How do we allocate places?

In May, all students are offered a place for the following year. Many accept at that time. Others prefer to wait until the end of June or even September before accepting a place in order to ensure compatibility with other activities. For others it is important to see who will be in their group. And the older the students and the higher the level, they find that the groups change very significantly from one year to the next. Pupils in exam-focused groups are provisionally levelled and, depending on the results, are finally assigned to a group in August. Groups are provisionally formed at the end of May and consolidated at the end of August.

How groups are formed?

Children up to the age of 12 are levelled by age, not by level. Adults new to the course are given a placement test and are given a choice according to their needs and objectives. Teenagers are levelled by age up to and including B1.
But students in groups focusing on higher level exams, i.e. B2 and C1, are allocated by level, not by age. It is essential that we do it this way in order to get the most out of the course.
Those coming from outside Inishouse present their official certificate or take an internal level test. Those who continue from previous years are allocated by level.

What happens when a student wants to enter a higher level without an official qualification?

If they are a new student, they are given a level test. If the student has been attending B1 classes and wants to move up to B2, for example, then we look at their average performance in the tests and they are assessed at the same level as students who have taken the official exams, i.e. an average of 6.5 in all skills. If a student can demonstrate this, the process is straightforward. When a student wishes to move up a level but has not demonstrated these averages in the internal tests, we give him or her the opportunity to take another level test. This is the usual procedure in any language school.

Are exam intensives in June compulsory?

No. Since students with good grades can move up to a higher level without any problem, it is clear that both exams and exam intensives in June are entirely optional. However, most parents and teenage students do wish to obtain official certification. Students who obtain high averages during the year of 7 points or more are given the possibility of enrolling only for the exam and not attending the intensive course. However, the majority, even with high averages, choose to attend. Those with lower averages, between 5 and 6, are strongly encouraged to attend the intensive course to help them reach their goal.
In general, intensive courses help students to achieve their goals, but of course much depends also on individual effort.

How long does a level take?

B1 and B2 levels usually require at least two years for good students. This is true at Inishouse and most language schools. When we recommend that a student continues in the level, it is not a punishment, it is the norm. And because this is the case, the material is not repeated from year to year.