1999 brochure - Vacational Studies

*%.,r,,\\-\-.#.:f'vVcailonal L)tudies"11.17 YEARSSUMMER I999

RESIDENTIAT ENGLISH LANGUAGE COURSESVacational Studies Courses have bccn running for 26 years. \)7e havc tried in thistimc to dcvelop an enjoyable balance between 'vacation' and 'study'. Here is ourprogramme for Summer 1999.The experience hdschanged me foreuerand I haue a lot ofWHAT WE TRY TO DOVacational Studies tries to create a totally intcrnationalgreLt memories.Cotusc r'vith students from :rs many different countries aspossible. We avoid accepting a largc number of studcnts fromany particular countly. In this rvay we try to ensure thatEuglish is thc rnain rncdium of cormnunication arnong thestudents. By using English notjust as a school subject, but esa living language, rve hope our studcnts rvill rcalisc bcttcr rtsimportancc and value. When young pcoplc want to useEnglish to make fricnds, this element of selflrnotivationgreatly increases their fluency.This enrphasis or-r the practical usc of English is cornbincd witha full sports, eutertailrnrents and excursion programme helpingyoung peoplc to lcarn 'English internationally....'But it is molc than this....RECOGNISED BY THE BRITISH COUNCILVacational Studics is 'I{ccognised for the tcaching ofEnglish by theBtitish Council' and is a mcnrber of ARLLS (Thc Association ofRecognised English Language Serwices) - a professional body,n.rcnrbclship ofrvhich is granted only aftel thorough inspcction andre-irrspections every thrcc ycars. 'We werc last inspcctcd in 7996.

t:.;"---lr*'1.. .**ljlrrk".:':.::'i, .k*-:,;*rlrl.tr! "t :!'::: '':{r*r':*.,.:, .. i..a :' 1.c1t,.'- t.'9.'*.{.;,&{*l/''q1,ABOUT THIS BROCHURE* 3i*€e This is iru luforttration Book. The firstsection givcs you a lhctual overwicl' ofthc rvor-k rve do. so yoll can decide ifwe arc riqht for your chilcl. The sccondplrt ('Ntir' l()()i{-t.)') is urittert ilr.rdillcrcnt st;,lc sct you liavc au idc;r of rlrypcrson.rlin. rvhich rtccessarily itl11ltctrccsthc ;rtnrospherc o1t tl-rc Cottrses. it qivcsa nrorc dctailed ratictrtalc of thc 1999Courses and u'hat has shlpcd thet'u, so1.".'1.to" .-'i'l'l 1."&.-,.i**r:ri-..- ;r'..,/ llrr,'ii^fully informecl and call prcpare lor tilcerpericnce. If your applicatiort isacccpted, both scctiorts ;tt'c c

STUDENTS WHO WILL BENEFITPlease make sure that our Course is suitable foryour child and that helshe wants to come. Thosewho will benefit and we enjoy having with uswill be internationally-minded, intcrcsted inEnglish, outgoing, gregarious and able to functionindependently. They will also be willing to acceptthe constraints of communiry living. We considerit so important that our standards and expcctationsare understood and accepted that we ask parentsto confirm that they and their children haveCHOICE OF COURSEThe Courses all havethe same format. The onlydifferences are locationand dates. 1999 dates are:-DOUAI7 Jry'ry - 4 August 1999MARY HARE11 July - B August 1999read the rules and that they agree to abide bythem. A slip sent with the rulcs is provided forthis purpose.CHEAM13July -10 August 1999HOW THEY WItt BENEFITWe hope that our students will learn a great dealEISTREE15July - 12 August 1999Iof Englisl"r, make good friendships and develop aRESI D ENCEThe Courses are all fu1ly residential. Studentseat, sleep and receive classes in the Schools.THE STUDENTS'We accept boys and girls - near-beginners,intermediate and more advanced students -.rged l1 to 17. As they cannot participate in aninternational cornmuniry, complete beginncrs arcnot accepted.The Courses are sports-orientated andencourage good social development in :rcommunity situation.positive international feeling. As well as formalstudy, we concentrate on the holiday aspect ofthe Course. While we try to involve students inall activities, we naturally respect the wishes ofthosc who like to read quietly or bc with friends.Over the years, we have built up an excellentreputation with parents and young people all overthe world. Many boys and girls spend severalsumners with us rcnewing old friendships andmaking new ones. Most students come to us onpersonal recommendation. The numbers on theCourscs are delibcratcly kept small so that the st:rffcan €let to know everybody and treat cach child asan individual-4

THEscHooLsTHE SCHOOLS AND SURROUNDINGSFor 1999 rve havc four Courscs at Schools near Ncrvbr-rry- I)ouai Scl.rool, The Mary Hare School, Chearn Schooland Elstrec School. Nelvbury is a small cotlntry torvtt itr Ipleasant part of southern England in thc hi11s of theBerkshirc Dorvns. It is 70krn r.vest of London and 45kmsor,rth of Oxford. The Schools we tlsc arc among the bestir.r the area.il'::ilt!IiF"yIllIDOUAI SCHOOLDouai School dates lrorn the nrid-ninctccllth celltLlry rvith lruny latcr':rdditions. it is set nert to Douai Abbey in 80 lcres of its orvrl grottlldsand rvoocllancls. lt lus extcnsivc pl:rying ficlds *'hich edjoin ElstreeSchool end a rangc of tennis courts. It hes a l:rrgc indoor srvitlllllingpool, a gyrmr:rsiunr ;tud a 'tnulti-gyr.n'. Sornc donttitorics rvere r-ebuiltin 1996. A plarured rnaximurn of 90 stuclents rvil1 be acccpted.THE MARY HARE SCHOOLThc Mary Harc School is a lrrgc rnid-ninctccnth cetlturT rtt:tnor houscrvith rn:rny later additions. There :rrc fornul gardcns :rtrcl u'oodlatrd ;rtrclextensivc grouttds lvhich include sevcral pl:iying ficlds, a rengc of tcutriscoLlrts. ;r gr.rnnrtsilrrtr :urd a lerqe incloor srvittttuiug pool. {pl.uinecl n.r:lrirnLrrn of 85 stuclcrrts u.ill bc acceptecl.CHEAM SCHOOLChe:rrn School is rr l.ttc rtitrcteenth ccrltury nlil1lsiol). .{particular.. fi::rture is thc suttkcu lornral garden. Tlrc Schtr,ri .hrqc grounds rvith playing ficlds, l:rrvns aud u'oocl:. b r:'.onto 'Wltership l)or,vn. Thcrc is ;r lccetrtly built sporr.hall/gynrnasium and ;r rrrge oltct.tuis courts. It hls .rttoperr-air srvir.nt.ning pool. A pl:rnrrcd rnaxitlutn oi 7t tstudcnts rvill be acceptcd.ELSTREE SCHOOLElstrcc School is a l:rrgc ciglrtcenth ccnturJ cotttrtrr'it...i..sct in .+0 :rcrcs of grounds rvith pl:r,ving ficlds, g,trtlelr. .,:r.ls'oocls ',vhich adjoin I)ouai Abbey. It has rr ttrodcrt.tgvr.nnasiLrrn :rnd thc cliniliq rootn, kitchcr.rs :rnd sot.t.t.do;'rnitorics rvcrc rcbr.rilt in 1991. Thcre is.rtt opctt-.ttr:s'inrnring pool ltncl ;r r,rrrqc of tetrtris cotrrts. A l.l.trttt.'inr.rxirnurn of u0 stuclcnts n'ill bc rcce ptc.l.Al1 the Schools hrrvc ru,itntnittq 1tool.. terrnr.. l'.r.k.tb.til.rncl vollclbrll colrrtr. tirotlr.tll ilc1,l.. .t.,rrr. h.tli. rccre:ttiortroor.ns. colortr TV rnd b,tthrtrtllti..

PROGRAMMEThis was defnitelythe best summer inmy hfe. Thanksforgiuing us theopportunity ofspending a month ina beautiful schoolwith the best people/f*on earth.j,1sTHE TEACHINGA stafl of clualified.prolessional tcachcrs,experiencecl in thctcrching of English esa Foreign Lanqulqcgive .{ lessons, cach of45 rni.nutcs, everl' chycxccpt Slurd.n' .urcl t'rculsion d:rys. In addition,thcrc is :r 3() ruirrr-ite 'snpr'rvisecl stucly' period crchatiernoon. Cllss.'s .rrc gr:rded accordillq to age rllldabiliry in Elgli:h. Stnclcnts arc placcd first in an'assessr.rrent 9r'oup' .rncl conrpletc a unge of or;r1:rnd rvr-itteu t.rsks. ir.rcluding :r fonnll rlLrltiplechoiccphccnrerlt t!'st Thc conrbined rcsults ofthcsc tlsks togerhci *'ith thc tcrclrr-r's opinioncvcntullly dctcrnrile pllccntent in :t chss. Classplecelrents .lrc colr\tilntly r-cvie$.cd arld stlrclerltsrn:r_v be nrovecl to nrorc or lcss aclvlnccd classes,eccorcling to thcir pertbrnrance. Thctclcher-:stuclent ratio is lpproxirnatcly 1:13.\l rrinrurn class sizc is 1(r. Wc providc :rll books..::,i t. rebirq nr:rteriels. Coursebooks includc'Cltrtiit; E.i.:l'. 'Ovel to Yolr', 'Uppcra u,ide r':rngc ollesson nratcri:rls and to utiliscne\\rspapcr ancl nraqlzirre articlcs, sclcctcd TV andr;rdio exerpts, short stolics, poenrs, songs and.rdvcltiscrrrcnts.The enrphrsis in lessons is to help develop thcstudcnts' spc:rking, listerring, rcadinq and rvritinqskills thror.rgh a topic and task-basecl approach.This involr'es rvorking rvith stuclents on :t vlrietyof activitics ccnti'ecl on a p:rrticuhr topic andhelpinq thcr.n u,ith thc hngrtagc Irccdccl toconrplete the activitics. They ri'iIl be expectecl tocornplctc ccrtein tesks. In this s'ay, rvc airn toclevclop our stndcnts' conficlcnce in ttsing Englishto colrnllulicilte rvh;rt is inrportartt to thenr ancl tostinrulatc thcir interest in English as the rvorlcl'scolnnror) larrguage. We try to givc studelitsnrltcri:rls :urcl activities that arc diftclcnt frorlthosc in their o'nvr.r countries. C)ral ancl rvrittenEnglish are tellght ancl thcre is an enrphasis onconvcrsation pr:rctice. A prizc is arvardcd otr c:rchCor-rrse lor acadcr.r.ric c'rcclle'nce.Lrterntecli.rtc rr)(l'L)tcnlredi:rtc Mlttcrs' ancl

S PO RTSSport is :ln ir.npolt:tnt pert of the Coursc. C)rtrSports/Social Organiscr err:lrlgcs ;r regularpro!f:1r.r1l.r1c inc'lr:cling footbell, baskctblll,vollevbel'I, bascb:rll. tcrrnis, tablc-tennis, ss'ilnr itrg,ctc. Cornpetitions rul] throughortt thc Course .Therc is :r1so a 4-Scl-rool 'sports l):ry' rvhcrl theSchools nlcet lor friendly contpetitiol)s in thcmajor sports.Wc take all practicable safcry precautiotrs - ftrrcxeniplc, stuclelrts using the sl'inrtning pool lrcahv:rys snpcrwised by a tcachet:.EXCU RS I ON STherc arc tour days out. Otre is a sightsceirle tourofLondon, follorvcd by shopping; the secotrcl is Ivisit to B:rth and, option:rlly, to the l{oman Ilrtths;the clcstirration for the third excursiorl rvill bcOxford, Southatupton, 'Winchestcr ot' atrother visitto London or a siurilar city of h'istoric:rlirnportancc; the fourth excursiort is to 'SportsDay'. Travel and st:rff supcrwisiou on thcsecrcrrrsions :rre includcd in thc Cortrse Fec.SOCIAT ACTIVITIESWe try to crcatc :l t'claxecl ltrd fricndly 'f:rnlily'atilrosphcre irr $'hich yor.rlill peoplc rvill fcel 'lthonrc' rluickly ritrcl tn:tkc good social corltacts.Therc is :r varicry of ectivities ol1 the prollranurle -discothcrl.res. f.ihns, barbccues, folk-si n ging,concerts, gatnes, olrtiollal thc:rtre visits, etc. Thcprograrnnre is a lull one. Thcrc is rJrvlys sotncthitlgto do lnd str-lclcnts rtrc crlcolrrilgcd to participatc.1*tail:t,::ia.ar3!;i:-:.3a &'*.

