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Kenny from Kilkennylogo of mackdonald language academyKenny from Kilkenny

6-week course: 'The Ultimate Irish Experience'

 

Varied leisure programme on 6 days per week: activities, excursions, sports & trips:
gelb Walking tour of Kilkenny
gelb Excursions: one full-day trip per week to interesting sites, cities and Ireland's top attractions
gelb Sports: Variety of different sports incl. tournaments: football, frisbee, basketball, volleyball, tag rugby etc.
gelb Culture: Cultural visits: castles, cathedrals, museums etc.
gelb Typically Irish: Dance & Folk show with live traditional music 
gelb Entertainment: Pool billiard, snooker, bowling, cinema, orienteering etc.
gelb Golf - 'Pitch and Putt' on the driving range and putting green 
gelb Greyhound Races 
gelb Pottery Design and Workshop 
gelb Disco
gelb Treasure Hunt
Irish Coast in Waterford Students in class

 

Day-trips (optional choice of destination):  
gelb Cork city centre with Titanic XP museum in Cobh € 60,- Euro
gelb Dublin city centre (incl. guided walking tour) € 60,- Euro
gelb Glendalough, Wicklow Mountains and Courtown € 60,- Euro
gelb Hookhead Lighthouse with Irish Sea € 60,- Euro
gelb Irish coast with ‘Dunbrody’, Waterford and Tramore € 60,- Euro
gelb Rock of Cashel € 60,- Euro
gelb Dundrum Town Shopping Centre € 40,- Euro
Students in Waterford English and tennis
Students in Glendalough Certificate Ceremony

 

Optional English PLUS Sport:  
gelb Golf (5 training sessions with PGA coach) € 250,- Euro
gelb Horse-riding (5 training sessions in Equestrian centre) € 300,- Euro
gelb Tennis (5 training sessions with tennis coach) € 250,- Euro
gelb Badminton (5 training sessions with badminton coach) € 250,- Euro
gelb Multi-Sport (variety of different sports) free of charge

 

Student Residences in Our Summer Centre in Dublin

Dublin residences

In our school location in Dublin, we offer the highest standards in residential accommodation. Our on-campus residence provides the latest in "student village" style accommodation with onsite classrooms, dining hall, sports and recreational facilities.

The residential centre offers full-board accommodation. The school provides three meals each day in the on-campus college restaurant. All meals are provided on the campus and consist of: breakfast, hot lunch (alternatively: packed lunch on weekends and on full-day trips) and hot evening dinner. There are menu options each day: lunch and dinner comprise of two courses. A vegetarian option is available for every meal.

The residences provide apartment style accommodation: each apartment has a kitchen, living area, four single bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The rooms are equipped with a study area and all essential living accommodation facilities for example a cupboard and a bed. Wireless internet (password protected) is available on site.

Boys and girls are housed in different apartments.Dublin Campus

The reception desk is staffed 24 hours a day and there will always be a teacher on duty in the residence.

All rooms and common areas are thoroughly cleaned once per week with a change of bed sheets and pillow cases. Bathroom facilities are cleaned every 2/3 days.

A hand towel is provided to each student on arrival to be changed weekly. A laundry service is available.

 

Secondary Schools in Ireland

General Information on the Irish High School System

The Irish High School System (called Secondary School) is divided into two cycles:
  • Junior Cycle which lasts for 3 years (for students from age 12)
  • Senior Cycle which lasts for a further 3 years (for students from age 15)
     

High School Programme Ireland education system

The Junior Cycle is non-specialised and students usually take between 9 and 13 subjects per school year. At the end of this three-year cycle the Junior Cycle finishes with a State Examination called the Junior Certificate.
 
The first year of the Senior Cycle is called Transition Year (TY). It is a combination of academic, vocational and personal/social development.
 
TY is designed to give students, usually aged 15-16 years, the tools necessary to make informed choices about their future study and possible university or other Third Level choices.
 
The final two years of the Senior Cycle constitute a two-year study program which leads to another State Examination called the Leaving Certificate. This examination is both, an exit exam from school and a university entrance exam.
 
The curriculum for both cycles - Junior Cycle and Senior Cycle - is set down by the Irish Department of Education as follows:
 
Junior Cycle (aged 12-15 years)
  • English, French, German, Spanish, Italian
  • Irish, Latin, Greek
  • Classical Studies, Music
  • Mathematics
  • History, Geography
  • Business Studies Science, Technology, Home Economics
  • Technical Graphics, Metalwork, Materials Technology(Wood)
  • Typewriting
  • Art, Craft & Design
  • Environment & Social Studies, Social Personal & Health Education
  • Civic, Social & Political Education
  • Religious Education

leading to: Junior Certificate

Senior Cycle (aged 15-18 years)
  • English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Arabic, Japanese
  • Irish, Latin, Ancient Greek
  • Classical Studies
  • History, Geography
  • Mathematics, Applied Mathematics
  • Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Physics & Chemistry
  • Agricultural Economics, Engineering
  • Design & Communication, Graphics, Construction Studies
  • Accounting, Economics, Business Home Economics
  • Art, Music 
  • Religious Education

leading to: Leaving Certificate

Please note that no school offers the complete range of subject and the usual number of subjects offered per high school is approx. 16 subjects.

