the canteen
At ECS, we serve three main meals each day in a modern canteen with a wall of windows overlooking the beautiful green school grounds.
At every meal there is a choice of hot and cold dishes, and an extensive salad bar. House parents help our younger pupils choose well balanced and healthy meals..
At ECS we want everyone to feel welcome and included, so we encourage you to contact us about any dietary needs. We serve a vegetarian option at every mealtime and pork is always clearly labelled.
Like many of our pupils and their families, we are also making an effort to reduce our food emissions by serving more delicious vegetable dishes.
> Find out more about the food we serve at ECS
Beautiful school grounds
Our English summer camp takes place on an extensive and very beautiful rural campus.
The enclosed area around the school includes sports fields, playgrounds, a tree house and skate ramp. There is also woodland, ponds and a small stream. This provides a green and healthy backdrop for a wide variety of outdoor sporting, social and educational activities. It also offers pupils a lot of freedom to enjoy the summer in a safe and beautiful setting.
The school grounds also has bird boxes and rewilding areas to support local wildlife. Environmental responsibility and connecting with nature are at the heart of ECS and we have put in place a series of measures to mitigate the impact of our courses on the environment.
> Find out how to get to ECS English summer school
The local area
ECS is based in the southern English countryside near the market town of Shaftesbury. The area is filled with interesting places to visit, from beaches to country gardens to bustling towns and cities.
We take a variety of different trips for each age group every year. Together we go on sightseeing trips, visit museums and exhibitions, and enjoy shops and souvenirs. Our ECS summer excursions are a great way to experience local history and culture, and to practise English outside the classroom.
We don't need to travel far for adventure. Most trips are between 25 minutes and 1.5 hours away. We also take walks and other excursions into the surrounding countryside straight from the campus. Walking to Shaftesbury takes about 30 minutes and is a popular afternoon trip among students.
> Find out more about ECS trips and excursions
