The main Barcelona school was founded in 1972 and has since grown into a major centre for language teaching, teacher training and related activities. The Junior Summer Program is run as a joint venture between the Barcelona center and the affiliated school in Tarragona, which has extensive experience organizing teen courses and dealing with younger students. The quality of the teaching is guaranteed by the fact that the school employs only fully trained native speakers who have been carefully selected to match the high standards the school sets themselves.

Students study Spanish 15 hours per week from 10.00 to 13.30(1:30PM) in small groups of a maximum of 12 students. A full social program is included every week. The main objective of the program is to improve communicative skills. The emphasis of classroom activities is therefore the development of the student's ability to speak and understand spoken Spanish. For this reason, classes are conducted in Spanish and students are given plenty of opportunity to practice the sort of language they are likely to need outside the classroom.

The school is on two floors, with a cafe and reception area on the first floor where students can buy refreshments during lesson breaks. The school has satellite TV and a computer room with free access to the Internet available for students.

The Junior Summer Program takes place in Tarragona, a pleasant coastal resort city approximately 100 km south of Barcelona (86 km from the airport). Tarragona is a provincial capital and has a population of around 115,000. It is situated on the Costa Dorada and is an ideal location for a teen program of this kind.

The town is lively, but not too big. It has its own sandy beaches within walking distance of the school, it is very close to Port Aventura, one of Europe's largest theme parks and it is only an hour from Barcelona by bus or train.

The school carefully selects all host families and all undertake to provide students with a full range of accommodation services including three meals per day. Students with dietary restrictions or any other special needs are requested to make these known in advance. The majority of host families live in flats, almost all with balconies and some with terraces, and most have teenage children. Lunch is normally eaten at about 14.00(2:00PM), and dinner at about 20.30-21.00(8:30-9:00PM).

Some of the host families live within walking distance of the school. However, in many cases it will be necessary for the students to take a bus from their family to the school. A 30-day student bus pass, which allows four journeys per day, is included in the course fee.

Students must comply with a curfew of 23.30(11:30PM) from Sunday to Thursday, and 01:30 on Friday and Saturday.

• 3 hours of Spanish classes per day in multinational groups of up to 12 students.
  
• Student residence accommodation in single or double rooms and full board (3 meals daily with packed lunches on weekdays and excursions). Prices vary between standard and upscale residence lodging.
  
• Full Social Program (see below for details).
  
• All teaching materials, tests and certificates.
  
• Free internet and e-mail access.
  
• Arrival and departure transfers from the Barcelona airport. Arrival on Sunday and departure on Saturday.
  
• Local bus pass.
  
• NRCSA Emergency insurance (during dates in the foreign country).

• Pocket Money