Our academic programme is generally divided into lessons for Young Learners aged 10 to 13 and for Young Students aged 14 to 17. All classes are taught in the Spens building, our purpose-built educational centre at the heart of the Fettes College campus with its 25 state-of-the-art classrooms. We cater for all levels from A1 to C1 but do not offer lessons for complete beginners or students higher than C1 level. A1 classes may have mixed ages.
Lessons
The FCLC way
After breakfast, students go to class on campus where they will spend the morning learning and bonding with their teacher and new friends. There are three sessions, each with a different focus, but all are connected in our highly integrated approach.
SESSION ONE
After a motivating warm up, homework is checked and then students work on developing and improving their grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation in a mixture of games, activities and exercises. Accuracy is the focus in this session.
SESSION TWO
In the second session, our students get to use their new and existing language in a range of tasks which could be short and intense or longer and more relaxed, all based on the themes of the week. Fluency in communicative use is the focus in this session.
SESSION THREE
Last but by no means least, in the third session our students are introduced to places of educational interest based on the cultural programme that they will visit with their class during the week or with our activity leaders at weekends.
Teachers
and classes
Teachers follow a student-centred approach to teaching and learning English. Within the lessons, all of the four skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) are covered as well as the three language systems of vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar. The students practise their communicative skills using a task-based language teaching methodology within a variety of contexts. Throughout the week, the students are also prepared for the cultural programme’s off-campus excursions. Our teachers, from a variety of nationalities, are all qualified to teach English as a foreign language, have undergone a police background check and safeguarding training as well as instruction in delivering the FCLC academic programme.
On-campus
17.5 hours of classroom tuition per week
Class levels
Motivating lessons for all students from A1 to C1 level
Off-campus
6 hours of teacher contact time on two afternoon excursions
Methodology
Task Based teaching methodologies in sessions 1 & 2
Total learning
23.5 hours of total teacher contact time per week
Materials
All academic, classroom & lesson materials provided by our team
Class size
Maximum of 14 students per class, average class size of 12 students
Placement test
Online placement test taken at home prior to arrival at FCLC
Lessons
On campus
Our lessons are held in our flagship learning centre, the Spens Building, which offers modern facilities yet sits perfectly at the heart of the Fettes campus in the shadow of the main Bryce building. Teachers take advantage of the technology in each classroom and use the interactive whiteboards as much as possible, which is a perfect tool to engage students individually or as a group. The classrooms are bright and spacious, creating a perfect ambiance for lessons. Feedback from our students has been overwhelming regarding the facilities in the Spens Building and we are delighted to once again offer this as part of the programme’s facilities.
Learning
Off campus
On two afternoons per week, students visit places of educational interest in Edinburgh with their class and teacher, which are linked to the theme of that week. Places may include Edinburgh’s Royal Botanical Gardens, the National Galleries of Modern Art, the Scottish National Museum, Edinburgh Castle, Dean Village, the Museum of Edinburgh, Calton Hill and Edinburgh’s world famous Royal Mile. Students are prepared for these excursions in class and complete activities while on the excursions to deepen their appreciation and understanding of the site.
Lesson materials
We give you everything you need
All necessary materials including pens, folders and pedagogical resources are provided for use throughout the course and students build up a portfolio of work in their folders to take away with them at the end of their course. All our classrooms have interactive whiteboards and there is free WiFi access throughout the campus.
Graduation ceremony
The perfect ending
On successful completion of their language course, students receive a certificate and end-of-course report individually prepared by their teacher. These are presented at the graduation ceremony, which takes place in the spectacular surroundings of the Fettes College Chapel within the main school building.