Sample Transition modules include: Debating, Public Speaking, Enterprise, Work Experience and a wide variety of additional modules which vary depending on the specific school.

 
 
 
 

FAQs - Frequently Asked Questions

Bank holidays and vacation
No classes will be held on national bank holidays. Instead, activites or a day-trip will be scheduled on a bank holiday. Please refer to the Irish holidays here.
Books and class material
All English language books as well as all class material needed during the course are provided free of charge.
Certificate and report card
A certificate of attendance is given to all students at the end of the English course with us. The certificate will indicate the results and the knowledge level achieved in the English language course.
Contact to course participants
The best time to contact your children, relatives or friends during their English course in Ireland is either at lunch time (1-2pm) or at dinner time (around 6:30pm). Approximately two weeks prior to the beginning of the language course, all students will receive detailed information about the course itself. This information is also included in the mobile app.
 
We then will inform you about the exact postal address and the phone numbers you may use to call your children, relatives or friends while they are with us. Please note that there is a one hour time difference between Ireland and continental Europe.
Homework
All students are expected to participate fully and to their best ability in their English course. Thus, a certain amount of homework might be obligatory in all English classes and levels. Homework might be given involving preparation before, and revision work after the day's lessons.
Host family
Students who come to us to learn English and experience Ireland stay with carefully selected local host families.
 
The experience for both parties - host family and student - should be positively enriching and memorable. Students benefit from living with native Irish people in a friendly and supportive home environment, practicing English and learning about everyday life in Ireland.
 
What does a typical host family look like? A couple with children, A couple without children, Singles and single parents, ‘Empty Nesters’ 
Language levels
We distinguish between the levels according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. Our school´s own students' books are set up according to the Common European Framework as well.
Laundry service in the host family
The use of a washing machine is of the discretion of the host family and an arrangement can be made with the host family directly.
Lessons
The duration of a regular lesson is 45 minutes. There are generally 20 lessons (totalling 15 hours) of English language tuition per week (General English and Junior lessons).
Meeting points & times
Throughout the course we use a number of meeting points around Kilkenny. It is advisable to always check your itinerary as to where the meeting point is on any particular day.
Mobile app
Our mobile app for students contains valuable pre-arrival information and we regularly use it throughout the programme to inform of planned activities, outings, trips etc.
 
The mobile app will give you personalized and up-to-date information about your stay with us in Kilkenny. You have all relevant information at your fingertips: general information about your stay, your personal details, your booking details, your airport transfer details, your accommodation details, optional English PLUS sports, optional lessons and activities, visa documents (if applicable), your timetable with lessons and activities, your personal attendance score, FAQ - frequently answered questions, our digital student handbook, push notificatoins and more.
 
The messaging function in the app is a great way of getting in touch with us. And it's also our preferred way of getting in touch with our students.
Payment
After we have received your registration details, we will send you a confirmation email with your detailed invoice incl. payment terms and instructions. You can select your preferred method of payment during the registration process. 
 
The following ways of payment are accepted: via bank transfer, PayPal or PayToStudy (for bank transfers from outside the EUR area). More information can be found here.
Placement level test
Every student attending one of our English courses sits a thorough placement test to determine his or her English language level. Ideally, this test should be completed online - the unique link for your personal placement test will be sent to you via email.
 
Each student will be assigned to a class that best reflects his / her level of English based on the results of this test. When assigning the different classes, we also take the age of the student into consideration (if possible).
Schedule / itinerary / timetable
A detailed itinerary for your course will be provided prior to your arrival to Ireland and is also part of the mobile app for students. The itinerary is subject to change and we reseve the right to make changes to the schedule at any time.
Students´well-being
Living in a foreign country can sometimes cause problems of medical, emotional or psychological nature. This is a normal part of learning to live away from home for some time. However, our experienced staff will offer everyone support in these cases, and all such matters will be treated as strictly confidential.
Transfers to/from the airport
One aspect of our comprehensive services are the airport transfers at arrival/departure. Arrival/departure transfers from/to Dublin International Airport (DUB) are usually on the Sunday before/after the course. Once we have confirmed your booking, please let us know your flight details and we will then arrange your airport transfer to/from Kilkenny. A member of staff will wait for you in the arrival´s hall of Dublin airport upon arrival. Please look out for a big sign with your name on it. At departure, we will accompany you to check-in and bag-drop and say 'Good Bye' to you at the security check.
 
In order to organize your airport transfer, please submit your arrival time and flight details no later than 10 days before your arrival to Ireland.
 
More information about the included airport transfer times and charges can be found here.
Travel health insurance
We advise you to take out a travel health insurance during your stay with us in Ireland. The travel health insurance covers all kinds of medical treatment by a doctor or in a hospital which becomes necessary during your time abroad.
VISA
Please contact an Irish Embassy or Consulate to inquire whether you need a visa or not.
 
After receipt of your registration, we shall send you a written confirmation and a letter of invitation for the course with us. Please note that the course fees ought to be paid in full before we can issue this letter of invitation. 
 
Once you have all required documents, you will have to file an application for a visa at the Irish Embassy or Consulate in your country.
 
Should any difficulties arise during the visa application process, please contact us immediately. We will do our best to assist you in any way we can.
 
More information about visas for Ireland can be found here.
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