Terms and Conditions
Important
These terms and conditions (these ‘Terms’) are issued by Study Group Limited ('Study Group') (which for the purposes of the Education (Independent Schools Standards) Regulations 2014, is hereby identified as the proprietor of Bellerbys College), a company incorporated in England and Wales (Company Registration Number: 02325576 whose registered office is Britannia House, 21 Station Street, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 4DE (Contact: +44(0) 1273 339333), hereinafter referred to as ‘the College’ or ‘Bellerbys’. Please ensure you read these Terms carefully and understand them before signing your final acceptance of a place at the College. These Terms and any other document referred to herein constitute the entire agreement between the parties and shall supersede all promises, representations, warranties or other statements whether written or oral made by or on behalf of one party to the other of any nature whatsoever or contained in any leaflet brochure or other document concerning such subject matter. By signing these Terms, along with any offer letter received from us and the policies referred to below form part of a wider agreement between you and Study Group which will become legally binding once you confirm acceptance of your offer.
Your attention is also drawn to our Student Protection Plan at the following link that contains important information about how we will mitigate risks affecting your ability to study:
View the Student Protection Plan
Application and confirmation payment
If your application is accepted, a written offer of a place will be made. To accept this offer a confirmation payment is required comprising a non-refundable administration fee of £235 and £1,000 security deposit. Prior to enrolment (and before you apply for your Confirmation of Acceptance of Studies (‘CAS’)) you will also need to pay £6,000 in advance tuition fees. Please note that certain territories are deemed high risk by UKVI for the issuance of a visa. If your territory is considered high risk, you may be required to pay a higher amount in respect of advance fees. Details will be set out in the individual payment plan attached to your offer letter. Non-payment by the fee deadline may put your place at risk. If you do not require a student visa you must pay this sum no later than 3 months before the start date of your programme. Once the CAS has been issued OR before beginning your studies (whichever is the earlier), you will be required to pay the balance of the first two terms’ fees along with the accommodation fees (if applicable) as set out on your individualised payment plan on your offer letter.
Please note that elements of your programme will be delivered online in addition to face-to-face teaching in-College (‘blended delivery’).
Online teaching sessions will be recorded and you will be reminded of this at the beginning of your course and before each session until the last date of admission to a programme. You may at any time tell us that you do not wish to be recorded by notifying the relevant member of staff. Please note that if you do not consent to the recording of an assessment, this may adversely affect your right to appeal and/or the outcome of any later appeal.
In the event of an official visa rejection, only one further CAS will be issued in support of a second and final visa application. Full fees for the year must be paid in advance for a second CAS to be issued, but will be refunded in the event of a second visa refusal (unless the visa is refused on account of fraud). We reserve the right not to issue a second CAS if we deem the risk of rejection too great. The issuance of a CAS is subject to meeting certain criteria including, but not limited to, your financial status and, in some cases, a satisfactory interview.
The security deposit is primarily held against any damages incurred to College property and related expenses. If, at the end of a programme, there are any monies left these may also be offset against debts incurred by you in relation to expenses such as programme--related travel or extra-curricular activities, otherwise an invoice will be issued for any damages/outstanding fees in excess of the deposit. Any monies left will be refunded within 90 days of completion of the final term less any deductions made for any amount outstanding at that time.
Deferral, Cancellation and Refund Policy
You may defer your Programme prior to commencing your study by using the following link:
https://www.studygroup.com/request-deferral
You have a right to cancel your place and receive a full refund of any amounts paid by informing us in writing within 14 days of the date you accept the offer. To cancel your place within this 14-day period, please contact your admissions co-ordinator. Please note, if you defer your initial offer of a place after the 14-day period has expired you will NOT be able to cancel your deferred place at a later date to take advantage of a full refund. You may wish to cancel using the following link:
https://www.studygroup.com/request-withdrawal
Our cancellation and refund policies can be accessed at the links below. Your attention is drawn in particular to the circumstances in which £6,000 of your advance tuition fees will NOT be refunded:
- If you cancel after a CAS has been issued;
- If you cancel within 8 weeks of the programme start date; and
- If your visa is rejected due to student error or fraud.
Refunds will only be made to the same card/bank account of the individual from whom Study Group received the original payment. Refunds will be made within 90 days of the end of the relevant semester. Please click on the links to our refund policies above.
Refunds will be made after calculating any damages, disbursements due or any other incidental fees or charges. Should you decide not to pursue your place on a programme after a CAS has been issued, no monies will be refunded unless there are exceptional circumstances as set out in the refund policy below.
View the full Pre-commencement Refund Policy here.
