English Language tuition, The Bournemouth and Poole College

The Local Area

Study by the sea in Bournemouth & Poole

Less than two hours by from central London, the neighbouring towns of Bournemouth and Poole are located on the south coast of England, offering a blend of traditional seaside resort, beautiful green spaces and a busy cosmopolitan lifestyle.

Bournemouth

Bournemouth (population 196,000) is famous for its 11 kilometres of award-winning safe, sandy beaches. It has an exciting and vibrant nightlife, beautiful parks and gardens and a cosmopolitan atmosphere. It has been one of the UK’s leading holiday resorts since the Victorian era.

There are many restaurants and specialist shops offering a wide variety of food options. Both Bournemouth and Poole are great shopping centres with many popular retail stores such as Zara & Primark. The town is a regional centre of business and leisure, and home to several large financial organisations; banking giant JPMorgan Chase is an important local employer.

The town also hosts a number of festivals, including Bournemouth Arts by the Sea Festival, the Bournemouth 7s Sports Festival and, since 2008, the 4-day Bournemouth Air Festival which attracts some 800,000 visitors each year.

Bournemouth has a thriving youth culture, with a large college and university population, great nightlife and major concert venues including the BIC and Pavilion Theatre, and the O2 Academy

One of Bournemouth’s most noted cultural institutions is the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, which performs more than 100 concerts each year across southern England.

Bournemouth is also home to Premier League football team AFC Bournemouth.

Poole

Poole (population 140,000) boasts Europe’s largest natural harbour and is famous for watersports including kitesurfing, paddle boarding, windsurfing, sailing and jet-skiing. It is home to the globally renowned luxury boat builders, Sunseeker.

A bustling Quay, some of the best beaches in England and the stunning harbour make Poole a natural choice for visitors to the region.

The Poole Harbour area has been inhabited for at least 2,500 years and has a rich history as a port and fishing community.

Must do experiences – take a short boat trip across the harbour to explore Brownsea Island, or try one of the wide range of watersports on offer at Sandbanks.

Along the coast from Poole is the World Heritage Jurassic Coast and the Weymouth and Portland National Sailing Academy, the UK’s premier sailing venue.

If you want to visit some of the great European cities during your stay, you can fly from Bournemouth or Southampton airport to Scotland, Ireland, France, Italy and many more European destinations:

From Poole you can take the ferry to France or the Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey):