info@donegallanguageschool.com

Family Programme – Junior General English Information pack

Firstly, we would like to thank you for choosing us for your English language holiday.  Please find below further information on your stay

What to bring

As much as we love our green country the weather can be unpredictable so we recommend the following items

  • Water Bottle – It is possible to drink the water from the taps in Ireland
  • Waterproof jacket
  • One towel.
  • Warm clothes i.e. jumpers, jackets
  • Three pin plug adaptor for any electrical equipment e.g. mobiles, cameras etc.
  • Photocopy of your passport (please keep separately from your passport)
  • A white t shirt/baseball hat (for drawing/spraying graffiti on)
  • Pocket money approx € 50 per week (maybe a little more if you want to buy some presents) 

For Class & School

  • A copybook and pens
  • A device

General Information 

Contact

School Address: West End Bundoran, Co Donegal F94 X997

Contact Number: 00353 719 84 12 88 / 00353 876 00 82 05

Arrival is anytime after 3 pm.

Local area maps

Bundoran Town map

Bundoran Area map

Laundry

Laundry is included in the programme for all programmes that are two weeks plus

Internet Access 

There is free WIFI at the school residence and homestay.

Bank Holidays

On Bank holiday Mondays (17 March, 13 April, 4 May, 1 June,& 26 October 2020), there will be no English classes, students are offered an excursion/activity in place).  On August 03rd, the school is open as normal.

Collection and Drop Off

Families must arrange for the son/daughter to be at the school @ 8.45am every morning and collect @ 5.15 pm every day.   Collection point will be either from the school or from the campus, we will confirm at the beginning of your stay.

Residential

Our residential accommodation is situated less than one minutes’ walk from the Atlantic coast, 5 minutes from the language school and 110 minutes’ walk from the town centre.  Both houses have private and shared rooms, as well as self-catering facilities.  Residential is self catering

Homestay

Hosts want you to be a member of the family. They will appreciate your efforts to integrate, your active participation in their life and activities. Your smile, your gratitude and enthusiasm will be the best reward for the hosts efforts and encourage the success of your stay.

You must always pay your share during an extra-curricular activity with your host. Please use your own mobile or an international calling card when using the hosts phone

Homestays are generally within 20 minutes walk of the school. They offer half board, breakfast and dinner only.  For junior students on the english and acitivty programme they receive a warm lunch Monday to Friday.  No lunch is provided at the weekend.  There is no lunch provided for adult students.

Insurance

It is compulsory to have a European Health Insurance Card.  This is free for all European countries and will cover any doctor or hospital appointments in the case of any medical issues.  It is also compulsory for all clients to have travel insurance.  For all non-European Citizens please take out private medical and travel insurance.

You must also have sufficient cover in case you /your child becomes ill in Ireland. This should cover the following: flights, airport transfers, accommodation including food, a parent travelling to Ireland to collect the student (if a minor). Please contact us for the  Guard me policy which outlines the cover they offer, if your own insurance policy covers the same then please send us proof of this insurance or we can register you / your child for a cost of 40€ for a stay of up to four weeks for the Guard me policy.

Social Activity programme

2 Activities and one excursion are included. These activities are generally with your parents, sometimes they are with the junior students.

Excursions

Excursions are organised every Saturday Easter and June to September and every two weeks outside of these dates. Students will visit a place of cultural interest and have some free time shopping. Students must stay with their parents on the excursion.

Covid Guidelines

We are following government guidelines, to view the latest guidelines click here.

If a student tests positive when here, they will be asked to isolate and will remain in isolation until guidelines allow. If the student tests positive towards the end of their stay, you must arrange suitable accommodation for the remainder of your isolation period,  Gaurd me has a suitable insurance policy to cover this scenario, please see below further information.

Medical Care

Post Covid, there are significant wait times of up to two weeks at the local doctor surgery, should a student need to go to the doctor, we will be recommending that they use an online service.  This will be covered through your insurance.  If you don’t have insurance cover, it is compulsory to have one in place or  please contact us for further details on the guardme policy.

Inbound Travel

Travellers to Ireland are not required to show proof of vaccination, proof of recovery or a negative PCR test result upon arrival.

Outbound Travel

Please check the criteria needed to re-enter your country.  If you are unvaccinated, you may require a lateral flow test to re-enter.  This costs €35 and must be booked in advance for the Saturday morning before departure.  Please ensure that you let us know if you require this test and that you have adequate funds to pay for it.

Insurance

It is compulsory to have a European Health Insurance Card.  This is free for all European countries and will cover any doctor or hospital appointments in the case of any medical issues.  It is also compulsory for all clients to have travel insurance.  For all non-European Citizens please take out private medical and travel insurance.

You must also have sufficient cover in case you /your child becomes ill in Ireland. This should cover the following: flights, airport transfers, accommodation including food, a parent travelling to Ireland to collect the student (if a minor). Please contact us for the  Guard me policy which outlines the cover they offer, if your own insurance policy covers the same then please send us proof of this insurance or we can register you / your child for a cost of 40€ for a stay of up to four weeks for the Guard me policy.

For any emergencies, please contact 00353 876008205. 

Important Travel Documents

Here is important information when travelling to Ireland with children under 18.  Please click here.

Please ensure that your son/daughter/student is travelling with the necessary documents.

There have been some significant delays at different stages at Dublin airport over the last few months, for this reason we will be bringing students to the airport a minimum of  3.5 hours in advance of their flight.  The current recommendation from Dublin airport is 2.5 hours(June 2022).  Please notify the student travelling that there will be a lengthy wait at the airport. If for any reason a student misses their flight due to reasons outside of DELS control, you will need to rebook another flight and recoup this cost from your insurance, we will do our best to help  the student find accommodation and transfers  (subject to availability) but, this will incur a cost. 

