4 weeks · holiday course
£2,970
4 weeks, excluding flights
- Course 4 × £290: £1,160
- Homestay 4 × £350: £1,400
- Transport 4 × £44.70: £179
- Extra food £208 + ETA £20
Course, accommodation, transport, food and immigration in London, using the prices schools publish on Lancourse and figures from official bodies. Three ready-made budgets.
A 12-week English course in London costs around £7,700 including course, accommodation, transport and food, before flights. For 24 weeks, budget about £14,400. Courses of up to 6 months need no student visa: if your nationality is on the ETA list you come as a visitor with a £20 ETA. None of the English-course routes lets you work.
£160–525
General English per week (London, on Lancourse)
£265–400
homestay per week
£44.70
weekly transport cap, zones 1-2
£20
ETA for courses up to 6 months
Section 1 · The open ledger
A London study budget has seven lines. On short courses the course weighs most; from about 3 months, accommodation takes over. London is expensive, but school, timetable and type of accommodation move the total by thousands of pounds.
Course and accommodation prices below are the ones London schools publish on Lancourse (Rose of York and English Studio, read on 24 October 2026). Everything else comes from official bodies and the sources listed at the end of the page.
| Item | Range | Details |
|---|---|---|
| General English (per week) | £160–525 | Rose of York: 15 h in the afternoon from £225 (up to 4 weeks) to £160 (37+ weeks); 35 h from £525 to £440. English Studio: 20 afternoon lessons from £320 to £250. Enrolment and materials fees, where charged, are on the school page. |
| Homestay (single room) | £265–400/week | English Studio: from £265 (zones 4-5, self-catering) to £400 (zone 2, half board). Rose of York, zone 1: £350–360. English Studio adds £30/week in summer and £50/week at Christmas. |
| Student residence | £330–650/week | Rose of York: from £330 (single room, zones 1-2) to £650 (studio, zones 3-4). English Studio: £390 to £575, from en-suite room to studio. |
| Room in a shared house | £800–1,002/month | SpareRoom average listings for Q3 2026, bills included: £800 in Outer London and £1,002 in Inner London. A deposit is usually required. English Studio also offers a room in a shared house at £270/week. |
| Transport | £44.70/week | Weekly cap (Monday to Sunday) in zones 1-2, paying with the same contactless card or Oyster (TfL, 2026). Zones 1-4: £64.20. Bus only: £24.70, or £26.10 from 1 November 2026. |
| Food | ≈ £105/week | LSE estimates £4,095 for food over 39 weeks in London in 2026/27. It is a cautious figure: cooking at home, you can spend less. |
| Immigration | £20 | ETA for courses up to 6 months (for ETA nationalities). Longer: Short-term study visa at £228 + £776 health surcharge (Section 3). |
Section 2 · Scenarios
A "most common" profile, not the cheapest: 20 hours a week of afternoon classes at Rose of York (the weekly price drops with length: £290, £255 and £230), the first 4 weeks in a zone 1 half-board homestay (£350/week), then a shared room at £800/month (≈ £185/week) with a zones 1-4 travel cap. Not included: flights, health insurance, phone, leisure and the rent deposit.
4 weeks · holiday course
£2,970
4 weeks, excluding flights
12 weeks · most common
£7,700
12 weeks, excluding flights
24 weeks · longest without a visa
£14,400
24 weeks, excluding flights
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💡 Food: £52/week during half-board homestay weeks (lunch and extras; our estimate, half the LSE figure) and £105/week when cooking for yourself. 24 weeks fit inside the 6-month visitor limit, but your whole stay (arrival, course and departure) must fit inside those 6 months.
Section 3 · Immigration
Course up to 6 months
£20
ETA, via the UK ETA app
valid for 2 years
Immigration costs depend on course length. Up to 6 months, nationals of ETA countries (most of Europe, the US, Brazil, Mexico and others) come as visitors with a £20 ETA; other nationalities may need a Standard Visitor visa (£135 for up to 6 months). An English-only course of more than 6 and up to 11 months needs the Short-term study visa: £228 plus a £776 health surcharge (IHS), so £1,004. The Student visa (£558 + IHS) is rarely the route for someone learning English.
Healthcare: visitors do not pay the IHS and are charged 150% of the NHS rate for hospital treatment. A GP visit as a temporary patient and A&E are free, but the NHS itself advises personal medical insurance. Put health insurance in the budget.
Funds: visitors and Short-term study applicants have no fixed published amount; you show you can support yourself without working and pay for your return journey. As a yardstick, the Student visa asks for £1,529 a month in London. The routes are explained in the UK visa guide.
Section 4 · By zone
Central
Both of Lancourse's in-person London schools are here: Rose of York on Oxford Street and English Studio near Holborn. Living close cuts the commute, at a price.