SHOPPING AFTERNOONS(oPrroNAr ExrRAlIn addition to the organiscd excursions above(which are included in the Course Fee), there aretwo optional shopping afternoons which are notincluded in the Course Fce. These are inNewbury or another town near the School. Wetlink it safe for young people to shop in thesetowns unaccompanied by staf{, if parents haveindicated their agreen-rent to this on theApplication Form. This helps them achieve ameasure ofindependence. Younger students canbe accompanied by staff if parents or we so wish.There will be several staff in the town whilc ourstudents arc shopping. Travel is by private coachfrorn the School with accompanying staff. Thecost of transport (payable by students if thcy wishto go) is in the range from d1.50 to d3.00.THEATRE VrSrrs (OPTTONAt EXTRAI'Cats', 'Phantom of the Opera', 'Saturday NightFever' and 'Les Mis6rables' - all thesc smash-hitWest End musicals are booked out months inadvancc. Tickets for these and other shows havebeen requcsted and we will be allocated a limitednumber. Wc sha1l allocatc tickcts to students sothat they can scc at least one show of their choice,up to a rnaximum of three shows. How manyshows will be possible depends on the availabiliryoftickets. Thc cost ofeach (show + travel to thethcatre) rvi1l bc in the range d30-40. Parents areasked to indrcate the nurnber ofshorvs requestedand inform the child of this. d35 or so for cacl'rshow requcsted should bc addcd to pocket nroncy.If it is not possible to provide the nurnber olshows requested, the nroney will be returned rviththe student et the cnd of the Course.INSTITUTE OF TINGUISTSSHORT COURSES EXAMINAIION(oPTroNAr EXTRA)The Institutc ofLinguists has been recognised bythe British Govcrnment as examiners since 1910.Specially for us, thcy have deviscd an Exarninationin Spoken English which will be cxternallymarked by their examiners. This examination willbe on 4 levels, according to the abiliry ofthestudent. Level 1 is 'Near-Beginner'; Level 4 is'Advanced'. At each level, the procedure wiil be:-(1) a general conversation with the examinerduring which the student is giving informationand (2) a structured task in which the student isrequesting information. Including preparationtime, the exarnination will last about 20 minutes.It will be held in each school at the end of theCourse. The Certificate in English as a SpokenLanguage for Short Courses is an officiallyvalidated qualification awarded in each level atone of three grades - Pass, Mcrit, Distinction.The cost is d30.00.TENNTS TESSONS (OPTIONAt EXTRA)Tennis may be played at any time, but we canaffangc professional lessons, ifrequired. Thcse areavailable for bcginners or near-beginners only. Sixone-hour lessons arc given in groups ofno morethan four students. These must be requcstcd inadvance on the Application Form. If tennis lessonsare taken, ;1 tennis racquet must be brought.As these lessons are prearranged, it is not possibieto refund the cost oflessons booked, but nottakcn. Parents are askcd to make sure that lessonsare rcally wanted beforc booking thern. If tcnnislessons are rcquested, thc cost (d30) should bcadded to pocket mouey.A TYPICAT DAY08.15 Breakfasto9.oo Fint class09,45 Break09.55 Second classlo,4o Breakl1:1o Third class11.55 Breakt2,o5 Fourth class12.5o Break13.oo Lunchtr.ls Supervised Study14,15 Break14.45 Organised sports and gamesl8.oo Evening meall9.oo Games, filns, etc.2l.oo Hot chocolate and biscuits2130 'Club'22.30 Bedtime (or 22.45)Pocket money and stamps areobtainable from the Officeevery day from 13.20 - 13.45and'14-15 - 14.45.FOOD SAFETYVecatiorral Studies policy is not to serve any foodthat is banned in any country or about whichthere is any concern for any reason. We serveonly r'vhat we believc parents would feel safe toserve thcir own childrcn in their own homes.

tr*'{;:"sg$!g r:.'' ::;r,'r."'::' *:.ii*r''zMEALSFoocl is rn ilnpoltiu)t palt of thc Coltrsc. Mclls alcprcparccl b,v profcssional cetcrcl's to a highstrndarcl. OLrr spccificatiotr for ltttich ancl c'linlel isa choice ofirot clishcs (inclLrdilg onc vcgetllirn)or a cold dish. :r s;rl:rd bar cornprising rboltt tcudiflercnt itcnrr.;t choicc of clcsscrts tltcl fl'csll Il'uit.Stuclents crrr h:rve thc first choicc thcy wal)t ellclcan retllrlr lor ltrothcr choicc :ts 'sccolcls'. If theyc:rnnot filcl Jnythir)!i thcy likc, tlley can rrsk rts tt:rask the cltcrer to Lrrcp:lre sollrcthil)li spcci;ll.Therc is lln.avs :t vcget;rt'iarr optiol]. C)thcr spcci:ridiets crrn bc crtercd for'. Clold ot'ange jtticc orothcl clrinks lrc avrrilable lt tro ch.rrge. Thcre is asrul11 'sn'cct shop'.At times throughottt thc Ct:lltrse, thc nrcnu s'ill bevericd to includc, for cxanrplc, Lr.tt'bccucs (sprrelib, s.rnslqc roll, jackct pot.rtocs, colesl.rs' ilip,crisps, icc-creanr, ctc.). 'fherc u,ill be also be atladitionel lJritish'Clrristnr:ts l)inncr' (rortst turkcvu'ith stufhng, roilst potatocs. Llrusscls sproLlts,crlnbcrqr jelly). There tnay :rlso be 'nationrtlrn(.rl\'. ll'll)c) \\'r.lr. \tu(l!l)t\ i,)lll \.lliotl:cour.rtl'ics crn rtclvisc thc kitchcn stlff otr hos' ttlprep.lre and scrve :t rttcll cotrsisting of dishct ii:orrlthcir os'n courltry.Thcre is a stltdetrts' Food Conrnrittcc s,hiclt ltlclt.thc Cltcrcr rcgLrl:rr'1y to cliscrtss lll aspccts ctitit;catcrir.rg.HOW WE ENCOURAGE THE USE OFENGLISH()n cacl.r Cortrsc tlrcrc are stltdcnts fiottr tn.ttt'.'ditL'rert countries. Wc tn' to ellstlre :l ltlirr'.t:. .rin:rtiorr:rlitics itt cl:rsses ancl dorntitorics. We .tlill i,.stinrulate thc spcakrrrg of English soci:rllr' irlr,'lrior-rs rvrtvs. Mcnrbcrs of stlff cotrstlttrivclrcoLrrrqe Enqlish-spc:lkirr g .rlolrtrcl thc Sclt LrL.l.Anothcr 'cttcottrtqctttctrt' to spc.rk Erltll.ll i. tll.'Elglish C)nly l{aflle'u'rtir.t r',rlLiri'le !'rizr tol thcrr,irrncr. Str-rdcnts u{ro lt.tr-c :1rokc;i Ett'j1i;lt nlltchnrolc thrr thcir-. os'r l,ttrqlt.tul .rri. lt t]le clld oic.rch u'cck. tr)titlcd to one r.tl-tlc tickct.Throltgltoltt thc Cortrsc. tltc'rc arc elso 'Engli.h

English and is not caught more than once usingany language other than English on that day, anextra ticket is awardcd - a 'bonus'. At the end ofthe Coursc there is a draw for the lucky ticket.The more tickets, the greater the chancc ofwinning the prizc. We hope that the prize will bea positive inducement for students to use English.HEALTHMinor illnesses are treated by our or'vn staff. Thereis a Matron rvith a special surgery/sickroom ineach School. We also usc the services of doctorsin the localiry. The StJohn's Ambulancc Serviceprovides training for all our staff at the start ofeach Course in the latest mcthods of basic first aidand resuscitation. We ask parents to givc us fullhealth information on the Application Fonn. Werequest that childrcn with food allergies comcwith a 1rr1. Adrenalin (Epinephrine) 1:1000injection perl - an 'EpiPen'.RETIGIONThe Courses arc interdenominational. If parcnts sowish, we shall arrangc for students to attend anappropriate scr-v-ice. Please indicate this on theApplication Fomr. Transportatioll to and from thechurch is payable by students.INSURANCEEvery studcnt is covered by a spccial InsurancePolicy while tl'rey are rvith us. Details arc on theenclosed inforrnation sheet. Briefly, the Insuranceincludcs refund of full Course Fces if certifiedserior.rs illncss or accident during thc month beforerhc Course prevents attendance on the Coulse;pni'.ri.' r)cdical trcatment to the value of d10,000;personal possr-ssions and luggage cover to theulre of fl00 norronrl lnonev.nver to fhe veltteof d200; return air fare or rcpatriation to thevalue of d10,000 if an APEX reservation is lostbecause ofdelayed or advanced departure throughillness or accidcnt while the student is with us.Personal accident insurance is includcd.There is no extra charge for this Insurance.Every student is automatically covered (subjectto the stated conditions) when the applicationis accepted.HOW WE IOOK AFTER STUDENTSWe understand the concern feit by parents whentheir sons and daughters are away from home.They are under constant supcrvision, as far as ispracticable, both in thc School and on cxcursions.Our total staff;student ratio of about 1:8 ensuresthet our students are well looked-after.In addition to the sta{I, on each Course there aretwo older ex-students, 'StaffHelpers', to assistwirh the sports and entertainments programme.During the Course, progress reports are sent toall parents describing performance in class andalso social behaviour. At the end ofthc Course,all parents are sent a final report and leavingcertificate together with a report from theDirector on the student's general progressand behrviour.IF THERE IS A PROBTEMWe sha1l contact you. Parents must cnsure that wehave a telephone number through which thcy canahvays bc reached. If it is an emergency and wecannot reach you, we sha11 contact the personnamed in section 8 (our 'cmergency contact') onthe Application Form. If we cannot contact eitherof you, we shall assumc your authorify to act 'inloco parcntis' and in a medical emergency, forexample, give consent to appropriate medicaltreatment. We send students a list of rules andstandards ofbehaviour expected before the Coursebegins. Thcse are straightforward. Basically, weexpect students to respect the buildings,equipment and the feelings of other people and toshow good manncn. Students must read andknow the rules beforc they corne.If a student is corrcctly motivated (scc section on'students u,ho will benefit'), there should be nodiscipline problems. If any should arise, we reservcthe right to contact parents and, ifwe consider itnccessary, require that the child be takcn home atthc parents' expense without refund ofFees.Euery year I thinkthat this year was thebest, but whendnother VacStudsmonth has ended,I haue to admit thatthat one was euel,better than theones before.