Transfers

If opting for collection from Dublin airport

We are based 3 hours and 25 minutes by bus from Dublin airport.  For this reason, we group transfers together.  Typically, we have 2/3 buses at the airport on Sundays, this depends on arrival and departure times and number of students arriving.  The shared transfers are based on arrivals between 11 am – 6 pm and departures between 11am – 6 pm.  Students will typically have a 1 – 3 hours wait before the bus leaves the airport.  These times may vary if there are flight delays, lost luggage by airlines etc.  Please also note that for departures, if you flight is before 1.30-2 pm, you will leave Bundoran around 4.30 am in the morning, this allows for adequate check in time at the airport (you need a minimum of three hours check in time in the summer) and then 3.25 hours to reach Dublin. 

 Collection: On entrance of arrivals in Terminal 1 please make your way over to the right.  You will see a sign saying Meeting point.  Under or around this sign will be a Donegal Language School representative waiting to meet you with a Donegal English Language School Sign (see below).

If you are flying into Terminal 2 (Aer Lingus) please make your way to the right and one of our representatives will be there to meet you.  They will have a sign showing the following:

 

Airport sign will look like this

 

Baggage: Each airline has individual baggage weight restrictions.

Please adhere to and leave room in your bag for presents going home.  We have had experiences of students paying up to €100 for excess baggage and don’t wish to see this happening again.  Excess baggage is the responsibility of the student. 

Note:

We have noticed sometimes, student’s bags being delayed by a few days with some airlines, particularly in summer time .  If this happens, the bags are typically dropped to the centre within 3 days. Before leaving, please ensure that you:

  1. Take a picture of your bag before leaving in case the bag does get lost
  2. Put your name and  something distinguishable on your bag, so it is easily identifiable
  3. Carry a change of clothes and tooth brush in your carry-on bag

If opting for collection from Knock airport 

  • Collection: On entrance of arrivals please make your way to arrivals. A DELS representative will be waiting to meet you with a Donegal English Language School Sign. 

If opting for public bus from Dublin airport

There is a direct bus from Dublin airport to Ballyshannon every two hours. To arrive at the bus stop, walk out of arrivals from terminal 1 and cross the road, go through the tunnel and you will see a spar shop on your left, walk outside and to the left is the bus stop. Please go to zone noted beside Dublin Airport on this link. We then offer free transfers from Ballyshannon to Bundoran between 10.00 am and 8.00 pm daily. For transfers outside of these times we can arrange a taxi for you. The taxi fee is around € 15

If we are collecting you from the bus in Ballyshannon, please send us a SMS to 00353 876 00 82 05 once you get on the bus in Dublin and then again when the bus reaches Enniskillen.  It is really important that you do this as sometimes the bus is late, and it ensures that our driver is not waiting a long time to collect you. 

Boarding Cards

Please set your son/daughter up with the airline app and they can then check in online prior to arrival and departure.  If you need boarding cards to be printed, please email activity@ donegallanguageschool.com before 6 pm on Saturday evening. Please note that the office email addresses are not manned after 5 pm on Friday evening and activity@donegallanguageschool.com is not manned after 6 pm on Saturday.

If travelling by car

  • Please phone on 00353876008205 when you arrive in Sligo/Enniskillen (30 – 40 minutes before your arrival in Bundoran) so I can arrange for someone to meet you at the centre and show you the accommodation.
  • The address of the camp is West End, Bundoran, Co Donegal.  Please put F94X997 into google maps for directions

Arrival is anytime from 3 pm onwards

Good Conduct

Students must not be disrespectful or act in a threatening manner to fellow students or staff of Donegal English Language School or any members of the community. This includes raising their voices, using foul words or foul gestures, broadcasting music with explicit lyrics, being argumentative towards others or being disruptive in class. Discrimination based on sexual preference, race, physical or mental ability, religion, age or ethnicity is not tolerated. Items which promote or encourage discrimination or illegal activity will be confiscated. Smoking and chewing gum is not permitted in the school buildings. Food and drinks are not permitted in classrooms.

The student is responsible for any damage he or she may cause to buildings, furniture, fittings, individuals, host family property etc. while registered with DELS. Should a student behave in an unseemly and/or inappropriate manner that may bring the school or its agent into disrepute or cause damage to its reputation or standing in any way, either real or imagined, he or she will be asked to leave.

Should a student break other school rules or behave badly he/she may be withdrawn from activities until behaviour improves.

If gross misconduct occurs, i.e. bullying or breaking an Irish law (including drinking of alcohol, stealing or drug taking), the student will not be welcome to participate further in the course and will be removed immediately from the programme). Parents must make arrangements for the students to leave the campus/host family promptly/within 2 days.

What happens on my first day?

Arrivals for students are generally on a Sunday.  All students are welcomed and shown to their accommodation followed by a short introductory meeting. This meeting will go through the first day and any questions that may arise. On the first day of school, students take a test covering reading, writing, listening and speaking to ensure that they are placed in a level most suitable to them.

If the students have opted for one of the activity packages, their chosen sport takes place in the afternoon/morning depending on their age and level. Student Coordinators are on hand to help and assist all students through their first day.

Please click on the links to log on to facebook or instagram for regular updates on campus life @ DELS.

Parents hereby commit to undertaking full financial responsibilities if their son/daughter, is dismissed early from the programme in the event of bad behaviour.

Looking forward to meeting you.