Middle ground
A balance between price and commute. English Studio homestays from £290 (zone 3, self-catering) to £400 (zone 2, half board).
Tight budget
Homestay is cheaper but the travel cap goes up. The sum still works: £280 (bed and breakfast, zones 4-5) + £76.40 transport, against £350 + £44.70 in zone 2.
Section 5 · Saving
At the same school, afternoons tend to cost less. At Rose of York, 15 hours a week cost £225 in the afternoon and £270 in the morning (up to 4 weeks); 20 hours, £290 against £340.
The weekly price drops with length: at Rose of York, 20 afternoon hours go from £290 (up to 4 weeks) to £230 (13 to 24 weeks); at English Studio, 20 afternoon lessons go from £320 to £256 (24 to 35 weeks).
Stay 2 to 4 weeks, get to know the neighbourhoods, then look for a shared room: the SpareRoom average in Outer London is £800/month with bills (≈ £185/week), against £265 or more for a homestay.
Always pay with the same contactless card (or the same Oyster): spending stops at the daily cap (£8.90 in zones 1-2) and the Monday-to-Sunday weekly cap (£44.70). Bus only, the weekly cap is £24.70 (£26.10 from 1 November 2026).
The 18+ Student Oyster gives 30% off Travelcards and bus passes (£22 fee), but only if the school is registered on the TfL scheme and the course has 15+ hours a week over at least 14 weeks. Pay as you go is not discounted. Ask the school first.
The LSE figure (£105 a week) is already cautious. Eating out every day is what breaks this line.
With a course of up to 6 months you pay a £20 ETA; beyond that come the £228 visa and the £776 IHS (£984 more). A 24-week course fits the limit.
Section 6 · Comparison
Both are English-speaking and popular with international students, but the logic is opposite: in Ireland a 25+ week ILEP course allows 20 hours of work a week; in the UK, English-language students on a visitor route or Short-term study visa cannot work. Short answer: the UK has to fit entirely into your savings, with no local income.
| Criterion | 🇬🇧 UK (London) | 🇮🇪 Ireland (Dublin) |
|---|---|---|
| Short course without a visa | £20 ETA, up to 6 months | No visa for many nationalities, up to 90 days |
| Long course | Short-term study visa: £228 + £776 IHS | Stamp 2, €300 IRP fee |
| Can you work? | No | 20 h/week (40 h in holidays) |
| Room per month | £800–1,002 (bills included) | €600–900 |
| Transport | £44.70/week cap (zones 1-2) | €50–120/month |
Next step
Course and accommodation prices published by the school itself, with the accreditation each one shows on its profile.
Section 7 · FAQ
These answers use FAQ schema (JSON-LD) so they can appear in Google AI Overviews.
General English at the London schools on Lancourse: £160 to £525 a week, depending on hours, timetable and length. At Rose of York, 15 afternoon hours go from £225 (up to 4 weeks) to £160 (37+ weeks); at English Studio, 20 afternoon lessons go from £320 to £250. Enrolment and materials fees, where charged, are on each school page.
It depends on your nationality. If it is on the ETA list (most of Europe, the US, Brazil, Mexico and others), you come as a visitor with a £20 ETA for a course of up to 6 months at an accredited institution. Otherwise, check on GOV.UK whether you need a Standard Visitor visa. Either way, you cannot work.
No, neither as a visitor nor on the Short-term study visa. GOV.UK rules out paid or unpaid work on these routes, including work placements. Plan the whole budget before you travel.
Per week, a shared room in Outer London (≈ £185 with bills, SpareRoom average) is cheaper than a homestay (£265 to £400 at the schools on Lancourse). But a homestay can include meals and needs no deposit or long contract. For short stays it usually pays off; for long ones, the room does.
Paying with the same contactless card or Oyster, the most you pay is £8.90 a day and £44.70 a week in zones 1-2 (TfL 2026 fares). Zones 1-4: £64.20 a week. Bus only: £24.70 a week, or £26.10 from 1 November 2026.
Only if your course is longer than 6 months (Short-term study visa, £776) or you go on a Student visa. Visitors do not pay the IHS but are charged 150% of the NHS rate for hospital care. So take out health insurance.
The usual ones: health insurance, the rent deposit for a shared room, enrolment or materials fees where the school charges them, and homestay supplements (at English Studio, £30/week in summer, £50/week at Christmas and £55/week for a private bathroom).
Schools charge in pounds sterling. Paying from abroad adds exchange spread and, in some countries, local taxes: compare a traditional bank transfer with international transfer platforms before paying.
Sources (read on 24 October 2026 unless stated):
Caveats: