Why work with Elac


Elac Centres Elac Study Vacations is a small, but growing English Language School. It was established over 20 years ago in Eastbourne, on the South East Coast of England, and initially ran a family stay course in that town. Now we provide employment opportunities in a range of top quality boarding schools and university campuses. In 2000 Elac opened it first residential summer school, also in Eastbourne, and we now have 6 residential centres in Nottingham, Cardiff (new this year), London, Horsham (West Sussex), Mayfield (East Sussex) and Eastbourne. We also have family stay centres in Eastbourne & Bath. In most locations teachers will be provided with accommodation in single en-suite bedrooms in halls of residence, or in local houses rented by Elac. Activity leaders will usually live locally, but there are some residential positions, especially for specialist staff.
"My first job as an English teacher was with Elac and I have worked for Elac for five summers now. Every year with Elac I have learnt something new and last summer I became a Director of Studies. Elac is a very friendly and supportive company to work for and I have a lot of great memories because of Elac :)" – Peter (Director of Studies)

Elac ethos

"There is always somebody to turn to for help should a problem arise and it's great to feel like a part of a strong working team." – Steve

Though Elac has grown as an organisation in recent years, the company still has the virtues of a small family-run business: a personal service, a high standard of care and welfare, attention to detail and a focus on quality. We are on the UK government list of approved English Language providers, and are fully accredited by the British Council.

We are a professional, accredited school and are serious about what we do. We treat our staff with the same level of individual care and concern as we do our students. We recognise that our staff are a vital part of our success, not just for six weeks in a summer, but on a longer term basis, too.

"Elac took a risk when employing me that first summer in Carmarthen and I hope you feel it has paid off. I have grown so much professionally and also as a person by working for you, the Delta has opened many doors and I have learned so much each summer. I have also made some wonderful friends, some which have turned out to be my closest and I feel so fortunate." – Kera (Course Director)

Elac support

Elac is committed to supporting all its staff professionally. We believe that an in-house programme of continuing professional development is both desirable and possible, even on a short-course programme.

For teachers, part of this support comes from Dave Russell who is our academic consultant. Dave has a great deal of experience in academic management and teacher training. He has worked as a Director of Studies for over 25 years and as a Delta trainer and Assessor for almost as long. Apart from his commitment to Elac, Dave now works in teacher training at post-graduate level in higher education in the UK.

His role with Elac includes:

observing all teachers at work and conducting follow-up debriefing and feedback sessions

running practical workshops for academic staff and those group leaders who are also teachers

advising senior academic staff – Directors of Studies and Senior Teachers

expanding and updating Elac's resource base

During their time with Elac all teachers can expect to be observed at least once (and can request further observations at any time!). These observations are intended to be helpful and supportive and are not internal assessments.

Additionally, Dave will be present at as many teacher-induction sessions as he can manage and will visit most centres more than once during the summer. At these times, he is more than happy to be with you over coffee, meals (or even a beer) and give help and advice as well as listening to your feedback and requests.

For Activity Leaders, help comes from the Activity Co-ordinator in terms of help in planning activities, ideas for activities and general support and encouragement. The Assistant Course Director and the Course Director are also both sources of help and advice and will be happy to hear your ideas and give you some of their own.

"Elac for me is:
Energetic team of people who are like a family to me
Always happy to help and caring of all
You only have to hear that some people have been coming for 20 years to realise how special Elac is. It has a great atmosphere and a family friendly feel. As a member of the activity staff, I found if I was unsure or ever in need of help there was always someone there to guide me. I have been able to meet people from all over the world, with some who I now consider friends, most of all it is fun and rewarding. I don't know what this company does but it keeps bringing me back year after year :)" – Emily (Activity Co-ordinator)

Elac Students

Each summer we provide residential and family stay courses for around 2,500 students from Italy, Spain, France, Austria, Poland, Russia, Turkey, China and Japan. We also have developing links in a number of other countries, and the international aspect of our courses is important.

"I’m looking forward to a 4^th summer this year — every year I’ve met students and leaders from all over the world and had great fun getting to know them and helping them improve their English" – Mark

"I've worked for ELAC for two years now and it just gets better and better.
The staff were really great and we had lots of fun at and around work. It's an excellent opportunity to meet new people and make new friends from all around the world! The kids are all really great and some of them come back each year and remember you which is really nice.
I can't wait for next summer!" – Lauranne (Activity Leader)

Elac Staff

Many teachers and activity staff enjoy working for us, and come back to us year after year.

We offer very competitive opportunities compared with similar organisations. Our staff can determine to some extent how much work they want to do, and they are rewarded accordingly. We are open to newly qualified teachers and to activity staff who are keen but inexperienced, and offer an ideal environment to ‘cut your teeth’. We are an equal opportunities employer.

We believe strongly in our responsibility to promote the development of our all staff, and consequently we have an excellent programme of staff development including pre-course online induction, regular staff meetings, a programme of lesson observation (for teachers) with constructive feedback, and staff training seminars (see above).

All of these are reasons why our people enjoy working with us, but of course, we mustn’t forget that the main reason is that it is great fun!

"Sometimes it can be hard work, but it’s definitely worth it. Each summer I’ve come away with funny stories and experiences that have had me laughing all year!" – Jess

"This was my first teaching job and I was terrified, but my DoS at Elac was so supportive. The kids can be a handful, but they're so much fun when they're enjoying themselves. Elac is a great place to kick-start your teaching career." – Chris (Teacher)

"Each summer I go back to Elac for a dose of hard work, smiles, laughter and little stress! It works so well because we all work together: staff from different departments work with people of all levels of seniority, as well as working with the students and group leaders that arrive from all different countries." – Elen (Director of Studies)

"An amazing experience, hard work, but definitely worth it. I had the chance to meet some great people who I will never forget." – Hannah (Teacher)