SPECIAL TERMS FOR STUDENTS COMMENCING STUDIES ONLINE ONLY:
Trial period and cancellation
If you will be commencing your programme online only due to face-to-face or blended delivery not being possible, you may cancel your place and receive a full refund of any amounts paid by informing us in writing at any time from the start date of your programme for a period of up to 21 days (the 'Trial Period').
To withdraw from your programme before or during the Trial Period, please use the following link:
https://www.studygroup.com/request-withdrawal
If you decide to withdraw from your studies after the Trial Period has elapsed, you will not be eligible for a full refund of fees paid in advance. For further details, please refer to the Online Study Refund Policy at the link below.
CAS issuance after commencing studies
If, after commencing your programme online, you request or are required to transfer to face-to-face/blended delivery in College, we will contact you again in relation to the issuance of a CAS to enable you to apply for a visa. Please note that we will not issue a CAS if any instalment of your fees is overdue at that time and you will be unable to continue your studies.
The issuance of a visa is subject to meeting certain criteria including, but not limited to, your financial status and, in some cases, a satisfactory interview. In the event of an official visa rejection and you are unable to continue your study in College, refunds will be issued in accordance with our Online Programme Refund Policy.
View the full Online Programme Refund Policy here.
Please read the refund policy carefully and note in particular the circumstances in which advance tuition fees will NOT be refunded.
Tuition and accommodation fees
After starting your programme, fees for the remainder of the academic year must be paid in full no later than 28 days before the start of the second term. Payment dates relating to fees for your second (and any subsequent) academic year will be set out in your personalised payment plan. Admission to programmes and your continued enrolment with the College is dependent on all fees having been paid by the required date. Fees are subject to an increase each September (applicable to the subsequent academic year) and you will be notified in advance of any increase.
Reasonable efforts are always made to keep fees to the minimum that is consistent with the provision of a modern and efficient teaching programme. However, fee increases may become necessary from time to time in order to maintain standards and will become effective immediately they are notified to parents. If payments become overdue, the College reserves the right to suspend or cancel tuition and /or to charge interest on the balance at the rate of 2% above the base rate of NatWest per month or part thereof. Fees remain payable if a notice of withdrawal has not been given in accordance with these Terms. Please note that although students may leave College after their examinations in November or June, no fees will be reduced or refunded.
Provision of tuition
If a particular subject is under-subscribed, the College reserves the right to provide a reduced hours’ tuition or private tuition for the same fee or by giving one term’s written notice to either change or end the course. The College may change or end a course without refund where, at its reasonable discretion, it deems such action necessary.
Scholarships and other discounts
Poor performance or attendance or a change of course can lead to withdrawal of a scholarship or other discounts. Scholarships for students studying for more than three terms (1 year) will be reassessed at the end of this period.
A level students progressing into their second year should meet minimum predicted grades to continue their scholarship in year 2 of their studies.
- 40% scholarship - ABB average (any three subjects)
- 20% scholarship - BBB average (any three subjects)
The final decision will be at the discretion of the College Principal.
Academic criteria
Students whose academic progress falls short of expectations may, at the discretion of the College, be required to attend intervention and support sessions including revision programmes outside term time. Additionally, Students who do not perform satisfactorily in their coursework will not be entered for external public examinations. Students who do not yet meet university criteria for English Language proficiency will be expected to take an appropriate English Language course at the College.
Students are accepted into the College on the strict understanding that progression through the course is conditional upon satisfactory and required attendance and successful attainment of prescribed performance targets.
Students are formally assessed at least twice a year. Assessments will take into consideration course work, College examination results, attendance, effort in class and in homework and public examination potential. Students who do not meet the attainment criteria will not be allowed to proceed with their course but may be offered an alternative course or invited to withdraw from the College without refund. For details of our academic criteria visit bellerbys.com
Accident and medical insurance
We strongly recommend that all students have appropriate accident and medical insurance for the duration of their study in the UK. You may either take out our own StudyCare Insurance Plus policy or cover with an alternative provider. Cover under the StudyCare Insurance Plus policy does not commence until the insurance fees have been paid in full. Please ensure that you bring with you any relevant medical records, e.g. immunisation records, that will assist local medical staff when treating you for any medical condition. Further information about StudyCare Insurance Plus can be found at the following link: http://www.studygroup.com/land/studycare.
Withdrawal
Once you have commenced face-to-face/blended delivery of your Programme (or after expiry of the Trial Period, if applicable), a minimum of one term’s notice to withdraw (in writing) is required, whether or not you continue to attend lessons. Please refer to our Post-arrival Refund Policy at the following link:
Notice of withdrawal must be given in writing or by email. You may choose to use the following link:
https://www.studygroup.com/request-withdrawal
Students following the English Language Preparation courses are automatically enrolled to progress on to an academic programme and must also give one term’s notice to withdraw. If withdrawal is due to refusal of a visa extension, reduced notice may be accepted at the College’s discretion as long as full written details are provided before a course recommences. Students should be aware of the legal implications of their visa status should they decide to leave the College before completion of their course.
