Location & travel
Getting to ECS summer school
English Country Schools summer camps take place at Port Regis School in Dorset, near Shaftesbury, about two hours west of London.
The majority of pupils travel independently between their country and England. We meet them on arrival, help them on departure and provide transfers to and from the school.
Port Regis School
Motcombe Park
Shaftesbury
Dorset
SP7 9QA
tel: +44 (0) 1202 800596
email: info@countryschools.co.uk
How pupils travel to ECS
Pupils generally travel to London:
- by plane to Heathrow or Gatwick airport
- or by train to London St Pancras International train station
As flying has a high environmental impact, we encourage you to take the train if possible. Find out more on our environmental responsibility webpage and in our Environmental Tips for Students.
If possible, we will put you in contact with other parents so that children can travel together. Many students travel independently, however, we will assist with arrival and departure.
Bringing your child to the school personally
If you would like to bring your child to ECS personally, please bring them around mid afternoon and collect them in the morning on our scheduled arrival and departure dates.
To ensure you approach the campus via the correct road from Shaftesbury, please enter SP7 9QA, Motcombe, Shaftesbury, UK into your sat nav.
We cannot provide accommodation for pupils who arrive before our first day or leave after our last day.
By plane
Airport Transfers
For stays of two weeks or longer, airport transfers from Bournemouth, Bristol, Exeter, Gatwick, Heathrow and Southampton are included in the course price when arranged in advance.
A member of our staff will accompany students, welcoming and assisting them upon arrival or helping with check-in upon departure. Where students are arriving at or departing from the same airport at similar times, grouped transfers may be organised. In such cases, a waiting time of up to 2.5 hours at the airport may be required to accommodate the different flight schedules, although we always aim to keep waiting times to a minimum.
Transfers are not included for one-week stays; individual transfers can be arranged at the prices below.
Transfer fees for one-week stays
| Airport | Transfer Price |
|---|---|
| Birmingham | £310 |
| Bournemouth | £95 |
| Bristol | £130 |
| Exeter | £205 |
| Gatwick | £300 |
| Heathrow | £245 |
| London City | £300 |
| Stansted | £380 |
| Southampton | To be confirmed |
A £50 surcharge applies to transfers during unsocial hours. All prices are per person, each way.
Other times and airports
We can arrange escorted taxi transfers for pupils who arrive very early or depart very late, or travel via other airports or train stations. The cost increases for children travelling as Unaccompanied Minors (UMs) or travelling at unsocial hours. Unsocial hours supplement: £50 for arrivals after 10 p.m. or departures from Port Regis before 7 a.m.
Travelling alone / Unaccompanied Minors
The majority of ECS pupils travel independently. Wherever possible, we will put you in contact with other parents so that children can travel together.
Young children can also travel in the care of airline staff as Unaccompanied Minors. Please visit your chosen airline's website for details and requirements.
By train
If you are travelling from Europe, you can reach London St Pancras International Train Station via the high-speed rail Eurostar.
Pupils arriving by train can be met upon request by a member of the ECS team at St Pancras. Together they will take public transport to Heathrow where they will join one of our transfer coaches to the ECS campus. The cost of this service is £30 per pupil.
You can reach London in just two hours from Paris or Brussels, or four or five hours from Cologne, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and most of France. Flying has a very high impact on the environment so we encourage you to consider taking the train wherever possible.
There is also good train service from London to Gillingham (Dorset) near Port Regis.
If you are interested in travelling to ECS by train, but are not sure what to do, we are here to help. We can also help connect pupils so they can travel together. Please contact us for details.