TRAVELIF YOU COME BY CARRo:.rcl directions lre given altel thc Schools'addresses. Plrents brirgir)q stuclcnts arc ;rskcd toarrive:rt bctrveen 12.30 and 1-{.30. I)arentscollccting stlldcnts or1 thc l.lst cllr' :rre asked toarrive before 1 1.0().ON ARRIVAL AT THE SCHOOTAll nroney is hlrc{cd in ;rt the Otlice for safekecping. Students c:rn ',vithdr:rrv rnoncy cvcry d:ry.Wc kccp passports and tickcts safely. 'We carrnoteccept responsibility for pocket lrlor)cy orr.rlu.rblsr lrot ll.llldcd to u5.ON THE FIRST DAYC)n rccluest. stLlclcrlts *,ill bc allocated to areturninq student n'ho rvill rrct :rs a guidc,cxpl:Iininq thc 1:r1'e111 of tlic builcling, the s,ay tbeCorrrir' rrril' .rrrd .r:r.rvcrirrg.lr)) (iuc\tioD\.SCHOOLS'ADDRESSES ANDDIRECTIONSDOUAT SCHOOTFrorn London. tirllos-MJ to E\it 12 (The.rle).Lcavc MJ .rnrl tollorr' siqns 'A1 Nenburr" firr9knr to Wooll),u.npton. I:.r Woolh.rliptor). tLlrrlrisht after F.rluroutlr Arnr' .rt thc 'Uppcr''Woolharnpton/L)oLr.ri School' siqrrpo't. (E1:treeSchool is lkrn .rlonq this ro.rrl ol) thc riqhr).Contirruc ior 50()rrr. Turrr right ilt 'lvl.rin Entr;rncc'sign :rnd then irnrncrlirrtclv lclt.Ad.lrcsr lor' .ttrtl.'rrr'' l. tt, r.:I)ouai SchoolWoolh:rnrpton Reacling RG7 5TH.Tclcphonc (to cont:rct Cor.rrsc Manager):N.rtion:rl: 01 18) 971 5262i:rtcrrr;rt'iclr;r1: +.+4 l lfl 971 5262THE MARY HARE SCHOOLFrorn Londor-r, follorv M4 to Exit 13 (Ncrvbury).Lcavc M4 and follorv signs 'A34 Ncrvbury'. Afterlkm tlke slip-road on left signposted' Culridgc/Wintcrbourne/Dorurington'. Tunrriglrt ovcr A34, thcn lcft signpostcd 'Mary Harc'.Thc Mary Hare School is first or-r the right.Addrcss lor :tuderrrs' lt'ttcr'::The Mary l:l:rre SchoolNcr'vbury lJcrkshirc l{G16 9BQ.Tclcphone (to colrtact Coursc Manager):National: (01635) 244231Irrterrrational: +44 1635 244231CHEAM SCHOOTFrorn Nervbury, teke the A339 road (signposted'Basingstokc') for 10krn. Cl.rearn Schooi (FrontEntrlnce) is signpostecl ol1 thc riglrt.Addlc.; lor ituJ( ntr' lctte r.:Chclnr Schooll-iead1e1' Ncrvbury Bcrkshire RG19 SLD.Tclephonc (to cor-rtact Course Manllgcr):National: (01635) 26flU03Intern:rtional: +44 1635 268803ETSTREE SCHOOLScc directions to Douai.Addrcrs lor 5turle rrt\' lr'Lt( r'\:Elstrce School'Woolharnpton l\crc'ling I{G7 5TD.Tclcphonc (to contJct Coursc Man:rger):N;rtion.rl: (()118) L)71 2725Irtern;rtion:i1: +-+.+ 118 971 2725Thc telcphonc nurnbers atid acldrcsses givcn abovclrc only for usc durinq the Colrrscs and only thcCoulsc Managcr can bc obtaincd on thcrn.l)r.rrinq thc rcst of thc ycar. plcasc usc ourNcrvbury Offlcc acldrcss and tclephone lurnberson the b:rck cover.DIRECTIONS BY RAILBy train fr.tlrn London, leave fi'orn P:rddingtonStatiorr. For Mary Hlrc arcl Chcarn, arrivc atNervbLrry St:rtion. Fol Douai and Elstrcc arrivc atll.c:rding Station or Midehanr Station. There arcnorrnally taris lt Ncn'bur,v Station. If not, there:lrc texi nurnbers in the phonc box neal thcStatiorr. Thcrc arc ahvays t:rxis at llclding Station.Thcrc arc no trrxis at Midgharn Station. Walk toA.1 road. then follorv road dircctions.FINALLY...We have tried to dcscribcthe Courses fully anclfrankly. Plcasc also see thesection 'UnrealisableExpectations' in the NewsScction. Thc Ncrvs Sectionfollowing contains rnoredetailed information onvarious aspccts oftheCourse. It is cssential readingfor the parents of 1999Cor-rrse participants and isnot or-rly a r6surn6 of theprevious sunllrrer. We hopethis brochure contains all theinformation you need tomake your choice. Anyfurther details you mayrcquirc can bc obtained fromthe p:1re nts of our paststudents and past stuclcntsthcrnsclvcs (thc addresses ofsome of thcsc arc on theenclosed list) and thcDirector. We suggest youcontilct our''parentalrclcrcrrc.''' a\ tllcy n)ry ()fTiruscfirl ;rdv'ir:e.Our Courses ale designedwith the benefit of 1,earsofcxpcrience and u.e arecorrfident that wc canconrbine the learning ofgood r'vritten and spokenEnglish rvith an unforgettablcand cnjoyablc holiday.

:&**toi{-*&r":::{,ui4\,u,.t,"1,'t*g*.\Vrotional)tudies'BIOGRAPH ICAt NOTEIan Mucklejohn - *'ho, as the l)ircctor,co-ordinatcs the Schools - rvas born in London.He is a gracluate of the Universiry of London witlIan Honours Degree in English Language andLiterature, is an Associatc of the College ofPreceptors and a Fellow of the Royal Socicryof Art:. He h.rs hrd nrxlr) yexrs cxperienr'c inteaching. He is the founder of Vacational Studics.Pepys'OakTydehanrsNewburyBcrkshire I\G1'+ qTEnglandTETEPHONENational01635 523333International+4,+ 1635 523333FAXNationai01635 523999International+41 1635 523999E-MAItvacstr.rds@vacational-stuclics. co. ukWEB SITEhttp: //*-wu,.vacational-studics. co.uk

TRAVELIt is quite usual for our studcnts to fly alone.90% of our studcnts arrive and depart in thisway. There are many cut-price air tickct offcrs-for carly booking, for young people, or fortravel on particular flights. -We operatc acollection and return transport serwice betweenHeathrow Airport and thc Schools on arrivaland departure at no charge, subject to the conditions on our 'Travel Dctails' fornr.Our staff can meet students arriving at Heathrow Tenninals 1 and 2 (only) and checkinstudents on outgoing flights from Heathrow Terminals 1 and 2 (only) on the stateddates. Our staff are at Heathrow from 12.00-16.00 on arrival days and from 09.3(l-13.00 on departurc days. If flights arrive earlier than 12.00, students wait for our stirtTncar the lnformation Desk. If flights leave after 13.00, wc cxplain the proccdure andtake studcnts to wait in the correct area.:4.$For young children (under 12), airlines operatc ar.r'lJnaccor.npanicd Young Persotis (UYP)' or'lJnacconrpanied Minors (UM)' servicc on requestand look after them. As airlines insist on a nanreclperson nreeting and rcturning a child and that theperson remains until the flight has dcpartcd,parcnts should note that ifthey lequest IJYP orIJM scrwicc, ail IJYP or uM arrivals atrddeparturcs rnust be by taxi at cost. The driver isknor'vn to us and has been r,vorking rvitl'r us fornany years. He will neet students and chcckthcrn in personally. It is normaliy untrecessary forsttldents to bc booked to lly UYP or UM.Airlines (espccially British Airrvays) arc vcryhelpful rvith young passengers at alry agc.Our free star.rclard scrwice cartnot be used lvbetrarrival is l:1ter or departurc is carlicr than outstatcd datcs or times, or if thc flight is via G.rnvickAirport, or if a student is bookcd UYP or UNI.or is on a flight which arrives at or departs froI.t.tTerr-ninal 3 or 4, ol is outside our reqrtcsted titles.'We can trake special taxi or rninibus arrangcnrcntiorl your bchalf. We clo uot charge for rnakinqthese :rrrangenrcnts, but thc cost ofthc taxi orrrrinibr.rs is payable by tl-re studcnt. (As a gLridc. :ronc-way taxi for one person to Heathro"v is abourd50 and to Gatrvick about d70. For two peopl.'.the cost is sharcd). Spccial requiremcnts should br'indicated on thc Application Fort.t-t and dcteils sentscparatcly.AT THE AIRPORTBefore travelling, rvc scnd an identity badgc lndluggagc tags to ellsure quick rccognition. C)r.rrrepreselitativcs "villcarry blue Vacational Str-rclir"'folders ancl rvill r.r-reet studcnts at the entrrrrcc tothc Arrivals Hall after leavirrg the Customs H.t11.If you do lrot takc our standard collcctiott/r.'ir-irirscrvit'c. but rvt' ntrkc orltcr .trt-.tttgcttlctlt. Iur \ (\ti.thc samc procedure applies.VISITS TO THE SCHOOTSVisits to the Schools outsidc tlic Cour't .l.rte: ttt.r)bc nradc only by :.tppointnrr'nt thlouglt oltrNervbury Olhcc.

HOW TO APPLYAnswer all the questions on the Application Formand return it to us with (if this is a first application)a letter of recommendation from the school onbehaviour and attitude to study. Retain your copyfor reference. 'W.e shall tell you immediately if theapplication is acceptable and for which Course. A'waiting list' operates when the Courses are full.LETTER OF RECOMMENDATIONTo ensure that all our studcnts are well-motivated and keen toparticipate, we ask that a brief letter of recommendation fromthe school accompanies all applications from new studcnts.This should mention behaviour and attitude to study. No suchletter is needed for students we already know or when thismight cause conflict with educational authorities.WHEN THE APPTICATION IS ACCEPTEDWe sha11 write to inform you of this and include our Invoice for the Course Fees. The Invoice can bcsettled in full immediately, or 50% can be paid immediately and the balance by the date shown on theInvoice. The place is conJirmed when thc full Course Fees have been received by us. We sha1l alsorequest travel details.HOW TO PAYPlease see the 'Course Fees 1999' slip.POCKET MONEYPocket money can either be brought by students (as a d Eurocheque under d700 in value, or as a dcheque dra.,vn on a British bank, payable to 'Vacational Studies Pocket Money A/C') or sent in advanceto the National Westminster Bank, 30 Market Place, Newbury, Bcrkshire RG14 5AJ for VacationalStudies Pocket Money A/C 65400100. We also have a Girobank account for personal money. Thenumber is 255 7444. Students will tend to bring about d250. Optional tennis coaching fees and the costof theatre visit(s) should be added (if applicable). Do not send more money during the Course.CLOTHES AND POSSESSIONSNotes and advice on what to bring and other information will be sent to parents and students in advance.THE COURSE FEEI NCIU DE5:-. residence at the School. ffavel Heathrow-School/School-Heathrowl. all meals'. tuition. the sports prograrnme. the use offacilities. excursions3. insurancea. the laundering ofclotheso1 At specified times and teminals- see'Travel'2 Except lurch on excunions. butincluding lunch on Spons Day3 Travel md superuision,not entrance feesa As described in the 'Insurance'slip5 Ifnot sensitive to bulk washing,/drying and at your own riskThere are NO EXTRACHARGES except foroptional church, theatre orshopping visits andprofessional tennis lessons.A small (d3) deduction ismade from pocket money toprovide indoor board gamesand records, tapes and CDsfor the 'Club'. {20'cattionmoney' will be retained inthe student's pocket moneyaccount until the last daywhen it will be retumed lessdeductions for damages(if any).rHE COURSE FEE DOESNOT INCLUDE. pocket money. optional chul ch/ theatre /shopping visits. travel to and from England

