Location & travel
Getting to ECS summer school
English Country Schools summer camps take place at Port Regis School in Dorset, near Shaftesbury, about two hours west of London.
The majority of pupils travel independently between their country and England. We meet them on arrival, help them on departure and provide transfers to and from the school.
Port Regis School
Motcombe Park
Shaftesbury
Dorset
SP7 9QA
tel: +44 (0) 1242 604067
email: info@countryschools.co.uk
How pupils travel to ECS
Pupils generally travel to London:
- by plane to Heathrow or Gatwick airport
- or by train to London St Pancras International.
As flying has a high environmental impact, we encourage you to take the train if possible. Find out more on our environmental responsibility webpage and in our Environmental Tips for Students.
If possible, we will put you in contact with other parents so that children can travel together. Many students travel alone, however, and we will assist with arrival and departure.
Bringing your child to the school personally
If you would like to bring your child to ECS personally, please bring them around mid afternoon and collect them in the morning on our scheduled arrival and departure dates.
We cannot provide accommodation for pupils who arrive before our first day or leave after our last day.
We have some limited accommodation (minimum one week duration) for parents of young children who wish to live at the school.
By plane
Arrival
We organise a meet and greet service and transfers from London Heathrow and Gatwick Airport to the school. The cost is GBP 50 for pupils arriving between 11:00 and 17:00.
Our coaches depart from the airport for the school at approximately:
- 13:00, 16:00 and 18:00 on 6 & 20 July 2025
Departure
We organise a transfer service from the school to London Heathrow and Gatwick Airport and help students check-in for their flights. For students departing between 12:00hrs and 17:00hrs the cost is GBP 50.
Our coaches will arrive at Heathrow from the school at approximately:
- 10:00hrs and 13:00hrs on 20 July & 3 August 2025
Other times and airports
Pupils whose flights arrive or depart a little outside the above times can be taken care of by a reputable company until the ECS team arrives or their flight leave. This extra service costs around £60 per child.
We can arrange escorted taxi transfers for pupils who arrive very early or depart very late, or travel via other airports. Please ask us for details. The per person cost reduces for children travelling together. The cost increases for children travelling as Unaccompanied Minors (UMs) or travelling at unsocial hours.
Travelling alone / Unaccompanied Minors
The majority of ECS pupils travel independently. Wherever possible, we will put you in contact with other parents so that children can travel together.
Young children can also travel in the care of airline staff as Unaccompanied Minors. We will liaise with the airline to ensure a completely safe handover on arrival and departure.
If children arrive before 11AM or depart after 5PM we can arrange for a trusted provider to assist them at extra cost. Taxi transfers are also available.
By train
If you are travelling from Europe, you can reach London St Pancras via the high-speed rail Eurostar.
Pupils arriving by train will be met by a member of the ECS team at St Pancras. Together they will take public transport to Heathrow where they will join one of our coaches to the ECS campus, see times below.
You can reach London in just two hours from Paris or Brussels, or four or five hours from Cologne, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and most of France. Flying has a very high impact on the environment so we encourage you to consider taking the train wherever possible.
There is also good train service from London to Gilllingham (Dorset) near Port Regis.
If you are interested in travelling to ECS by train, but are not sure what to do, we are here to help. We can also help connect pupils so they can travel together. Please contact us for details.
