Travelling and Holidays

Key Info:

SAY learners have 25 weeks of classes and 8 weeks of holidays.
2 weeks are allocated for Christmas as appropriate. Summer holidays are allocated in July or August as appropriate.
All other holidays are allocated at the end of your course.
Holidays may not be front loaded & are not typically permitted in the first 12 weeks of your course.
Other holiday weeks must be requested in advance by emailing attendance@gci.ie
When you take a holiday week, your attendance is not affected negatively and you do not attend classes.

Requests for leave for learners on courses of 25+ weeks must fulfil one or more of the following criteria:

Leave must be for a minimum of 1 full week. Leave must be taken in full week blocks from Monday to Friday (not Wednesday to Wednesday for example).
Exam course start dates – leave can be requested so that a learner may avail of the opportunity to follow their preferred exam course as all exam courses are date specific.
To take leave for holidays, learners must have completed a minimum of 12 weeks of English Language.
Requests at least 2 weeks before your intended leave date with supporting information.
Leave for illness, bereavement or family emergency. Leave on the grounds of religion or any of the other grounds under the Equality Act
Leave that comes under the heading of pastoral care or other extenuating circumstances deemed pertinent by the DOS/ADOS and not covered in any of the above
Leave will be denied if the request for leave does not fall into any of the above and is not deemed pertinent by the DOS / ADO
If you are travelling outside of Ireland, you must provide your flight information attached to your request form.
Requests for Leave will be either approved or denied and the learner will be notified by e-mail.

Please note:

When you are travelling outside of Ireland , you must ALWAYS bring these things to the airport:

You should also bring any boarding passes of previous trips you have taken during your time in Ireland.

​Travelling and Holidays