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F-ttf:;:,*4:tr*':i ,: ?SSx. I :Vcationat)tudies^'I haue neuer experienced anything like Vacational Studies. Nothing else euen comesclose. I can honestly say I made betterfriends in those;four weeks than I haue insixteen years' (an English student) . 'It's great to meet so many peoplefrom diferentcountries; some who will befriendsfor the rest oJ their liues' (a Dutch parent) .'He enjoyed his stay uery much and is con-fident of hauing made a big leap ahead inhis proJiciency in English' (a Cerman parent). 'It is only by talking to those u'hou,orkfor other summer schools that one appreciates the magic we giue to our students'(a teacher) . 'An excellent opportunityfor ylung people to deuelop their personalities,broaden their horizons and make new friends with students from many dffirentcountries' (another teacher) . 'So, how is eueryone? Missing it as much as I am?''Yes, euen more! I want to go back. It was the best time of my lfe. It is nofunbeing home again' (exchange on the Interactive Fontm on the Web Site) .Tranquil recollections of the best fourrveeks in the livcs of most of our studentsrnd onc ofthe greatest ittvesttnents lor theirluturc any pJrents cJl) nr.rke lor theirThe sununer 5ur) an.ivcd three days beforeu^*.,,,,^- wrs over ^..^- arrd ^..r disrppeare.d r:-^.^-thechildr.crr. These comrnerr,r'.- *"ll.i "r,n.Icrters. faxcs and e-rnrits t ,....,u.. rn.ymake rne proud of nry rvork' As my vidcocalnera swccps over the young pcopleembraci'g on the last",J;,;;;;.r.,So what was VacStuds '98 all about?Read on.Y't1,""t:'J,::::T,T::';:,1,"rT,::.::j:':,,.sultry heat of the English cou'trysidc, deep:::::.i::.::T:':]:::: :i:::-",:::].wrll remen)Dcr 1yy6 Js tlle sunrncr wrthout'cd with rveepirtg' tlleit'ncrvc-ettdings closc sun. Sunrhi'e is l rnixed blessing orr ourto tllc sut{tce' the chuggi'g dicscl crlgine ofCour-ses. This ycar.. thc rcnrpt.rriorr rotlrc green Be:rretts bus keerr to spced thern 'to Heathrow, I ..,,, ,..fl"., o,',: illoursesunllller of happiness, activiry, goodfellowship and harmony whilc other)tudcnts m:ry conre to Britrirr alrd just pickup 5onrc oIthc lauguage or-havc *,,,. lrn ::::*playing sport, for nrost ofoul students it hasbccn a fundamental expedence of lifervithout fi-ontiers with English as thebv thc pool' basking in golden r-'ryswas not an option. Instead the sports crewsworked hard on their programmes, devisingactivities a'd refining old fevourites'ewtl)e lour Inost rnrrovrtrvc"tLourses ever.The presence of some powcful personalitiesalnong our older rcturning studcnts helpedevident at a fire practice - an unar-rangedinterruption to pr-cparations to 'Miss Douai'.As the rain swept across from the Atlantic,the students burst into last year's'Spectacular' rendition of'l'm singing in therain, just singing in the rain'. A traditionunique to Douai is the 'Derek jacket'. Ifsomeone does anything particularly silly orcrass, this is greeted with the universal chantof 'Derek! Derek!' and the hapless victim isobliged to wear for thc day some fashionrelic ofa bygonc era - this year a frilly pinkhousecoat. Not a day went by without aDerek to bc seen. Another feature of theDouai Course is the play. This year it was'A Day in the Mind of Tich O1dfie1d'.With students of thc calibrc of those whocome to us, it is inevitable that there will besone competent actors. That every actorshould be quitc so superb is sonrething Ihad not expcctcd and cannot imagine howDircctor, Sasha, achieved it. This theatricaltour-de force is preserved for evcr on thevideo. Unlike the Folics Bcrgdres. Othcrschools were happy to provide encoreperformances spccially for the video. Not sothe Folies comrnittee at Douai. They tellne it rvas grcat. I am sure it will remain soin t1're mcmory. This year we had a

It was led by 'senior Course Manager',Francis Mclvor, in his thirteenth year withus. His ACM was the punctilious JonathanBiackburn. Course Tutor was the everefficientKatie Brown. Teaching werefirebrand Kirsry Ray, historical DaveMcGill, delightful Judith Yazicilar (n6eBlack), theatrical Sasha Marie and sporryPierre Gerrard. Super-sports Steve Brattgave his swansong per{ormance asSports/Social Organiser, most ably assistedby Victor Lopez (cJosest approximation rothe Picd Piper I have come across) anddebutante Catherine Olscn. For the fourthyear, Matron Pam(zilla) ('wi11 you be myEnglish mumrny?') Walker disPensedmedicine and wisdom in her inimitablesryle. Stalwart Marcos Lin6s (Spain) andbrand-new Christclle Harkema(Netherland$ complcted the team assplendid and reliable StaffHelpers. Douai'smonastic communiry with r,vhich we enjoya wann rapport remains. The School is nowunder new manaEiement. Those wc havedealt with have either departed or have norole within the school. Their absence madelife less smooth for us and was particularlynoticeable on the catcring side. There willbe changes. A11 in a1l, Douai '98 \ ras a greatCourse, the togethernes helPed bYeveryone being accommodated in the mainbuilding. We shall aim for a sirnilar numbern 1999.It rvas all change at Mary Hare this year.With the exception of the crew,ACM/Course Tutor Vince Purdue (still inhis Richard Gerc lookalike phase), andSarah Pawlcy, back fiom the Mary Harc ofthe 1980s, cveryone was ncw. CourseManager, Stephen Lane, did trot risethrough the ranks to CM status, but wasnew to the Courses, thejob and the ethos.A figure ofsubstance, he discovered that aday at Mary Hare can be a long day,especially when it is a day off. Full marks tothe crew for surviving the early enforceddeparture of two of their number whofound out my low tolerancc lcvel withunprofcssionalism. David -Wijeratne wasback for his fourth year and his second asSports/Social Organiser. Of his loyalry tothe aims of the Course there was no doubt.'VacStuds is liG', to slightly misquote him.Sam Fawkner returned ably to assist withthe single remaining StaffHelper, intriguingnewcorncr Margrethe Collicr (Norway).The first-class Seth Bolderow (ex PA andDouai Assistant) stepped in to help for thelast two wecks. On the teaching side,Emrna Wilson, Jenny Sweetman, SandYStcele and her pct coat had a great time,thoroughly enjoying the atmosphere andgiving somc great lessons. Philip Sams andBrendan Elsted were the new men on thetcaching staff. Our new, efticient Matron,Dot Brierley, was spared all but one or twotrips to the hospital. The studeDts remainedreasonably healthy in spite ofoccasionalwanderings in tl're cool night air. Thedomestic sidc - cleaning and laundry - tirisyear was super-smooth - contracted to ncwbrooms Mrs Pam Swift and her Eza-Kleenteam. That the Coursc at Mary Hare wasone of the best cver is an enonnous tributeto the comnitment shown by all the staffeach of whom made an impact one way oranother. The students showed remarkabletalent, too, although they still do not knowa Folies Rcvuc from a Folie Ilergdres.Some come very close, but stiii no oneknows how to do the Casino quite like TheMary Hare. Thc strains of 'Do you want togo with me to the Cesino', now purloinedby the other schools, but still for rneernbodying the essence of Mary Hare, wereheard towards thc end and will, I hope,have been learncd by thc next generation ofstudents. The atrnosphere at any school isdictated by the building, the students andthe Course Managcr. That it all worked sowell again at Cheam is a compliment to theabovc. Thc essentially nuclear layout ofCheam means that everyone is within reachat all times. The office became thc staffroom and was at the centre of events.Course Manager, Richard Wijeratne, hasovcr a decade ofexperience with VacStudsin additior-r to his own pastoral role in aschool for young children during the year.He led by example an exccptionally strongteam. His ACM was also Course Tutor,Ruth Pettingale, back for the fifth time.Stephen Sugden and Liz Morris wercreturning teachers. Michael Penny, McganRoberts and Ian Barker were thcnewcomers, quick to absorb the traditionsof Cheam, the longcst-running of ourschools, now in its 24th year. Fifth-yearvcteran, (General) James Olsen, soon toentcr the world of work, gave a swansongperformance as Sports and Social Organiser,emphatically in command of his troops.Indefatigable Catherine Tucker, now in herthird ycar, masterminded much of thespcctacular and gavc clear direction to manyof the activities. Our other Assistant, PieterWUfGls, whose affection for Cheamstretches back nine years to whcn he was astudent with us, uscd his accumulatedexpcrience to great cffect. Our supcrbdebutante Staff Helpers complcted theCrew. Astrid Aldenhuysen (Netherland$was totally committed and energetic.Michael Fuglesang (Nor.way) wasoutstandingly talented. First-time Matron,Sabine Lente1l, coped amply with all themedical rnd domestic dcmands of the job.And there were thc students. Just brilliant,'said Richard Wijeratne at the farewelldinncr. Of their keenncss and willingness tojoin in there was no doubt. Theirenthusiasm can be gaugcd by the Folies. Anevent that can be performed so successfullyoutdoors at night without lights is a tributeto its organisers and its audience. Orrly mycamcorder lvas defeated. Cheam '98 was avintage yc:rr. Itrternal changes to Cheam'sbuildings mcan that it has become a smallerCoursc than thc others. Our cxpericnce thisycar shows the advantages ofthis.Elstrec, too, has had to become a smallerCoursc. The strains of 'Bananana' could bcheard from the beginning. It was aninspired choice of theme music for theSports Day 'spectacular'. The merest hint ofa chord from it was enough to start thepatriotic chanting. DavidJohnson returnedfor his fifth year as Course Manager,heading a great team ofstaff Darkly coifedJulie Pugh, back for her fourtl'r year rvith us,reached the exalted status of ACM thistime. Dominic Higgins, also back for his

F-ttf:;:,*4:tr*':i ,: ?SSx. I :Vcationat)tudies^'I haue neuer experienced anything like Vacational Studies. Nothing else euen comesclose. I can honestly say I made betterfriends in those;four weeks than I haue insixteen years' (an English student) . 'It's great to meet so many peoplefrom diferentcountries; some who will befriendsfor the rest oJ their liues' (a Dutch parent) .'He enjoyed his stay uery much and is con-fident of hauing made a big leap ahead inhis proJiciency in English' (a Cerman parent). 'It is only by talking to those u'hou,orkfor other summer schools that one appreciates the magic we giue to our students'(a teacher) . 'An excellent opportunityfor ylung people to deuelop their personalities,broaden their horizons and make new friends with students from many dffirentcountries' (another teacher) . 'So, how is eueryone? Missing it as much as I am?''Yes, euen more! I want to go back. It was the best time of my lfe. It is nofunbeing home again' (exchange on the Interactive Fontm on the Web Site) .Tranquil recollections of the best fourrveeks in the livcs of most of our studentsrnd onc ofthe greatest ittvesttnents lor theirluturc any pJrents cJl) nr.rke lor theirThe sununer 5ur) an.ivcd three days beforeu^*.,,,,^- wrs over ^..^- arrd ^..r disrppeare.d r:-^.^-thechildr.crr. These comrnerr,r'.- *"ll.i "r,n.Icrters. faxcs and e-rnrits t ,....,u.. rn.ymake rne proud of nry rvork' As my vidcocalnera swccps over the young pcopleembraci'g on the last",J;,;;;;.r.,So what was VacStuds '98 all about?Read on.Y't1,""t:'J,::::T,T::';:,1,"rT,::.::j:':,,.sultry heat of the English cou'trysidc, deep:::::.i::.::T:':]:::: :i:::-",:::].wrll remen)Dcr 1yy6 Js tlle sunrncr wrthout'cd with rveepirtg' tlleit'ncrvc-ettdings closc sun. Sunrhi'e is l rnixed blessing orr ourto tllc sut{tce' the chuggi'g dicscl crlgine ofCour-ses. This ycar.. thc rcnrpt.rriorr rotlrc green Be:rretts bus keerr to spced thern 'to Heathrow, I ..,,, ,..fl"., o,',: illoursesunllller of happiness, activiry, goodfellowship and harmony whilc other)tudcnts m:ry conre to Britrirr alrd just pickup 5onrc oIthc lauguage or-havc *,,,. lrn ::::*playing sport, for nrost ofoul students it hasbccn a fundamental expedence of lifervithout fi-ontiers with English as thebv thc pool' basking in golden r-'ryswas not an option. Instead the sports crewsworked hard on their programmes, devisingactivities a'd refining old fevourites'ewtl)e lour Inost rnrrovrtrvc"tLourses ever.The presence of some powcful personalitiesalnong our older rcturning studcnts helpedevident at a fire practice - an unar-rangedinterruption to pr-cparations to 'Miss Douai'.As the rain swept across from the Atlantic,the students burst into last year's'Spectacular' rendition of'l'm singing in therain, just singing in the rain'. A traditionunique to Douai is the 'Derek jacket'. Ifsomeone does anything particularly silly orcrass, this is greeted with the universal chantof 'Derek! Derek!' and the hapless victim isobliged to wear for thc day some fashionrelic ofa bygonc era - this year a frilly pinkhousecoat. Not a day went by without aDerek to bc seen. Another feature of theDouai Course is the play. This year it was'A Day in the Mind of Tich O1dfie1d'.With students of thc calibrc of those whocome to us, it is inevitable that there will besone competent actors. That every actorshould be quitc so superb is sonrething Ihad not expcctcd and cannot imagine howDircctor, Sasha, achieved it. This theatricaltour-de force is preserved for evcr on thevideo. Unlike the Folics Bcrgdres. Othcrschools were happy to provide encoreperformances spccially for the video. Not sothe Folies comrnittee at Douai. They tellne it rvas grcat. I am sure it will remain soin t1're mcmory. This year we had a

