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Love England with us

Whether you’re coming for a week or the rest of your life, we welcome you to the English Language Centre (ELC) group of schools.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for, let’s connect so we can help you in person. That’s what we do. We listen, we understand, and we help you. That’s why we’re the best.

Our courses

Discover our full range of English language and English teacher training programmes, and start your learning journey with us.

Academic Manager, Jess Fynn, chatting to students during an English lesson in ELC's lecture room in Brighton. Jess is wearing a bright blue jumper and her arms outstretched, palms up, as if she's asking students for a contribution.
South Korea's Young Huon Song, a student on the General English programme at ELC Chester is smiling openly at the camera, whilst sitting in one of the classrooms in the Chester English school. He's wearing a denim jacket over a light grey hoodie. He looks very relaxed.

Our locations

We offer 3 beautiful locations in England to study English. Each have their own unique character and all are close to international airports, with easy access to beautiful regions of Britain.

A stunning photo of the iconic Brighton Pavilion, more specifically the many towers and minarets that are slightly silhouetted against the background of the sky in the early morning.
A slightly filtered photo of the the red and white striped Beachy Head lighthouse just outside Eastbourne. You can see the white cliffs and the green grass on top of the cliffs. The sea is a lovely pale blue colour.
Mock tudor buildings in the centre of Chester, with the first floor wooden balconies on display. The white and black timber framed facade is set against the pale blue sky.

We are a centre of excellence

  • ELC is the #1 group of English language schools in the UK*.
  • ELC Chester and ELC Brighton are joint #1 schools.
  • ELC Eastbourne in the top 5%.
This is an image of a student getting one-to-one support in one of ELC's study areas, as there are shelves with books in the background. Each of the three English schools at ELC has spaces like this where you read or do work to support your English language course.
A photo of the English Language Centre in Eastbourne, which occupies an impressive villa. There are steps up to the ornate arched entrance way and the fresh green trees ground the building nicely. The sky is blue and some of the top-floor dormer windows in the roof are open.

Our experience

Students have been successfully learning English with us since 1936 in Eastbourne, 1976 in Chester and 1962 in Brighton.

This is a lovely old black and white photo of teachers, all dressed very formally from the very early days of ELC Brighton. The photo was probably taken in the 1960s. It shows the teachers' lounge and small groups of teachers standing or sitting in twos and threes. Some are talking whilst others read books. This room is now a student lounge.

A warm welcome and personal care

Each school offers friendly, caring and safe learning environments with high levels of personal attention and continuous support.

Fergus Kavanagh, ELC Brighton's Social Activities Organiser helping Swiss English student Elisa Hentsch
Four students stand at reception at ELC Brighton. They are standing close together which suggests they all know each other well and feel very comfortable together.
A close-up shot of a student with one hand resting on the edge of a laptop, whilst smiling into the camera. He's studying one-to-one (private) English lessons at ELC Chester.
French student Noame Stolar talking to South Korea's Seohyeon Hong during a general English lesson at ELC Eastbourne

Your home while you learn

We offer a range of high quality accommodation within 40 minutes of each school.

A photo of a kitchen in a student residence. This looks quite spacious and you can see a large double fridge freezer in the background and a blue sofa in the foreground.
A double bed in the Britannia Student Residence in Brighton. There are orange cushions on the bed and a brighter orange blanket across the foot of the bed.

Your journey

Find out how we can help you get to and from us once you are in the UK.

Cool places that are small enough to be friendly, big enough to be fun

We offer year-round English language courses in three English locations. All our schools are classic, historical buildings with up-to-date, modern language learning facilities, and a warm and friendly welcome.

Map of ELC’s locations in England at Brighton, Chester and Eastbourne, with indications of their distance from major cities, airports and national parks. Brighton and Eastbourne are on the south east coast next door to the South Downs National Park and not far from London Gatwick and London Heathrow airports. Chester just to the east of north Wales is close to Liverpool and Manchester airports and roughly half way between Snowdon National Park and the Peak District National Park. An overlaid scale of 50km helps to show that Brighton and Eastbourne are about 120km from central London, and that Chester is about 35km from central Liverpool and 65km from central Manchester.
A photo of the seafront at Brighton which shows an array of white buildings and the sand-coloured pebble beach. There is a large white ferris wheel in the foreground, and a scattering of people sitting looking out to sea.

Brighton

Brighton and Hove is a lively, cosmopolitan seaside city of about 300,000 people with a vivid cultural life. It is about 85 km – 1 hour – south of central London and surrounded by the beautiful Sussex countryside. Learn more about Brighton

A photograph of the famous Eastgate clock in Chester which stands high above the road on a section of the Roman walls. The clock has a round white face with black roman numerals and hands, and lots of ornate black metalwork filled in with orange and gold panels. The letters VR are above it, visible against the turquoise dome roof, and the date 1897. This was erected in memory of Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee.

Chester

Chester is an English city with 2,000 years of heritage, excellent shopping and a lively nightlife. It is 30km from Liverpool and 60km from Manchester – major cities of around half a million people each. Learn more about Chester

A seafront photo of Eastbourne taken from the west side. The pier can be seen jutting out into the sea towards the top of the photo, as the beach extends round to the left and the emerald sea takes up most of the rest of the shot. The sun is shining and the white hotels on the seafront are very noticeable.

Eastbourne

Eastbourne is a traditional seaside town that’s regularly the UK’s sunniest place. It is about 120 km from central London. The beautiful South Downs national park rises up directly from the western end of its seafront. Learn more about Eastbourne

English courses in England

  • Most of our English language programmes are available all year.
  • Study in a small group with no more than 11 other people – your new friends from around the world.
  • Or choose one-to-one English lessons, or organise your own private group.

Explore the course summaries shown or use the form below to fast forward to exactly what you need. Either way, if you like what you see, you will be able to get an exact price, book and pay for your course.

High quality language learning assured

You can relax, knowing that we are officially the #1 ranking group of English schools in England*. Our focus on teaching excellence, coupled with rock solid support for your safety and wellbeing, will give you the confidence to learn English in England.

*Find out about our no.1 ranking

A photo of Mathieu Galliano from France studying at ELC Chester in January 2023. He's wearing a pale blue hoodie and a black beanie hat, and he's smiling at the camera.
Mathieu Galliano from France studying at ELC Chester in January 2023

Join in the conversation

Get a feel for what’s going on in real life.

A group of six students chatting together in pairs walks down the pathway from the English language centre in Eastbourne. In the background you can see the columns which support the portico entranceway and the door with its arched glass panel above.
A shot taken in the cafeteria area at ELC English language school in Chester. This is during a session called "Meet the British". We can see a group of students looking on, and the school principal, Nigel Paramor, appears to be playing the drums.
A library shot of hands holding a mobile phone. We can see the camera lenses of the phone, as if someone is taking a photo. Behind, we can see a blue sky.