Where withdrawal is due to illness, if the student has taken out our comprehensive StudyCare Insurance Plus scheme (further details of which are available at the link above), subject to the terms of the scheme the student may be able to claim a refund. Notice of withdrawal must be given in writing and is effective from the date it is received by the College.
College policies
The College has policies on UCAS applications, admissions, attendance, bullying, child protection, curriculum, discipline, health and safety, promotion of good behaviour, sanctions in cases of bad behaviour, complaints and exclusions – these are available on request from the College.
Accounts procedures
Payments can be made to the College using a number of payment options via our payment platform. Access to this platform can be found at http://pay.bellerbys.com/ using your unique student access code.
Certain card payments will carry a processing fee of up to 2.5%, depending on the card issuer. Variations to such charges may be beyond our control.
Please note that we are NOT able to accept cash payments for fees. Cash payments may only be made to cover sundry charges that may arise during your course of study.
If you choose to pay in your local currency a foreign exchange rate will apply. The applicable exchange rate can be viewed online as well as at the time and date of the payment. Bank charges and commission for both the sending and receiving banks should be paid by the sender of funds or they will be applied to the student’s account.
Other charges
No other incidental costs will be charged to your account unless you agree to them separately. These may include, for example, field trips, text books and vacation accommodation.
Breakages, loss and damage
Students are responsible for payment for any damage caused by them to College property and household property of their College or homestay accommodation and should take particular care to respect furniture.
Students in College accommodation must sign an inventory and laundry form for their room on arrival and departure. Occupants of the rooms are jointly and severally liable for the proper care of the room and the College reserves the right to recover costs for damage or exceptional cleaning from the student.
Accommodation
The College includes fees within its accommodation charges to cover the support and service to students in Homestay, College accommodation and accommodation secured by referral to third parties. You agree that we may share your personal information with such third party accommodation providers and that they may contact you directly in relation to accommodation. College homestay families are instructed not to accept any payment directly or indirectly from any student. Similarly, students outside of the College’s accommodation service are prohibited from entering into any arrangement for accommodation with a College homestay. Students who break this rule will be subject to College discipline and charges will be levied to the student’s account on the basis that the student had been in College accommodation for the relevant period.
If you miss your course start date for any reason we reserve the right to change your accommodation. However, if you pay the residential accommodation fee, for the shorter of a term or the length of the course, not less than 28 days before the course start date, your bed will be secured for you. If you book residential accommodation and defer your course to a later start date and then cancel your course, a full term's accommodation charge will be payable. If, having reserved residential accommodation when booking your course, you wish to move to private accommodation on arrival, an accommodation fee will be payable by you. That fee will be the residential accommodation charge for the shorter of a term or the length of the course.
Accommodation type
On enrolment, students are requested to indicate their accommodation preference. While the College will use its reasonable endeavours to provide the accommodation requested, the College is not bound to provide a specific type of accommodation and, if necessary, an alternative type of accommodation will be provided. Students will be invoiced for the type of accommodation requested on enrolment and if this subsequently proves to be unavailable, an appropriate credit will be given or an extra charge will be levied. If you miss your start date for any reason, we reserve the right to change your accommodation. Once the confirmation fee is paid, requested accommodation, if available, is reserved. If a term’s fees are not paid 28 days before term starts reserved accommodation will be released.
Changes of accommodation
No change to the type of accommodation arrangements will be made without the written permission of Student Services or the College Principal. This permission will only be given in exceptional circumstances. If a student makes a change to his/her accommodation or leaves accommodation provided by the College without the prior consent of the College Principal, the student shall remain liable for all accommodation payments invoiced or reserved at the time of enrolment.
One full term’s written notice must be given for students moving out of College accommodation where they are moving to private accommodation and, in relation to students who are under 18, the parent or guardian must complete a disclaimer to that effect. Students will be charged for one term’s notice period whether or not they stay in the accommodation. Two weeks’ notice is required for a move between homestay families. Further details on our Code of Practice are in the “Student Handbook” given to the students upon commencement of the course.
Cashless catering
Bellerbys College uses a cashless catering system for the purchase of goods via a student ID card. The card may be used to buy items including, but not limited to, food, books and activities. If there is a credit balance in excess of £5 of more on student’s card when he/she leaves the College, such amount will be refunded. Any credit balance below £5 will be donated to Bellerbys’ charity, Building Futures.
Airport transfers
We will automatically arrange an airport transfer at the cost stated on bellerbys.com/how-to-apply/fees for all students under the age of 18 unless specified otherwise on the application form.