It was led by 'senior Course Manager',Francis Mclvor, in his thirteenth year withus. His ACM was the punctilious JonathanBiackburn. Course Tutor was the everefficientKatie Brown. Teaching werefirebrand Kirsry Ray, historical DaveMcGill, delightful Judith Yazicilar (n6eBlack), theatrical Sasha Marie and sporryPierre Gerrard. Super-sports Steve Brattgave his swansong per{ormance asSports/Social Organiser, most ably assistedby Victor Lopez (cJosest approximation rothe Picd Piper I have come across) anddebutante Catherine Olscn. For the fourthyear, Matron Pam(zilla) ('wi11 you be myEnglish mumrny?') Walker disPensedmedicine and wisdom in her inimitablesryle. Stalwart Marcos Lin6s (Spain) andbrand-new Christclle Harkema(Netherland$ complcted the team assplendid and reliable StaffHelpers. Douai'smonastic communiry with r,vhich we enjoya wann rapport remains. The School is nowunder new manaEiement. Those wc havedealt with have either departed or have norole within the school. Their absence madelife less smooth for us and was particularlynoticeable on the catcring side. There willbe changes. A11 in a1l, Douai '98 \ ras a greatCourse, the togethernes helPed bYeveryone being accommodated in the mainbuilding. We shall aim for a sirnilar numbern 1999.It rvas all change at Mary Hare this year.With the exception of the crew,ACM/Course Tutor Vince Purdue (still inhis Richard Gerc lookalike phase), andSarah Pawlcy, back fiom the Mary Harc ofthe 1980s, cveryone was ncw. CourseManager, Stephen Lane, did trot risethrough the ranks to CM status, but wasnew to the Courses, thejob and the ethos.A figure ofsubstance, he discovered that aday at Mary Hare can be a long day,especially when it is a day off. Full marks tothe crew for surviving the early enforceddeparture of two of their number whofound out my low tolerancc lcvel withunprofcssionalism. David -Wijeratne wasback for his fourth year and his second asSports/Social Organiser. Of his loyalry tothe aims of the Course there was no doubt.'VacStuds is liG', to slightly misquote him.Sam Fawkner returned ably to assist withthe single remaining StaffHelper, intriguingnewcorncr Margrethe Collicr (Norway).The first-class Seth Bolderow (ex PA andDouai Assistant) stepped in to help for thelast two wecks. On the teaching side,Emrna Wilson, Jenny Sweetman, SandYStcele and her pct coat had a great time,thoroughly enjoying the atmosphere andgiving somc great lessons. Philip Sams andBrendan Elsted were the new men on thetcaching staff. Our new, efticient Matron,Dot Brierley, was spared all but one or twotrips to the hospital. The studeDts remainedreasonably healthy in spite ofoccasionalwanderings in tl're cool night air. Thedomestic sidc - cleaning and laundry - tirisyear was super-smooth - contracted to ncwbrooms Mrs Pam Swift and her Eza-Kleenteam. That the Coursc at Mary Hare wasone of the best cver is an enonnous tributeto the comnitment shown by all the staffeach of whom made an impact one way oranother. The students showed remarkabletalent, too, although they still do not knowa Folies Rcvuc from a Folie Ilergdres.Some come very close, but stiii no oneknows how to do the Casino quite like TheMary Hare. Thc strains of 'Do you want togo with me to the Cesino', now purloinedby the other schools, but still for rneernbodying the essence of Mary Hare, wereheard towards thc end and will, I hope,have been learncd by thc next generation ofstudents. The atrnosphere at any school isdictated by the building, the students andthe Course Managcr. That it all worked sowell again at Cheam is a compliment to theabovc. Thc essentially nuclear layout ofCheam means that everyone is within reachat all times. The office became thc staffroom and was at the centre of events.Course Manager, Richard Wijeratne, hasovcr a decade ofexperience with VacStudsin additior-r to his own pastoral role in aschool for young children during the year.He led by example an exccptionally strongteam. His ACM was also Course Tutor,Ruth Pettingale, back for the fifth time.Stephen Sugden and Liz Morris wercreturning teachers. Michael Penny, McganRoberts and Ian Barker were thcnewcomers, quick to absorb the traditionsof Cheam, the longcst-running of ourschools, now in its 24th year. Fifth-yearvcteran, (General) James Olsen, soon toentcr the world of work, gave a swansongperformance as Sports and Social Organiser,emphatically in command of his troops.Indefatigable Catherine Tucker, now in herthird ycar, masterminded much of thespcctacular and gavc clear direction to manyof the activities. Our other Assistant, PieterWUfGls, whose affection for Cheamstretches back nine years to whcn he was astudent with us, uscd his accumulatedexpcrience to great cffect. Our supcrbdebutante Staff Helpers complcted theCrew. Astrid Aldenhuysen (Netherland$was totally committed and energetic.Michael Fuglesang (Nor.way) wasoutstandingly talented. First-time Matron,Sabine Lente1l, coped amply with all themedical rnd domestic dcmands of the job.And there were thc students. Just brilliant,'said Richard Wijeratne at the farewelldinncr. Of their keenncss and willingness tojoin in there was no doubt. Theirenthusiasm can be gaugcd by the Folies. Anevent that can be performed so successfullyoutdoors at night without lights is a tributeto its organisers and its audience. Orrly mycamcorder lvas defeated. Cheam '98 was avintage yc:rr. Itrternal changes to Cheam'sbuildings mcan that it has become a smallerCoursc than thc others. Our cxpericnce thisycar shows the advantages ofthis.Elstrec, too, has had to become a smallerCoursc. The strains of 'Bananana' could bcheard from the beginning. It was aninspired choice of theme music for theSports Day 'spectacular'. The merest hint ofa chord from it was enough to start thepatriotic chanting. DavidJohnson returnedfor his fifth year as Course Manager,heading a great team ofstaff Darkly coifedJulie Pugh, back for her fourtl'r year rvith us,reached the exalted status of ACM thistime. Dominic Higgins, also back for his

\' ;..:t?,J;1''"! ri.l .&fourth year, added his weight as CourseTutor. Veteran Peter Blood, rvas back forhis third ycar as a teacher. Newcomcrs,r,vere Anna Eames, Joannc Fox-Mills,SimonJackson and Sandra 'Waterhouse. Asone of the staff ',vrites, 'they gelled ol1 everylcvel'. After last year's success, whoevertook over as Spofts/Social Organisel wouldhave a hard act to follor'v. Brand-ner.v SSOWilliatr Foster took to the job likc a PA tor,vater, thro.,vn in at the dccp end. He lcdhis hard-',vorking clew by example. ChlodDunnett came as a complete dcbutente.Michael Taylor had the cxpcriencc of beinga stlldent last year at Mary Hare. As mycorrcspondent notes, 'it did Elstrce somcgood to have all our activities set up fi'on adifferent vicwpoint'. Staffhelpers rvere theauthoritative Carola Lakenran (Netherlands)and Ramon ('Hot I)og') dc la Torrc(Spain). Our nerv Matron, Vivian Muir,had to usc her soothing hand once ot trvicc,but ir-r general thc students rvere remarkablyhealthy considering thcir exposurc to thcnight air. Once again, the Elstree studentspnt on thc 'Folies Bergdres'to end all'Folics'. It was performed lvith such gustothat thc cntire audience was involved. The'Revue', too, had touches of brilliance.While a Grv students tcsted or-lr rulcs to thelinit of our patience, most were rvilling tobe bound by the promises they hacl made.As ever, it r,vas thc combination of retunreesand nelvcomcrs that made the Courservork. Indeed, so mnch has Elstrcc bccornea part of their lives, that a fcrv rvho rvill bctoo old to return have alrcady madeovcrtufcs to lne about working in thekitchcns ncxt ycar.This year, Fled Gooch was ouL 'visiting'I)ircctor of Studies. With a university thesisto complctc by thc end of August, he coulclnot conrrlit hinrself to us full-time. In tl'rccvcnt, it was not necessary. All our CourscTutors returned fi-orn last ycar. They rvercthorough-ly corrpetent and needed r.roovcrseeing.A visitor to all the Schools was our reliablcSuppolt Teacher, Martin Hopper. Like nre,he rvas ablc to col1lp:rre alld colltrast.Anothcr visitol r,vas my PA, Jonathanl{iggall, back fol arlother year. His bluecolllpany Sierra failcd only lvhcn out ofpetrol. It carried on cvcn rvithout oil.Undiminishcd by his many years on thejob, tireless Mark Thatcher's weekly discoscontinued to keep the young ones bopping.Christinc O'Callaghan and her colleagues6-om StJohn's Ambulance Serwice providedbasic First Aid instruction for all thc staffbcfore each Course bcgan. For the 20thyear, Liz Fidler rvas i/c tcnnis coachir-rg ata1l tl'rc schools.And there was me, doing my best to beadrnir-ristrator, adjudicator, inforrnationbureau, sccrctary and policeman at thc sanetimc, :rrmed with carnera and camcorder topreser-ve rnonents that will ncver comeagain',vhile dispensing instant justice from amoving Au - or, at least, that's hor'v it G1t.It's a strange 1iG and one that does not getany easicr. Ncvcrthcless, I hope to continucuntil decrepitude sets in.SPORTS DAY,98Thulsday 23 July dawncd overcast anddamp. The night had been sorking lvet.The forecast rvas ambiguous and, as isal.,vays thc casc, changed by the hour untilit correctly rcpolted r,vhat the 'nvcathcractualiy had bccn. Thc Old Wives' Talegocs 'rain before seven, finc by eleven' andI saw just about enough 'bluc sky to rnake asailor a pair oftrousers'. I decided to take achance. All thc schools contacted me,ccrtain that it lvould be postponed. Whenthc rain rvas cascading down at halfpastcight, I had a mome11tary doubt, but atravellcr frorn the north told mc he hadseen a bank of clcar sky coming in from thcwcst. In thc event, rvc 1'rad the mostfabulous weather for Sports Day. Clear andfi'csh lvith enough afternoon sunsl.rine to letthe audience sunbathe as they watched the'Spectaculars'. Patriotic school cl'rants rangout all day long, games were playcd,victories were won, friends fi'orn otherschools met up and thc spirit of friendlyriva1ry that makes Sports Day so specialprevailcd. There rvere even somc newsongs. ''Wc'rc gonna score one morc thanYOU!' was shrieked at fu1l volume. Asevcl, it r.vas a photo-opportuniry and thebrochure sho.,vs the fun it all was. Sofantastic rvere the four Spectaculars that thevideos contain thcrn all, notjust thc oneappropriatc to that school. These wholeschoolextravaganzas givc every student t1'rcchancc to pcr{orn aDd are a trcmcndousunifiing forcc. Just a ferv bars of 'You cankeep your hat on' rvas enough at Douai tobring out the wholc school for a rehcusalbcfore Sports l)ay. In thc three weeksElstree had after Sports Day, their'Virldaloo' rvas perfor-med sevcral times,culminating in a spccial performancc on thelast day for my carncorder, filmed from theroof, I wonder r'vho had the original ideafor 'Spectaculars'...? In 1999, as this year,thrce days towards the end ofJuly r'vill bca.

