Smart Russian language school
Terms and Conditions

1. Definitions

1.1. A 'course' means a continuous period of study on one course type.

1.2. An 'enrolment' means your study period at the school and can consist of a single course or a combination of a course and accommodation or services booked with us.

1.3. 1-1 or Individual classes or individual tuition' are private lessons for a client to take on their own with a trainer, not as part of a group.


2. Booking

2.1. When you book a course, you must pay a refundable full cost of a chosen course.

2.2. If you want to stay in accommodation organised by the school, you must pay a non-refundable accommodation placement fee. When you book, you have 5 working days to pay your deposit(s). We will not process your booking until you have paid.

2.3. Training is only confirmed once payment has been made or a financial guarantee letter by the sponsoring organisation has been provided.


3. Your level of Russian

3.1. You must check the level of Russian you need for your course and make sure you have the required level. You can check your level here.

3.2. When you start your course, if we think that your level of Russian is unsuitable for the course you have booked, we may move you to a more suitable one. If we move you to a more expensive course, you will have to pay the difference. If we move you to a cheaper course, you will not receive any refund. If you decide to cancel your course, we will follow our cancellation terms.

3.3. If your level is too low to join a group course, we may offer you a programme of Individual Tuition at our current rates. Because this will be more expensive, you can choose either to pay extra and maintain the full length of your booking, or to pay the original fees and shorten your enrolment. Virtual Individual Tuition must be booked in a minimum block of 5 hours per 15 days.


4. Holidays

4.1. You may take a holiday during your course on the following conditions:

You must give us 7 working days' notice. If you fail to do so, you will lose one week's course fees.

Course weeks taken as holiday will be added to the end of your enrolment.

If you move weeks of your course for a holiday, we will not make any refund if you choose to cancel them at a future date.


5. Face to face training

5.1. Face to face classes - postponements. All postponements must be made in writing.

5.2. Postponing your enrolment before you start: a. You may postpone your enrolment without a penalty by telling us 7 working days before the start of your first course. b. If you give us less than 7 working days' notice you may postpone your course, but you must pay one week's course fees. c. You must start a postponed enrolment within 6 months of the postponement date. If you do not start your postponed enrolment within this period, you will lose all course fees paid. If a postponed course extends into the following year, you will have to pay for those weeks at the rates which apply in that year. Postponed weeks must be taken in a single block.

5.3. Postponing part of your enrolment after you have started:

a. You may postpone part of a started course without a penalty if you give 7 working days' notice. Only full weeks can be postponed. If you give less than 7 working days' notice, you may postpone any other course or part of it, but you will lose one week's course fees. Only full weeks can be postponed.

b. 1-1 lessons which are not booked as part of a combination course. If you want to postpone 1-1 lessons, you must inform us 24 h before the lesson is due to take place. After 24 h, it will be treated as a late cancellation and you will be fully charged for that lesson.

c. You must start a postponed enrolment within 6 months of the postponement date. If you do not start your postponed enrolment within this period, you will lose all course fees paid. If a postponed course extends into the following year, you will have to pay for those weeks at the rates which apply in that year. Postponed weeks must be taken in a single block.


6. Cancellations.

6.1. All cancellations must be made in writing.

6.2. Individual Tuition cancellations. You must give 12 h' notice to cancel a lesson without penalty. If you fail to do so, you will be fully charged for that lesson.

6.3. You may cancel your whole enrolment in 1-1 tuition without penalty after two first lessons taken. Once you have taken your third 1-1 lesson, you may cancel the rest of the enrolment, but we will not refund the fees paid.

6.4. Course cancellations. Cancelling before or after your enrolment starts: a. You may cancel your whole enrolment within 14 days after the course started. We will refund all fees paid.

6.5. If you are taking more than one type of course, a future course is considered to be separate and you may cancel it with the same conditions as in section 6.4.


7. Online individual tuition

7.1. Online Individual Classes Training hours must be used within 1-6 months of the date of purchase depending on the amount of lessons booked. For Online 2:1 classes (two people with one trainer), the rules in this section apply. Online Individual Classes - Intensive (5 hours or more to be delivered within the same week): You may postpone any of your lessons by informing us in writing 12h before the lesson is due to take place.
Within less than 12h before the lesson, it will be treated as a late cancellation and you will be charged the full amount for the lesson.


8. General

8.1. If you have paid for your course by bank transfer or credit card, any refund will be made to the same account or card. If the account or card is no longer available, no refund can be made.

8.2. We reserve the right to remove you from the course if: a. Your behaviour is unacceptable or disruptive. If this happens, you will not be entitled to any refund of course fees.

8.3. No refund is due if you do not arrive in time for your course start date or you miss any classes.

8.4. We try to run all advertised courses, but we reserve the right to cancel courses. In this case we may offer you an alternative, but if you choose not to accept it, or if there is no viable alternative, we will refund you all fees paid.

8.5. If you have come to us through a representative, their Terms and Conditions may apply to you, but we reserve the right to apply our own Terms and Conditions.

8.6. Although we will always try to respect the stated maximum class size, we reserve the right to exceed it by one additional participant.

8.7. You cannot transfer your fees to another person.

8.8. If a situation arises that has not been covered by these Terms and Conditions, we reserve the right to take any fair and reasonable action that we think appropriate.