French course for Teenagers, Antibes
(12-17 years old)The summer course for teenagers in Antibes takes place at campuses located just outside of the centre. Regular shuttle buses to the closest beaches and town centre ensure students are able to get around easily and enjoy the sights that this pretty seaside resort has to offer. As a safe and popular coastal town, Antibes is a great place in which to learn French and enjoy the wide range of activities and facilities on offer.
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Details
20 or 25 French lessons per week + activities and excursions* + full-board accommodation. Students learn at one of two fully equipped campuses and either lodge on-site, in one of the student residences, or with a local homestay host. Depending on the accommodation, students will stay in dormitories with up to 4 other international students or in twin bedrooms, grouped as appropriate by age and gender. Teenagers receive 3 meals per day. Students staying in residence accommodation have access to coin-operated laundry facilities. Host families are not obliged to provide a laundry service for students, and those who do may ask for a small financial contribution. This is something students can discuss with their hosts on arrival.
French lessons usually take place between 09:00 and 12:30, with a 30-minute break in between. There is a maximum of 15 students per class, giving each pupil a highly personalised language experience. Lessons focus on a range of skills, including cementing grammatical fundamentals, developing practical communication and language comprehension, and strengthening ability through dynamic activities. The 6 optional extra lessons can be used to expand on the content of the general Intensive course or to focus on specialised preparation for the DELF exam. Teenagers wanting a more active course package can select either one of the school’s new Sailing or Dance/Fitness add-ons and receive an extra 5 sessions per week of the sport of their choice. Juniors who already have accommodation in the area can book a day programme (consisting of lessons, lunch, and activities) or just tuition at our school.
There are no lessons on the first Monday. Instead, after their comprehensive introductory meeting, students submit their written and oral level tests. After this, pupils have lunch and then visit the city; this enables them to get to know one another and familiarise themselves with camp routine before starting classes the following day. This approach is very successful in making our junior students feel safe, welcome, and happy.
Course materials are included in the programme price. On public holidays, the school will be closed; students who have booked the package including activities will attend a full-day excursion instead of having lessons.
Activities are also included in the programme price, scheduled in the afternoon after French lessons have finished. These activities - supervised by qualified staff or instructors from our school - are designed to be fun and age-appropriate and can include:
- Beach activities such as sports or picnics
- 1 afternoon of water sports per week (sailing, sea kayaking, or paddle-boarding)
- Trips to local attractions such as Marineland or the Picasso Museum
- Music and/or dance workshops
- French film nights
- Guided walks around Antibes
- Themed evenings including discos and/or karaoke nights
- Welcome BBQ (every Monday)
- Farewell party (every Friday)
- Excursions on Saturdays to local points of interest, such as Monaco, the Lerins Islands, and the nearby Aquasplash waterpark
Teenagers also usually have a free afternoon and a free day at the weekend each week to study, socialise, or contact their families.
Additional ‘kiosk’ activities are available for a fee. These activities are conducted by local professionals rather than members of staff from our language school. Available activities vary seasonally but may include snorkelling, paintballing, mini-golf, banana boating, bowling, and go-karting. These should be arranged directly at the school once the course has started, and can be paid for on-site.
Some students are allowed unsupervised personal time; the amount of unsupervised time they are allowed and the time they need to return to their accommodation by depends on their age and whether we have received a signed parental permission form prior to their arrival in Antibes. Kindly note that public transport ends at around 20:00 in Antibes; teenagers allowed out after this time may need to walk or take a taxi back to their accommodation.
Did you know? Parents can arrange adult courses for themselves at our general school, while children enjoy their specialised programme at the relevant campus.
Suitability
Teenager courses in Antibes are suitable for students of any nationality aged 12 - 17 and are available to students of all levels.
If you want to have fun, improve your French language skills, and experience French culture in a lovely coastal location, this is the course for you!
