Victoria: 4 week Intensive Course

” Since having no previous knowledge of Spanish I hoped to gain a basic grasp of the language and have fun at the same time.

Did I feel my expectations were met? Definitely, I progressed more than I could have imagined. I felt I learnt more Spanish in a month than I did french in two years at school, and had plenty of fun doing so!

My teachers were fantastic, very enthusiastic, approachable and helpful. They created a very stimulating learning environment — plenty of variation, oral tasks, written tasks and listening exercises. Class sizes were also good. Textbooks were very helpful, accessible and easy to use.

The school was brilliant. All the staff especially the reception staff were very friendly and helpful. School is ideally situated in Nerja and is close to everything.

I thought the balance of lessons and free time was great. I had a fantastic lifestyle: lessons in the morning, siesta, sun bathing, homework then going out in the evening. Although the majority of students were older than me they were still very friendly and everybody mixed well. The cultural programme was very varied, the excursion to Morocco was amazing and good value for money — very memorable.

Nerja was a lovely destination — not too big and everything was only a short walk from the school or residence, plenty of restaurants and bars to choose from. ‘Tutti-Frutti’ is a cheap place to drink, if you collect the buy one get one free vouchers!  Nerja is a lovely place to just walk around, visit the beaches and generally relax. Getting up at 6am to walk to Frigilliana, a village 5km from Nerja, to see a bull run was definitely worth it. It is worth finding out what the local events are and making the effort to go to them. The San Noche beach festival (held in June) was also good fun.

The college residence I stayed in was very clean. My room was a good size and had everything I required. The staff were all very helpful, friendly and willing to chat. It was always reassuring to see staff around even in the early hours of the morning — I knew if I had a problem someone would always be there to help.

CESA were very efficient, helpful and informative. I received all the information I required without any problems.

Would I go again? I would definitely go again and recommend it to others. It has been the most fun, enjoyable experience of my Gap Year. The learning and social life were well balanced, in many ways it was like a holiday. It felt so rewarding to see my level of Spanish progressing so quickly. I also met some really good friends who I will stay I touch with. I couldn’t have asked for more – I loved Nerja!”