THE JdRG WEISE SCHOTARSHIP'We continue to be associated with the JiirgWeise Memorial Scholarship. ThcScholarship is a place on any ofourCourscs, returr air ticket from anyrvhere inthe world, pocket money, theatre ticketsand tennis lcssons. The recipient oftheSchoiarship will be thc sort of studcntoutllned above who will benefit fromattending the Course, but who is unable toapply for a place in the normal way forfinancial reasons. The ScholarshipCornrnittee will takc stcps to verifl, thefinancial situation of candidates. Wewelcome nominations for thc Scholarship in1999 which should be sent irl confidence,and without informing the projectedrecipient, to Vacational Studies. I sha1lfolward nominations to the ScholarshipComrnittee of theJWA.GIOTTO - ITS HISTORYGiotto was started in 1986, thc ycar ofHalley's Comet. It scemed to mc a piry thatthe strong international contacts made byour students in their teens should disappearwith the passage of time. It is not that theydid not wish to keep up rhe conracts. it irjust not easy to conrinue correspondenceaftcr the shared experience ofthe Coursehas faded frorn the rnemolT. Nevertheless,I felt that thcse contacts, good in one'steens, could be even more beneficial lateron. I decided to contact all our past studentsto see how they felt. It was rny biggcst-cvermailshot and the responsc was hugc. Inarned this organisation Giotto after thecollaborative European space-probe, Giotto,rvhich was sent up in February 1986 toobserve Halley's Comct. No one kncw atthat time if it would succced or fai1. In fact,it succeeded. The probc Giotto was sonamed because Halley's Comct fcatures in awork by the Florentine painter, Giotto.Whcn I decided in 1986 to collate thenames of our students from 1972 to dateand create this intcrnational organisation,I did not know if it would succeed or fai1.GIOTTO PAGESThe 1999 'Giotto Book' (now publishedonly on our Intcrnet site as it has becomeso healry to post, so I shall say 'GiottoPages') will be its 13th Edition and willcontain over 2300 names. This suggests tome that the concept is succeeding. Listingin Giotto is provided at no charge. It istotally financed by Vacational Studies as anadjunct to our work in helping rnake theworld a smaller placc. Some now in tl'rcBook are rather young, but time will putthis right.In a few years, the Giotto Pages rvi1l inciudemany more interesting and useful people invarious ficlds who are willing to becontacted. Tl'rcre is already an 'IntcrnationalWork Experience' section in the 1999Giotto Prges. I know that vanous contactshave becn made via Giotto. For reasons ofsecurity, full addresscs are not providcd. It isideal for E-mail cor-rtact.GIOTTO TOURSFor those rvho wish for a rnore pcrsonalsocial contact, Giotto Tours was created bya gloup ofstudents in 1992 to arrangeholid:rys and get-togethcrs for its members.It fell into desuetude. Chris Noll(Heidestra'e 23, D-6031.6 Frankfurt/Main,Gennany. Tcl: +49 69495408; Fax: f4969-447024) bravely attempted to revive theconccpt by arlanging a meeting duringEaster 1998 in Berlin. It did not happenbecrusc there was irr:ufllcient intcrcrt.There arc several mcssages on thcInteractivc Forum within our Internct sitcabout a get-together. Anyone willir-rg toorganise this can post a mcssage(http://www.vacational-studics.co.uk.click on 'Interactive Forum').andINTERNET SITEThis has now become our'shop window'and the main source of infonrration aboutus. The entire brochure and also this 'newssection' are on our web site. Application forplaces on our Courses can be madcelectronically Giotto exists only on the site.My research indrcatcs that the vast majoriryofstudents have access to a computer andthe majoriry of these havc access to theIntcrnet. For those who do not, I can onlyapologise that a great deal oftheinformation we put out will not be availableto them. Nevertheless, the Internet is nor,vfirmly established, widely uscd andunderstood, and we lnust assumc thatparents and students have moved withthe times.INTERACTIVE FORUMThis has been a huge success sincc it waslaunclicd at the beginning ofthis ycar.People connectcd with Vacational Studiesuse it all the time to comrnunicate witheach other. Ifyou have not yet used it,plcasc visit it on our Internet pagcs.MY THANKSTo al1 those who entmst us rvith theirchildren. You are making the best possiblcinvcstlnent for your childrcn's future - theircducation and developmellt. Wc shallcontinue to.justify your confidcnce in us byproviding our students with tlie bestposiblc linguistic and social cxpcricnce.Ian G. Muckle.john - Autumn 1998

\' ;..:t?,J;1''"! ri.l .&fourth year, added his weight as CourseTutor. Veteran Peter Blood, rvas back forhis third ycar as a teacher. Newcomcrs,r,vere Anna Eames, Joannc Fox-Mills,SimonJackson and Sandra 'Waterhouse. Asone of the staff ',vrites, 'they gelled ol1 everylcvel'. After last year's success, whoevertook over as Spofts/Social Organisel wouldhave a hard act to follor'v. Brand-ner.v SSOWilliatr Foster took to the job likc a PA tor,vater, thro.,vn in at the dccp end. He lcdhis hard-',vorking clew by example. ChlodDunnett came as a complete dcbutente.Michael Taylor had the cxpcriencc of beinga stlldent last year at Mary Hare. As mycorrcspondent notes, 'it did Elstrce somcgood to have all our activities set up fi'on adifferent vicwpoint'. Staffhelpers rvere theauthoritative Carola Lakenran (Netherlands)and Ramon ('Hot I)og') dc la Torrc(Spain). Our nerv Matron, Vivian Muir,had to usc her soothing hand once ot trvicc,but ir-r general thc students rvere remarkablyhealthy considering thcir exposurc to thcnight air. Once again, the Elstree studentspnt on thc 'Folies Bergdres'to end all'Folics'. It was performed lvith such gustothat thc cntire audience was involved. The'Revue', too, had touches of brilliance.While a Grv students tcsted or-lr rulcs to thelinit of our patience, most were rvilling tobe bound by the promises they hacl made.As ever, it r,vas thc combination of retunreesand nelvcomcrs that made the Courservork. Indeed, so mnch has Elstrcc bccornea part of their lives, that a fcrv rvho rvill bctoo old to return have alrcady madeovcrtufcs to lne about working in thekitchcns ncxt ycar.This year, Fled Gooch was ouL 'visiting'I)ircctor of Studies. With a university thesisto complctc by thc end of August, he coulclnot conrrlit hinrself to us full-time. In tl'rccvcnt, it was not necessary. All our CourscTutors returned fi-orn last ycar. They rvercthorough-ly corrpetent and needed r.roovcrseeing.A visitor to all the Schools was our reliablcSuppolt Teacher, Martin Hopper. Like nre,he rvas ablc to col1lp:rre alld colltrast.Anothcr visitol r,vas my PA, Jonathanl{iggall, back fol arlother year. His bluecolllpany Sierra failcd only lvhcn out ofpetrol. It carried on cvcn rvithout oil.Undiminishcd by his many years on thejob, tireless Mark Thatcher's weekly discoscontinued to keep the young ones bopping.Christinc O'Callaghan and her colleagues6-om StJohn's Ambulance Serwice providedbasic First Aid instruction for all thc staffbcfore each Course bcgan. For the 20thyear, Liz Fidler rvas i/c tcnnis coachir-rg ata1l tl'rc schools.And there was me, doing my best to beadrnir-ristrator, adjudicator, inforrnationbureau, sccrctary and policeman at thc sanetimc, :rrmed with carnera and camcorder topreser-ve rnonents that will ncver comeagain',vhile dispensing instant justice from amoving Au - or, at least, that's hor'v it G1t.It's a strange 1iG and one that does not getany easicr. Ncvcrthcless, I hope to continucuntil decrepitude sets in.SPORTS DAY,98Thulsday 23 July dawncd overcast anddamp. The night had been sorking lvet.The forecast rvas ambiguous and, as isal.,vays thc casc, changed by the hour untilit correctly rcpolted r,vhat the 'nvcathcractualiy had bccn. Thc Old Wives' Talegocs 'rain before seven, finc by eleven' andI saw just about enough 'bluc sky to rnake asailor a pair oftrousers'. I decided to take achance. All thc schools contacted me,ccrtain that it lvould be postponed. Whenthc rain rvas cascading down at halfpastcight, I had a mome11tary doubt, but atravellcr frorn the north told mc he hadseen a bank of clcar sky coming in from thcwcst. In thc event, rvc 1'rad the mostfabulous weather for Sports Day. Clear andfi'csh lvith enough afternoon sunsl.rine to letthe audience sunbathe as they watched the'Spectaculars'. Patriotic school cl'rants rangout all day long, games were playcd,victories were won, friends fi'orn otherschools met up and thc spirit of friendlyriva1ry that makes Sports Day so specialprevailcd. There rvere even somc newsongs. ''Wc'rc gonna score one morc thanYOU!' was shrieked at fu1l volume. Asevcl, it r.vas a photo-opportuniry and thebrochure sho.,vs the fun it all was. Sofantastic rvere the four Spectaculars that thevideos contain thcrn all, notjust thc oneappropriatc to that school. These wholeschoolextravaganzas givc every student t1'rcchancc to pcr{orn aDd are a trcmcndousunifiing forcc. Just a ferv bars of 'You cankeep your hat on' rvas enough at Douai tobring out the wholc school for a rehcusalbcfore Sports l)ay. In thc three weeksElstree had after Sports Day, their'Virldaloo' rvas perfor-med sevcral times,culminating in a spccial performancc on thelast day for my carncorder, filmed from theroof, I wonder r'vho had the original ideafor 'Spectaculars'...? In 1999, as this year,thrce days towards the end ofJuly r'vill bca.