School
Students study and stay on one of two fully equipped campuses. Both campuses boast lots of amenities including on-site classrooms, cafeterias, television lounges, and extensive sports grounds and equipment. Both campuses also have their own residential buildings with shared dormitories (up to 4 students per room); bathrooms may be ensuites or shared per floor, depending on the location. Coin-operated laundry facilities are available on both campuses, and all pupils will have their bed linen provided and changed weekly. Please note that towels are not provided in any type of accommodation, so students should bring their own. The campuses benefit from Wi-Fi access, heating, and air-conditioning. If they prefer, teenagers can choose to stay with a local host instead of being on-site.
All locations are ideally placed to provide a culturally immersive experience for young students looking to improve their French language skills. Given Antibes’ medium size and its calm coastal atmosphere, students can enjoy a peaceful learning environment during their stay.
NOTE: Placement in a particular campus depends on accommodation availability at the time of booking; we cannot guarantee which campus your child will be allocated to.
Antibes
A southern French resort town on the famous Côte d’Azur, Antibes is renowned for its beaches - it has a whopping 48 of them across 16 miles (25 km) of coastline! Not quite as well-known as its nearby sisters Nice and Cannes, Antibes is a top destination of choice for French holidaymakers, so international visitors are highly likely to be able to practice their language skills with native speakers. It’s also popular with international travellers, allowing students attending courses here to have a fun and dynamic experience that introduces them to peers from around the world.
Settlement in the area dates back to at least the 4th century BC, when Greek sailors arrived from Anatolia and created a bustling port along the coast. This port - today’s Port Vauban - is now the largest yachting harbour in Europe, boasting over 2,000 moorings! Port Vauban was hugely important during the Middle Ages, since it’s was France’s westernmost outpost; Fort Carré, a striking, star-shaped stronghold guarding the harbour, is evidence of this. In later years, Antibes was a relatively quiet fishing village - until, that is, it was discovered by the rest of Europe. Favoured by the English aristocracy in 19th century - and, in the early 20th century, American elites - the small town transformed into a popular seaside resort for the landed gentry and successful creatives alike. Pablo Picasso famously lived in the castle for a few months in 1946. Upon his return home, Picasso left a selection of paintings, sculptures, and ceramics behind which now make up the collection of the Pablo Picasso Museum, housed in the castle that was so briefly his home. Other notable visitors included Jules Verne - who is said to have penned Around the World in Eighty Days here - Charlie Chaplin, Marlene Dietrich, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Today Antibes is a favourite of Roman Abramovich, who has 2 of his luxury yachts anchored in Port Vauban.
The charming old part of the town is full of narrow tree-lined streets, tiled courtyards, and buildings with traditional shuttered windows, which all give the irresistible feeling of being transported back in time. Home of artists’ studios, unique boutiques, and a variety of cafés and restaurants, it’s a lovely area to spend an afternoon. The pace of life here is generally very calm and peaceful - except for during summer, of course, when visitors flock in their droves to see Antibes’ best attractions. These include the various green spaces in or around the town, such as Exflora Park, with its 12 acres of public gardens, and Marineland, one of the largest oceanariums in the world that welcomes over 1.2 million visitors every year. Another popular attraction is the Festival of Saint Peter in June, three days of festivities honouring the patron saint of fishermen. The celebrations feature a procession of boats along the coast, each decorated with paper lanterns, French flags, and coloured cloths, which truly embodies the town’s intrinsic relationship with the sea.
The nearby resort of Juan-les-Pins, where many of our homestay hosts live, is a more modern area with a palm-lined promenade and wide, popular beaches. The seafront is full of eateries, souvenir shops, and sports enthusiasts getting ready to surf or sail. This area of the peninsula is most famous for its annual jazz festival, which has hosted such greats as Ray Charles, B. B. King, Fats Waller, and Dee Dee Bridgewater. Every time a star plays or sings, their handprints and signature are preserved on clay tiles much like those on the Hollywood Walk of Fame - these impressions line the central boulevard that hosts the festival and are well worth a visit.
How to get there
Transfers on arrival and departure are included in the programme price and are available at either Antibes train station or Nice airport.