Vacation accommodation
This is available to any student on request to the Accommodation Department. This is normally only available in Homestay families and the appropriate fee will be added to the student’s account.
Personal property
If a StudyCare Insurance Plus policy is taken out, any loss or damage to personal property which may occur while the student is living with a homestay family or at the College is covered within the terms of the policy. If you take out alternative cover, please ensure that your personal property is adequately protected.
Effectiveness of the College courses
With your consent, information about your performance in each of your end-of-year assessments during your undergraduate studies will be collected by the College from the university to which you progress. This information will be used by the College to analyse the long-term effectiveness of its own courses. Any data collected by the College in this way will only be used in accordance with current data protection legislation.
Data protection
Any information provided to Study Group about you may be held on computer and shall only be used by us as permitted under any applicable data protection legislation. Your information will be held and processed for the purpose of administering your application and we may share your information, where necessary, with our offices around the world.
With your consent or where there is a legitimate interest, we may share your personal data and sensitive personal data (as defined in the UK Data Protection Regulation) to relevant third parties including your agent, sponsor or prospective university during or after your period of study at the College This personal data may include information about your performance, progress and examination results.
We will not disclose information about you to any other third parties without your consent unless there are exceptional circumstances, for example when the health and safety of you or others is at risk or where the law requires information to be shared. Throughout, we will always comply with our obligations under all applicable data protection legislation. For more information, please refer to our Student Privacy Notice. Please note that we reserve the right to update the Student Privacy Notice from time to time.
Liability
Any reference in these Terms to liability of students shall also imply liability on the parents or guardian of the student, and such liability is joint and several.
Variation
No variation to these Terms is valid unless agreed in writing by the Principal provided always that the College reserves the right to make any addition, amendment or alteration to these Terms upon giving one term’s written notice of such change to all affected students and, where applicable, their parents or guardians.
UK government bodies
The College is obliged to report on request visa status, attendance records and UK contact details to relevant UK government bodies. Study at the College is conditional upon students complying with all policies of UK government bodies at all times. A student wishing to continue their studies in the UK after studying at the College may need to reapply for a visa from outside the UK and should check UKVI policy guidance from time to time as to whether this applies.
Communication
Please supply the College with personal email addresses and mobile telephone numbers before beginning your studies so that we can communicate with you at all times (for example, to send you student reports). Please also advise of any changes as they occur. These are mandatory requirements of the UK visa authorities.
Acceptance and indemnity
Your acceptance (or acceptance by your parent or legal guardian if you are under 18 years of age) of a place to study at the College indicates that you:
- Give consent to the administration of first aid and appropriate non-prescription medication to students, and give permission for medical, dental or optical and emergency hospital treatment when required, and have given full details of any medicines currently being taken or any ongoing medical condition. The College cannot be held liable if you fail to disclose any medication you have been prescribed before your arrival at the College or any pre-existing medical condition.
- Agree to the following indemnity: ‘In consideration of the principal/head teacher/director of the College agreeing to make arrangements for and to authorise members of the staff of the College to take the student from time to time on expeditions outside the premises of the College, you (or your parent or legal guardian as the case may be) hereby undertake to indemnify the Principal or such other members of College staff against:
- any claims, damages or costs which they or any of them may be or become liable to pay in consequence of any injury or damage to or illness of the student occurring during or as a result of any of the said expeditions.
- any claims by any third party which may be made against them or any of them in consequence of any act or default of the student during or as a result of any of the said expeditions.
- any other costs and expenses reasonably incurred by them or any of them on behalf of the student during or as a result of any of the said expeditions.
Provided that the indemnity herein shall not extend to any claims, damages, costs or expenses in respect of and to the extent to which the College and member(s) of the staff or any of them shall be entitled to be indemnified under any policy of insurance.
Without this indemnity, the student may not take part in any outings organised by the College.
Complaints
It is recognised that students, their parents or their representatives may sometimes need to make a complaint about the services received during the application and admissions process. Study Group has a complaints service for this purpose. If you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance you should refer the issue to your Study Group Admissions contact who will discuss the problem with you and attempt to resolve it. If we are not able to resolve an issue in this way, you can then formally raise a complaint by email to BELLERBYSQUERIES@studygroup.com.
Please include the following information in your email:
- State explicitly that you wish to make a formal complaint
- Include your name and student identification number or Admissions case number
- Give a general description of the complaint and the dates on which any events occurred
- Provide the names or positions of any members of staff or third parties directly relevant to the complaint.
We will acknowledge receipt of your complaint within 48 hours, and we aim to formally respond within 5 working days.
Important
These Terms apply to all bookings commencing after 13 December 2021. For bookings made prior to this date, please contact your admissions co-ordinator or College staff to obtain a copy of the relevant terms and conditions and refund policies which apply to your contract with us