Legal
Terms & Conditions
The terms that apply when you use Kensington English services and our website.
These Terms apply to all Kensington English services and the website at kensingtonenglish.co.uk (the "Site").
1. Our services
We provide online English language courses and related services, including live classes, webinars, mock interviews, and support resources (the "Services"). All programmes are delivered online. Minimum age for enrolment is 16.
Free tests and practice materials. Our free English level test and IELTS practice tests are for practice only. Results and bands are indicative guides: the level test is a placement guide, not a certificate, and IELTS practice bands are not official IELTS scores. The optional AI marking of IELTS Speaking and Writing (for users aged 18 and over) is produced automatically and may be inaccurate, so please use it as a guide rather than a prediction of an official result. Please enter only your own details. IELTS is a registered trademark of its owners; our practice tests are not official IELTS tests and are not endorsed by the test's owners. We may change, pause or withdraw the free tests at any time.
2. Your account & accuracy of information
You must keep your account secure and ensure all information supplied to us is accurate and up to date.
3. Orders, pricing & payment
- Prices are in GBP and may change.
- A non-refundable registration fee of £25 applies to every new Essential English Online enrolment, and to other programmes as shown at checkout. It is charged once per enrolment and is never charged again when you add weeks to a booking that is already running.
- Essential English Online is sold by the week. You choose the number of weeks, the weekly rate published on our rate card for that number of weeks applies to every week of the booking, and weeks added later are priced at the rate for your total number of weeks. Weeks already paid for are never re-priced.
- Payment is due in full at enrolment unless we offer a plan. We use third-party payment processors and do not store full card details.
4. Cancellations & refunds
To cancel, email admin@kensingtonenglish.co.uk. Your refund depends on when we receive your cancellation:
- More than 14 days before your course start date — full refund of the tuition fee. The £25 registration fee is non-refundable in all cases.
- 14 days or fewer before your course start date — a cancellation fee of 50% of the tuition fee applies; the remaining 50% is refunded. The registration fee is non-refundable.
- On or after your course start date — no refund is given once your course has started.
- If you exercise a statutory cancellation right after your classes have started — we charge for the classes you have taken. For a course sold by the week, that is the published weekly rate for the number of weeks you actually used, worked out at the rate band for those weeks, plus the non-refundable registration fee; the balance is refunded.
Trial lessons (Essential English): direct trial bookings carry a trial-lesson fee (currently £10, and always shown before you pay), which reserves your seat in a real, live class. The fee is refunded in full when you enrol on a course with us after your trial. It is otherwise non-refundable — including if you cancel or change your trial booking, miss the lesson, or decide not to book a course after your trial.
IELTS trial classes: an IELTS trial is one live 2-hour class in our IELTS Preparation group, for a fee of £50 (always shown before you pay). It must be booked at least 48 hours before the class. Your place is confirmed when the class teacher approves your booking; if the teacher cannot take you, we will offer you another date or refund the fee in full. The date of a trial class cannot be changed. If you book a course with us within 3 working days (Monday to Friday) after your trial class, the £50 is deducted from your first course payment (or, if it could not be deducted at checkout, refunded to your card); after that, the credit ends. Otherwise the fee is non-refundable once the class has taken place, including if you do not attend or decide not to book a course. Before the class, you can cancel only where the law gives you that right (see the next paragraph). Students under 18 must give a parent or guardian’s email address, and we send the booking emails to both.
UK consumers: under the Consumer Contracts Regulations you may have a 14-day cooling-off right when purchasing online, starting on the day of purchase. Nothing in these Terms limits that right — where it gives you a stronger cancellation right than the schedule above, the statutory right prevails. By enrolling you expressly request that we begin preparing and delivering your Services immediately, and you acknowledge that if your course has started (or the Services have been fully performed) within this period you lose the right to cancel and no refund is due.
Bildungsurlaub intensive courses (Business English Intensiv, course code KE-BU-01): the published price is the final price per person and no registration fee is charged. A course week runs with at least 4 participants. We confirm whether it runs no later than 4 weeks before the start date, and if we cancel it, every fee you have paid is refunded in full. If you cancel, the schedule above applies to the course fee. Consumers in the EU keep their statutory 14-day right of withdrawal (Widerrufsrecht) from the date of booking; where it gives you a stronger right, it prevails. Recognition as Bildungsurlaub, Bildungszeit or Bildungsfreistellung is decided by the authority of each German state. The course page shows where recognition has been applied for or granted; we cannot guarantee the decision of any authority or of your employer.
5. Course changes, transfers & deferrals
We may make reasonable changes to tutors, schedules, or content. You may request deferral or transfer before your start date; approval is at our discretion and may incur an admin fee.
6. Attendance, conduct & academic integrity
You agree to attend on time, participate respectfully, and avoid harassment, disruption, or cheating. We may suspend or remove access for misconduct without refund.
7. Technology & access
You are responsible for suitable internet, device, microphone/camera, and software. We are not liable for failure to access caused by your equipment or connectivity.
8. Certificates
Every Essential English Online student receives a Kensington English Certificate of Attendance showing their level and the weeks studied. Students who study 12 weeks or more and pass the final test also receive the Certificate of Completion. On other programmes we provide a certificate of completion where stated, upon meeting attendance and assessment requirements. A level-test result is a placement guide, not a certificate. Certificates are issued by Kensington English and are not an academic qualification or visa document.
9. Intellectual property & recordings
All course materials, recordings, and the Site are owned by us or our licensors. You receive a personal, non-transferable licence to use materials for your own study. Do not copy, share, or publish materials or recordings without permission. We do not record live lessons. If we ever record another session, such as a webinar, we will tell you before recording starts.
10. Third parties (Partners)
We may work with partner organisations (including Educational Travel Organisations) and independent consultants. If you enrol via a Partner, that Partner's terms may also apply to you, but these Terms prevail between you and us.
11. Disclaimer & limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Services and Site are provided "as is". We do not guarantee specific learning outcomes. We do not exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud, or any liability that cannot legally be limited. Otherwise, our total liability for all claims arising out of or relating to the Services is limited to the amount you paid for the relevant enrolment in the 12 months before the claim.
12. Events outside our control
We are not liable for delays or failure to perform due to events beyond our reasonable control. We will take reasonable steps to minimise impact and may reschedule or provide alternatives.
13. Suspension & termination
We may suspend or terminate your access if you breach these Terms. You may terminate by contacting us; refunds are only as expressly provided in these Terms or required by law.
14. Complaints
Contact admin@kensingtonenglish.co.uk with details. We aim to acknowledge within 5 working days and respond substantively within 20 working days.
15. Governing law & jurisdiction
These Terms are governed by the laws of England & Wales. Courts of England & Wales have exclusive jurisdiction, except UK or EU consumers resident locally may bring claims in their local courts as required by applicable law.
16. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms periodically. The version posted on the Site at the time of purchase applies to the enrolment; material changes will be notified on the Site or by email.