set aside as possible Sports l)ays. Thc firstfine day rvill become Sports Day. No dryday = no Sports D.ry.CATERINGAgain, this r'vas in thc capablc hands of MrsJe:rn Mongcr at Mary Hare (r'vhose talcntsrvere sampled by everyone at Sports Day)and arranged at Chcam and Elstree byGraharn Troughton of Gardtrer Mcrchatrt.On Elstrce's catedng stafflvc had a formcrstudent, Oscar de la Torrc (Spain) AtDouai, Ray Chapman of Harrison Catcringwas in chargc. A cornbination of pastcxpericnce, day-to-day contact witl-r CourseManagers and fcedback fron-r FoodComrnittccs etisured that stand:rrds rvercgencr:r11y maintained. Ail students and staffr,vere invited to cornplete a 'foodqucstionnaire', :rnonymously if they wislied.Quitc .r ttumbcr of qtrc'tionn.rircs werccomplimcntrry. Some were odd and havebeen disregarded. One clearly told me th:rt irchoicc of3 hot rnain dishes t 4 cookedvcgetablcs .l 14 diffcrent cold dishcs + Ihot dessert * 5 colcl dcsserts = Iro food atall for any meal. He scctned to bc tuckingin qr.rite happily to this notr-existcnt foodrvhenever I sarv hirn... In general, thosc inthe c:rst of Europe gave thc highcst rnarks.Thosc frorn the south gavc thc 1olvcst. Thcoverall averagc satisfaction ratcs (combiningl9 differcnt qucstiolts) are as follo',vs:-Douai 60%; Mary Harc 70'%; Chean 7|Vo;ELSTREE 1998Elstree 65%. Cornpared to last year, Douaihas dropped 3"/n md this will be addresscd;Mary Hare is up a credit:rble 8%; Chear-nand Elstrcc are thc samc. The ansr,vers givcnrvere subjective, sometitnes contradictoryand can indicatc oIrly a gener:.rl pelceptionofst:rndards. Thc caterers have bcen givcnthe forms and a breakdor.vn of the resultsapplying to the various aspects ofthecatering from bre:rkfast to barbecucs. Theyhave beeu ersked to take note of thecomnellts. By and large they indicate thatyoung pcople arc cortscrwativc in theirt:rstes, hard to pleasc, tl.rat therc is nosubstitute for hotnc-cooking. Neverthcless'sorne think our catcring is 'great' and nlostfind it et lcast accept;rb1e. Oncc again, rveser-ved no beef fiom :rtiy cotttrtry. Ourpolicy remaius that if lvc consider al parentu.ould decidc, for any reason, to consider afood itcn-r uns;rfe, rvc shall not serve thatitenr. -We shall err on the side of caution inthis as in every other rcllxrd.TATENTThc lead-up to thc 'Folies Bcrgdrcs' at eacl'rschool 'is as important as the preparatioll forSport' D.ry. Thc Folics Colnrttittcc ttsc'English as its natural and cssetrtillconununicativc nrediurn. Evcry stucler-rt isablc to play a part, rvl-rcther as :r pcr{ornrcr,an organiscr or a hclper. The richncss oftalent prescnt :utlong the studeuts catr bcbrouglrt ollt. And \'vhat talcnts rve havc.ccr rl Jtrgglirr g. t.rp-d.rrrcilr g. .in girrg. pl.rrropl.ryi rrg. cor rjurrn g. gyr) ) I ).1\tic\. ilcti ng .trcjust a ferv. Agair-r this ycar thc Elstrce'Folics' lvas definitive. The audiencc set attablcs at tl'rc 'Folies Caf6'. Student-r,vaitersserwcd drinks; an artist wes sketching in acorr-rcr; 'bouncers' were on hand, one evcnescortcd rne back to rny scat. It's allcapturcd on fihn and should be essentialvier'ving for the Sports/Social stafTat all theschools who can providc ideas rvherc thescrnay bc lacking aDd steer students awaylrorrr irrcludirt g nt.trcrill rrrore .tppropriatefor the 'Revuc' or any i1i dubious tastc.EXCELTENCEJust as we are able rvith our telentedstudents to produce shorvs of high qualiry,so we erlcourage cxcellcnce in the acedernicspherc. 'Winners of the Prize for Acader.nicExcellencc u.cre: Ingurttrn Lindbach(Norr'vay) at Douai; Loreua Mcndioroz(Sp:rirt) at Mary H:rre; Marta Casasirs (Spain)at Cheanl; Manucla Magliulo (ltaly) atElstrcc.ESSAY COMPETITIONThe Jorg Wcise Association hcld anotherEssay Writing Competition this yeer. As anexperimcrlt, I left it to the Staff Helpers atDouai to mrke thc lrraugemctrts. Thercwerc r total of thrce entrlrlts. The rvinncrhad been thc rvinnel at Mary Hare last ycar.The stafftook over the cornpctitioll at thcother schools. Therc rvas an ah-nost 1tl0%response. The topic chosen r.vas 'Whercdoes the magic of VecStuds 1ic'? Thc essayslvere rcvelatory, Irot just bec:rttsc thcyshorvcd the dcep it.upression that our rvorkhas on the young pcople Ivho corne to us,but because it made rnc Aware of rvhatelernents conrbitrc to t.uake us so specill.Morc on this l:rter. As rny work is anextcnsiot-t of my se1f, I found the strtdents'words pI-ofoundly toucl-ring. It nraclc trle'nvondcr if VacStuds as it is could coutitlucrvithout nre. lJut that's a topic for atrotherday. As I rves cprite r.rnable to juclgc thcessays r'vith aD1' objectivity, ur:rrking $'as bytelrns of tcachers. sorllc fi'otlr othcr scl.rools,r.vl.ro produccd a short list r'vhich rvas thcnconsidered by stalffronr the c:rndidates'orvn school. Winncls of theJWA/Vacational Studies Essay WritingCornpetitions lvere: Andrels Arl-raldos(Sp,rirr) .rr Dott.ri: Jo:ro Hcrrli(lue\(Mozernbique) at Mery Harc; DjamilaPisociro (Angola) at Cheat.r.r; Cathrin Alber(Gerrnany) at Elstree.

RAFFTETickets awarded on English Only Dayswere drawn at the Final Dinner. The luckywinners of a VacStuds watch with oursplendid logo, were: Tinna OskOskarsd6ttir (Iceland) at Doua|' ZsoziVincze (Hungary) at Mary Hare; RobZontjens (Netherland$ at Chearn; Bel6nZato (Spain) at Elstree.IOt EXAMINATIONThc Institute of Linguists' examiner for the'Cetificate in Spoken English for ShortCourses' telephoned me to compliment uson the quality of the candidates we werepresenting for their Examination. Somestudents gained the maximum markspossible - a quite exceptional achievement.The Examination was first offercd in 1997and was rcfined for 1998. It is anExamination in conversation, the majoriryof which is directiy related to the activitieson our Courses. The IoL examiners haveread the brochure and ncws-scction, seenthe videos and several have visited theschools. This is a real externally certificatedqualification. It is unique to us. No one elseoffers it. It is enjoyable and withoutpressure. At most schools most studentstook it and were arvarded their certificatesat the final dinner.NEW IOt GRADE 4 IN I999IJecause of the exceptional abiliry of sorneof our students and as so many wish to takethe Examination again, the IoL is offering anew leve1 above the 'advanced' Level 3. Itwill be a 'proficiency' Level 4.TRIPSMy idea of a trip to'Wales was a rnixedsuccess. Those schools that took up mysuggestion of a visit to the Big Pit and wentdown a coal mine enjoyed the experience.At under two hours each way, thc journeywas not unbearably 1ong. Ncverthelcss, itwas felt that it was too far for an hour spentundcrground. The distance from there toCardiffleft little time to do the allimportantshopping. Those who visited thatpart of Cardiff touted as the 'MillenniumExperience' found a building site unlike thedescription in the tourist information sheet.For 1999, there wili be the usual Londontrip - sightsceing and shopping. The secondtrip will be to Bath with an optional visit tothe Roman Baths there. The third trip willbe optional and may be another visit toLondon. The fourth trip will be Sports Day.There will be rwo additional shoppingafternoons locally. We shall try toaccommodate individual preferences ratherthan expect our young people to conformto our (or their parents') expectation ofwhrt they will like. There is no point inexpecting every student to be interested inthe same things. We shall arrange forstudents to be informed about what isposible at each ofthe venues and they candecide what they would likc to do. Whatwe shal1 include is transport andsupervision. We shall obtrin group bookingrates where possible, but all entrances willbe payable from pocket money. If studentswish to go somcwhere e1se, or dosomething special, we shall try to make thearrangements. The trip to ChessingtonWorld of Adventure, for example, hasbecome an Elstree tradition. Most schoolsnow alTange a bowling trip and a visit to anew release at the cinema. If a large enoughgroup wishcs to go somewhere, we shallmakc the arrangements and sendaccompanying staff. Whether or not weallow chiidren on cxcursions to beunaccompanied is subject to our discrctionas well as the parents'. A student (andsometimes .r parent) may have a vicw onsuper-vision which is more relaxed thanours. Our view must, of course, prevail aswe have to takc the responsibiliry.THEATRE VISITSThese proved as popular as ever. Thechoice system adopted tn 1996 was usedagain. Students are asked to choose whichshows they wish to see in the order ofpreference on a forn which shows theInvoice number. I try to give each studentthe chance to go once, ifpossible to thefirst choice, ifnot to the second choice andso on. For those who wish to go to asecond show, I look at the forms again inInvoice number order. Those who bookear\ and have low Invoice nurnbers standmost chance of a second or even third visit.Thcre are always more students wishing togo to the theatre than there are ticketsavailable. Parents are asked to specify howmany theatre visits they wish their childrento have. 'Whether or not that wish ispossible depends on the Invoice number.1999 Invoice numbers start at 10559. For1,999, I xn replacing some of the o1dfavourites with new choices. A'ThcatreVisits' choice list will be sent out in March.PROPERTYOnce again, we asked that items over d40in value be listed on the 'ValuablePossessions' form. At the end of theCourses, we sent back every item ofpropefty left behind that was named. lJnnameditems were also returned if we had agood idea to whom they belonged.VACSTUDS VIDEOThis has been edited and sent to thoscrcquesting it. Each school hrs its ownE-180 'VacStuds '98 A11 Over Again'. Forthose students wishing to relivc the summerand for those parents trying to find whatmade it 'the bcst sumner of my life', here isinstant nostalgia, tangible atmosphere, the

U N REALI SAB LEEXPECTATIONSThose who know our work willundcrstand why we include thisparagraph - and why it is relevant tothose sending children to us for thefirst time. We do what we can toencourage students to learn and usethe Course to advantage. 'We do ourbest to look after thcm. 'We make noothcr claims. 'We cannot force r chiidto integrate. While lve provideencouragement, thcy rnust helpthemselves. They will find othcrswho speak their language and theymay be tempted to take the easy way.They may come with friends 6'ornhome. Wc cannot keep friends apartwhen they are at the same School.They must decide to broaden theirinternational horizons, mix and uscEnglish. Parents may make rcquests,but wc reserve the nght to placestudents in what we consider to beapprtrpriate classet and domtitorics.The Coune is a communalexperience. Individual freedom isrcstricted. Our school buildings areboarding schools - not hotels.Accommodation, washrooms, etc. aresharcd. Bedrooms are boarding schooldormitories and these may be sparselyfurnished. Our schools become coeducationalonly in the summer, sobathrooms rnay be arvay fron-tdonnitories and boy/gir-l rotas fortheir use are sometimcs needed.Clothes storage space may bc lirnited.All sorts of compromises have to bernade, but for most young people thisis part of the fun. 'We also ask parentsto accept that telephone contact withthcir- children, especially in the firstfew days, is not a good idea. 'We arerror bcirrg difficult. ju:t puttirrg inropractice what rve know fromcxperience works. In eflect, rvhat weare requesting is e partnershipbetrveen us bascd on our expelti.cand parents' trust in us. What wcprovide and the paramete$ of whatwc permit are in our literature. 'Weact on the assumption that parentsand studcnts read it all.r.negic rvcaving its spell. l)arents of 1999\rudcr)L\ rrlro sorrld like,t irlevrcrv c.trrrcqucst a copy. It is absolr.rtely Dot apror[otional video. It is a col]cction ofthccvcnts I sarv ls I went fronl school toschool ovcr thc sunrnrer. If sorncthing cloes11ot appcirr, it is bccausc the SSC) cithel cliclnot retlind ruc rvhcn it rv:rs on, ol arratrgedit so it clashcd rvith another school's cvctit.SOME OBSERVATIONSOvcr the lirst qu:utcr of :r ccutury, I havcmadc sonte observations b:rscd on thcthousands olyoung children rvho ]ravebeen entrtrsteci to rrly c.lre. I pass thcrn ouin the hopc thxt p:u'crlts nray bencfit 6-ornniy expc'ricncc.MOBITE PHONESTbis is n rcccnt Lrhcrlontt'rton. l)arctrts u'hogivc their childrcn a rnobile phoncgcl)cra11y do so in casc ofhorlcsickncss.Vcry fcrv chilclren are, in irct. honrcsick. Ifit happcns, it happeus lncl u'c dc:rl u'ith it.ln time, thc fc'cling eocs :ru,ay. As itreplcsents il pcn.n:lncnt and physicel linku,ith honrc, thc prcscncc of :r nrobilc phoncc:rrr rnake bonresickncss rnolc likely ltnclcrtcr.rd its cluration. Thc trvo homesickchilclrcn rve h:rd in i99ll each catne rvith :irnobile phonc.PARENTAL CONTACTC)ur :rclvicc is to ruake corlt:lct o1) thc'Tclcplt,rrt. D,ty' ,,rrl1 . S.rttt. 1'.ttltll' ittsiston phoning thcir childrcrr rcgularly to scc ifthcy :rlc 'all right'. Such closc ancl oltenrcpeltcd qr.lestionillg genclally rcsults in anrrdmission tlut an ilclcfineblc sonrcthingnray bc 'nvror.rg. Thc rvorried percllts thelrcontect us and ask us to questioll a pcrfcctlyhappy child about sonrcthir)g th.It nlay bcrvrong, rnakiug the child',vorr-iccl ebout thcparents bcing lvorr-iecl. For thosc parentsu,ho l.ravc ncvcl bc{irrc scnt tlreir childarvry into tlie care ofothcrs, I rvould sayplcase clo not fecl guilry. You are ercrcisitrqyour plrent;rl cluty by lctting yotrr clrildh;rvc a grclt tinre rncl bc indcpcnclcnt.CONTACT IN GENERATI rr clconr. ir. Fcedb.rck ii intpott.tttt.Conrplirncnts :rrc :r1so cncouraging. lt nraybe because parentrl cxpcct:ltions are highci'eud the service 'nve plovidc is seconcl-tononc,but there is lcss corlt:,lct nos, th:rt.tthcrc uscd to bc. For eranrplc. rny PA ancl Ispend da_vs rctnnring clothes, l.noncy.property, cvcrything th:rt lus beeD lcftbchind in the ernotion of thc cnd. Sorlcitcr.ns :rrc valu:rb1c; sorne arc hcarry andcxpensivc to post. So [rr', only onc p:lrenthas rvrittcn to thank us.HOW WE COMPARE,,.As I arrr rether busy in the suttrntcr, I treverh:rve thc ch:rncc to sce hos, othcr'orgrnisations opcratc. Sorne of thc stalf do,thoLrgh. I thought it nriglrt be intcrcstins tcrprint in its eDtrlery a letter frorn l rnetrlbcrof strrff (ncu. to us this year) ',vho rvas :rtMar1, Harc:- Jrnt a qri* rtotc ttt lct 1'11111111qt11'ultat stnrtk mc wlnu I lc,ft Nutbtry tt) t('irlt atanLttl t L,r sr r t w n cr sdt ool.Tlrc std[l':nrrdcnt ftitio dt l/i.dtiolrol Stlrllc-s i-sidul. LIlc hid tlt(. ()pportuttirl' 1n Or, to kn()tputct)t shtd('nt ittdiidtralll' dt quit(' atr t',ri./1, .i1,7..