Students will be collected on arrival at their selected location as per their travel details and will be taken to one of the campuses. If juniors have booked homestay lodging, their host(s) will collect them from the campus in time for dinner that evening. As these are shared transfers, students may need to wait up to 2 hours after landing; during this time, they will be supervised by school staff members and will have the chance to meet their fellow pupils. On their last day, students will be collected from their accommodation and taken back to the appropriate destination in time for their departing flight/train.
Pupils should plan to arrive in Antibes on the Sunday before their lessons are due to start and leave on the Saturday after their lessons have finished. We may be able to arrange additional nights on arrival and/or departure to fit in with students’ travel plans.
Teenagers attending this programme alone may need to arrange an Unaccompanied Minors’ service with their airline. If this is the case, please contact us prior to making your booking.
Location of our school in Antibes
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Student reviews & feedback
Intensive 20 with Host Family
The course itself was very beneficial to my French, could not say any bad things about the staff they were all so lovely and so much fun.
Our accommodation was perfect the beds were comfortable and we all had enough space. Our host family were lovely aswel and easy going.
I would really recommend this course to people in the year younger than me and especially to the Antibes branch as it improved my french, I made friends, gives you a sence of independance and was overall such a great experience.
- N. Coffey
Intensive 20 with Student Residence
I loved it and learned a lot of French it especially improved my speaking all the teachers I met were really nice. Accommodation,
great room with own shower and toilet. We had our own balcony with a gorgeous view. Very clean.
All the people there were so nice and I have made friends for life
- V. Verhagen
Intensive 20 with Host Family
The course was a fantastic experience and was great for improving my French and my confidence. The classes were relaxed but great for building up vocabulary. The host family was very friendly and made a real effort to make me feel happy and at home. The activities organised by the school were good fun and were a great way to get to know all the other international students attending the course.
- R. Geddes
Teacher was very helpful and friendly and funny. In the accommodation the shower was very good and the beds were comfortable. I really enjoyed my week.
- K. Hampshire
The course was very good.
- A. Moorhouse
I adored the energy of the animateurs and the effort they put into the activities and parties. They were so nice, fun and aproachable and I loved them for their ability to dance the YMCA all night long without stopping once. Very nice rooms, spacious, love the desks and the big locked cupboards. Abundance of sockets. Lovely cleaning staff/service. Wonderful campus, great pool and great internet service!
- L. Hall
I really enjoyed the french lessons, as it improved my speaking and confidence. Also the activities were very good and the accomadation was good and suitable for the week that i stayed there.
- H. O'Connell
The course was really good.
- A. Ignacio
I had an amazing time and met some amazing people, including all the animateurs who were amazing!!! The language corse was really good and I learnt a lot and really got better at speaking the language. The accomodation was nice and the activities were fun and everyone put a lot of effort into making it enjoyable. All the animateurs made the atmosphere really happy and we had some really good times! It was an amazing corse with some amazing people who helped to make it so great… Thank you so much and i really want to come back next year, ill just have to find an excuse!
- C. Keane
School premises were delightful - absolutely charming views and building. Very friendly and helpful animateurs.
- I. Hindle-briscall
I really enjoyed the course. I learned a lot, and the teachers were friendly and helpful. The method was easy for me to understand and we studied things that I needed to study, not things I had done before and knew already. My accomodation was very good and my host family were very kind and friendly and comforting when i was feeling homesick. My room was clean and of a nice size, with a little table and chair for me.
- E. Gregory
The course I did over 2 weeks in Antibes, France was very helpful to me and will certainly improve and benefit my French studies. It was a great experience as not only did I improve my French, but I learned alot of personal lessons aswell.
- S. Mallalieu
The course was good overall and the trips we did within the class were good (going to see an art museum where we questioned the artist), the activites in the intensive class were an interesting and fun way to learn French. I was so glad that I was sharing a room with someone. It's a good way to make your first friend and we got on well. The facilities were good. The room was basic but it had everything I needed in it and was comfortable.
- J. Seal
The teachers all seemed really nice and really willing to help you improve your french as much as possible. The most beneficial part of the lessons was just the oral practice, which continued throughout every lesson.
- S. Denney
Prices for Antibes
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Company Number: 08311373
