Pre-sessional education at Earlscliffe

Pre-sessional

Pre-sessional overview

The Earlscliffe pre-sessional courses give students the opportunity to fully prepare for the next phase of their academic journey.

Earlscliffe offers a GCSE pre-sessional course, an A-level pre-sessional course or a Business Diploma pre-sessional course.

These pre-sessional courses provide the opportunity to improve language skills before starting the more demanding curriculum. Students are immersed in mainstream classes with an academic focus on the improvement of:

  • Listening and speaking skills
  • Reading and writing skills
  • Developing good study skills

Students attend dedicated EAL classes to improve understanding. 

We enrich students academic learning with a range of excursions during the pre-sessional course. In addition to getting to know the local area, they will also visit local points of interest, such as historic Canterbury, Dover Castle, Lympne Animal Reserve or the Battle of Britain Museum. Of course, this is in addition to visits to London (only 52 minutes away by direct train). We also expect students to participate in workshops and attend “guest speaker” seminars. Students are fully immersed in the UK culture during the pre-sessional – they will certainly have gained a good portfolio of experiences by the end of the course.

How is a pre-sessional course organised?

The study timetable runs from Monday until Friday from 08:30 until 16:30 with a morning break, lunchtime and an afternoon break. In addition, homework and self-study will be assigned by the teacher.

How is the course tested?

All students take weekly TRaC™ tests and will be assessed at the end of the pre-sessional timeframe. They will then take their GCSE or A-level exams at the end of the full course.

How long is the pre-sessional course?

Dependent upon the language skills presented by the student upon enrolling with Earlscliffe, the pre-sessional course will be managed across the following timeframes:

  • One term
  • Two terms
  • Extended term(s) that include the periods otherwise allocated for school holidays

How will a student progress from a pre-sessional course?

Students use the pre-sessional time to fully prepare for GCSEs, A-levels or the Business Diploma. Therefore, the student will start their chosen academic pathway in the September of the following academic year.