u,ltich nakes for a happy and secureerruironment. Because students don't come and gothroughout the Course, they alsoJorm muchstronger bonds between themselues. Moreimportantlyfrom a teacher's perspectiue, aJter afew days of te*ing and experimenting to fonnuiable groups, these groups remain togetherfor themonth. The resuhing strong group dynamic canbe harnessed by the teacher to try to let the bestout of every student. It also makes extendeilproject work a realistic possibility,The school I went to after Vacational Stutliespromked all these great things, but its commercialapproach made them impossible. A productionline oJ children came and uent euefi in the shofispace o;f time that I was there. Euery ilay I'd losta Jeu, faces and gained a few faces in my class sothat it wds impossible to pitch my lessonscowectly. I think the studentsfound this asilemoralking as I did. Since I was teachingforsix hours a day, I neuet glt to know any ofthemsocially.I'm sure the ilifference at Vacational Studies isthat yott mandge to auoid the facelessness' ofsome other organisations by putting in so muchworle ouer the year and by being around whilethe Courses run. I think students appreciatebeing treated as indiuiduals andJrom my twouery ilffirent summer school experientes, I cantell you that staf appreciate it as well.Obuiously you know all thk, but I guess it'sgood to know that other people realise it, too.AII the best, Sandy Steele.'BEFORE AND DURING THE COURSEParents are welcome to contact me on anymatter. In July and August I tend to be atmy desk from 08.00 (English time) until10.00 and then I travel around the schools.For practical reasons, therefore, it is best tomake contact with me during the Coursesvia the Course Manager. Just before theCourse, I scnd each parent 'last minute'information with my GSM phone number.This mobile phone never leaves me, so Ican almost always be reached - sometimesin surprising places. If there is a problem, Ican take immediate action - as long as Iknow abour it. Mobile phone rcccption inWoolhampton is awful, so if there is noresponse, please assume I am at Douai orElstree and try later. During the periodbefore the Courses, Ietters are replied toimmediately. I shal1 probably not be able toreply to letters received duringJuly andAugust until after the Courses, however. Ifparents could telephone children only onthe two specific Telephone Days mentionedin the 'Notes for Parents', this would beappreciated.PRICING AND THE fPlease see the Fees information sheet. If theeffect ofthe ups and downs ofour floatingcurrency seems likely to compromise theall-important international mix of ourstudents, we shall respond by combiningCourscs and advise parents before mid-February. Information about this will alsobe given on our Internet site.STAFF HEI.PERSTraditionally, we have two former studentson each Course as unpaid helpers, providinga link betwccn staff and students. They tendto be 18-21 and to have left a gap ofonesummer after being a student. SHs arechosen at the end of the year. Potential SHsshould contact me in November. If we usethe expression'leadership potential' orsimilar, in the report, this is the clue that anapplication n-ray be fruitful. OccasionallySHs may graduate to Assistant status andmore, but this is not generally the case aswe look for native English-speaking staff.AFTER THE COURSEPlease feel you can contact me aboutanything connccted with Britain. Forexarnple, parents ask for my advice oncontinuing their children's education inBritain. I am happy to help. No charge! Isee this as a natural extension of my workwith young people. Students ask forinformation, sometimes ten or rwenty yearslater. No problem! In the four lveeksbcfi,veen the end of the Courses and writingthese lines rr,vo students are bcing educatedin England. As one of my correspondentswrites: 'Vacational Studies has certainlychanged rny IiG - very much for the better.'Many will testify th.rt this is no exaggerrtion.We have even had our first studcntmarriage. Nanou Fdve (France) and TilmanEhret (Germany) married in Longu6 on 27June 1998. I had the honour ofbeing BestMan. Both were with us in the 1980s.There are t\,vo other extensions to my work- The Jdrg Weise Association and Giotto.THE J6RG WEISE ASSOCIATIONBriefly, the history of the JWA is that in1979 one of our first students, J6rg Weise,who was with us tn 1977, died at the age of21 in a motorcycle accident. It wasparticularly sad as he had shown promise rsan actor and was already involved ininternational work. His father was on theBoard of Directors of Bayer AG inLeverkusen, Germany. In the name of hisson, I invited Prof. Dr. Weise to nominatea young person for a placc on one ofourCourses. He agreed, but went further. Heasked that he be permitted to nominate andpay for a placc in his son's name inperpetuiry. He also agreed to the sculptingof a trophy that would be awarded annuallyin his son's name to a studcnt or studentsmaking an outstanding contribution to theinternational aims of our Courses. Therecipients of the Trophy were invited to agathering each year and, in time, the groupgrew to a sizeable number. Such acollection oftalentcd young people frommany different countries needed more of areason for being than just an annual gcttogether,I felt, and in 1985 I put to themthe idea that they could form themselvesinto an Association that would worktowards giving other, less privileged youngpeople the opportuniry to cross frontiers.The Jorg Weise Association (JWA) wasborn. It is a no"v a charitable Foundation,registered in Germany, for the advancementof international undcrstanding. It meetsannually and has a well-organised socialprogramme. For those who would like toknow more, the Chairman is Ed Bergsma(Krabbcndijk t4,7591 AX Denekamp,Netherlands. Tel: +31 541 355780; Fax:+31 541. 351929.) The nextJWA Meetingwill be in Belgium at Easter 1999. TheJ6rgWeise Trophy is no longer awardedannually as it tended to promote toocompetitive a spirit, but has been awardedoccasionally for 'an outstandingcontribution to the international ideals ofthe Course'.

THE JdRG WEISE SCHOTARSHIP'We continue to be associated with the JiirgWeise Memorial Scholarship. ThcScholarship is a place on any ofourCourscs, returr air ticket from anyrvhere inthe world, pocket money, theatre ticketsand tennis lcssons. The recipient oftheSchoiarship will be thc sort of studcntoutllned above who will benefit fromattending the Course, but who is unable toapply for a place in the normal way forfinancial reasons. The ScholarshipCornrnittee will takc stcps to verifl, thefinancial situation of candidates. Wewelcome nominations for thc Scholarship in1999 which should be sent irl confidence,and without informing the projectedrecipient, to Vacational Studies. I sha1lfolward nominations to the ScholarshipComrnittee of theJWA.GIOTTO - ITS HISTORYGiotto was started in 1986, thc ycar ofHalley's Comet. It scemed to mc a piry thatthe strong international contacts made byour students in their teens should disappearwith the passage of time. It is not that theydid not wish to keep up rhe conracts. it irjust not easy to conrinue correspondenceaftcr the shared experience ofthe Coursehas faded frorn the rnemolT. Nevertheless,I felt that thcse contacts, good in one'steens, could be even more beneficial lateron. I decided to contact all our past studentsto see how they felt. It was rny biggcst-cvermailshot and the responsc was hugc. Inarned this organisation Giotto after thecollaborative European space-probe, Giotto,rvhich was sent up in February 1986 toobserve Halley's Comct. No one kncw atthat time if it would succced or fai1. In fact,it succeeded. The probc Giotto was sonamed because Halley's Comct fcatures in awork by the Florentine painter, Giotto.Whcn I decided in 1986 to collate thenames of our students from 1972 to dateand create this intcrnational organisation,I did not know if it would succeed or fai1.GIOTTO PAGESThe 1999 'Giotto Book' (now publishedonly on our Intcrnet site as it has becomeso healry to post, so I shall say 'GiottoPages') will be its 13th Edition and willcontain over 2300 names. This suggests tome that the concept is succeeding. Listingin Giotto is provided at no charge. It istotally financed by Vacational Studies as anadjunct to our work in helping rnake theworld a smaller placc. Some now in tl'rcBook are rather young, but time will putthis right.In a few years, the Giotto Pages rvi1l inciudemany more interesting and useful people invarious ficlds who are willing to becontacted. Tl'rcre is already an 'IntcrnationalWork Experience' section in the 1999Giotto Prges. I know that vanous contactshave becn made via Giotto. For reasons ofsecurity, full addresscs are not providcd. It isideal for E-mail cor-rtact.GIOTTO TOURSFor those rvho wish for a rnore pcrsonalsocial contact, Giotto Tours was created bya gloup ofstudents in 1992 to arrangeholid:rys and get-togethcrs for its members.It fell into desuetude. Chris Noll(Heidestra'e 23, D-6031.6 Frankfurt/Main,Gennany. Tcl: +49 69495408; Fax: f4969-447024) bravely attempted to revive theconccpt by arlanging a meeting duringEaster 1998 in Berlin. It did not happenbecrusc there was irr:ufllcient intcrcrt.There arc several mcssages on thcInteractivc Forum within our Internct sitcabout a get-together. Anyone willir-rg toorganise this can post a mcssage(http://www.vacational-studics.co.uk.click on 'Interactive Forum').andINTERNET SITEThis has now become our'shop window'and the main source of infonrration aboutus. The entire brochure and also this 'newssection' are on our web site. Application forplaces on our Courses can be madcelectronically Giotto exists only on the site.My research indrcatcs that the vast majoriryofstudents have access to a computer andthe majoriry of these havc access to theIntcrnet. For those who do not, I can onlyapologise that a great deal oftheinformation we put out will not be availableto them. Nevertheless, the Internet is nor,vfirmly established, widely uscd andunderstood, and we lnust assumc thatparents and students have moved withthe times.INTERACTIVE FORUMThis has been a huge success sincc it waslaunclicd at the beginning ofthis ycar.People connectcd with Vacational Studiesuse it all the time to comrnunicate witheach other. Ifyou have not yet used it,plcasc visit it on our Internet pagcs.MY THANKSTo al1 those who entmst us rvith theirchildren. You are making the best possiblcinvcstlnent for your childrcn's future - theircducation and developmellt. Wc shallcontinue to.justify your confidcnce in us byproviding our students with tlie bestposiblc linguistic and social cxpcricnce.Ian G. Muckle.john - Autumn 1998