The Language Campus is

• a group of school-owned buildings at holiday park ‘Landgoed Het Timmerholt’ in Drenthe
• used for the BLC Dutch Summer School and BLC Dutch Winter School
• consisting of 2 group buildings and 10 holiday houses
• renovated in 2021-2022
• with a total capacity of 25 single rooms, 27 double rooms, 4 classrooms
• which allows us to run maximum 8 groups at the same time (1 classroom is used for 2 groups: morning and afternoon)
• and provide accommodation to all the students and staff members.

Outside the course periods of the Dutch Summer School and Dutch Winter School, the houses are available for regular holiday rental, individually or as a group.

• leave the hassle of your daily life behind to focus on your studies
• join a group of like minded people who all have a priority to learn Dutch
• study in a quiet nature environment
• a group experience
• live together with other students in holiday houses
• classrooms + residence in one place (no travel time)
• affordable programme: group courses + shared accommodation
• self catering (to keep it affordable)
• for adults

A classroom:

• capacity: maximum 14 students and 1 teacher
• smart tv with chrome cast
• whiteboard
• coffee corner

We have 4 classrooms:

• two classrooms in the group buildings 154 and 162
• two classrooms in house 150

A classroom is used twice a day.

Each group has half of the lessons class in the morning and the other half of the lessons class in the afternoon.

The group buildings – type A (houses 154/155 and 162/163)

The group buildings contain:
– 4 shared rooms
– 2 single rooms (with shared bathroom)
– 1 classroom / dining area (with kitchen)
– 1 lounge area (with kitchen)
The classrooms are in use during the lessons. Students who live in the group building, can use the lounge area/kitchen during the time the classroom/dining area is in use.

Holiday house – type B (houses 158)

This house type contains:
– 2 shared rooms
– 1 single room
– kitchen / living room

Holiday house – type C (houses 138 and 156)

This house type contains:
– 4 single rooms (with shared bathroom)
– 2 double rooms (for a couple)
– 2 bathrooms / toilet
– kitchen / living room

Holiday house – type D (house 152)

This house type contains:
– 2 double rooms with a private bathroom
– 1 single room with a private bathroom
– kitchen / living room

Holiday house – type E (house 83, 84, 85)

This house contains:
– 3 double rooms with a private bathroom
– 2 single rooms (with a shared bathroom)
– kitchen / living room

Holiday house 82 and 187 are currently in use for staff members.

Please note: our houses do not have airconditioning. The temperature usually gets only a few days per year above 30 degrees Celcius. The holiday park is a quiet nature environment, where noise of airconditioning is not desired.

Shared room, shared bathroom

If you book a shared room, you will share the room with someone of the same gender. Most of the people who book a shared room will stay in the group buildings with the classrooms (we only use the shared room capacity in other houses once the capacity of the group buildings is full).

A shared room has 2 box spring beds, that are separated from each other. There is a closet for clothes, a night stand and reading light.

Small single room, shared bathroom

The single rooms with a shared bathroom are small rooms (most of our single rooms are the result of splitting a double room into two smaller single rooms). A single room has 1 box spring bed, a closet for clothes, a night stand and reading light.

Single room, private bathroom

The single rooms with a private bathroom (shower, toilet, sink) are bigger than the single rooms with shared bathroom. This room type has 1 box spring bed, a closet for clothes, a night stand and reading light. Single rooms with private bathroom are equipped with a desk.

In most rooms, the bathroom is en-suite (with entrance from the room). Some rooms have a dedicated bathroom on the corridor within 3 steps from the bedroom door.

Please note: we have a limited amount of rooms with private bathrooms. These rooms are usually be fully booked quite some time in advance. 

Double room, private bathroom

The double rooms with a private bathroom (shower, toilet, sink) have 2 box spring beds, a closet for clothes, 2 night stands and reading lights. We have 1 double room where the beds can be separated (if you’re not travelling as a couple, we recommend to inquire before booking if you want this room). All the other double rooms, the beds are double beds (for a couple).

In most rooms, the bathroom is en-suite (with entrance from the room). Some rooms have a dedicated bathroom on the corridor within 3 steps from the bedroom door.

Please note: we have a limited amount of rooms with private bathrooms. These rooms are usually be fully booked quite some time in advance. 

Room planning

We make the room planning on the day of arrival. Due to late minute cancellations and applications we cannot do that earlier.

When we make the room planning there is only one thing that we can really guarantee: that you are scheduled in the room type that you booked. And, if you booked a ‘shared room’, you can count on being in a room with someone of the same gender (unless you come as a couple).

Our Language Campus consists of a group of houses. Every house is different. And every house has its own combination of room types. We don’t put people randomly in the rooms. We use the information in the intake form. We try to match people with each other as well as possible, with the limited information that we have.

This is a difficult puzzle with a lot of parameters (if you’re interested, take a look at the list below). And we know one thing for sure: we can’t satisfy all the parameters.

But, we try to take into account as much as possible. A nice vibe in the total course is often the result of a good match of people in the houses.

We see that almost always participants in a shared house are able to get along well. They cook and dine together, practise Dutch and do homework with each other and have a good time. With a bit of respect and solving issues like adults, that works out well to create a nice environment.

Of course, people are different; and the concept might not work for everybody. If you doubt if this is for you, or if there are things that are critical to you, please contact us prior to booking. In some situations (like for example a ground floor because of health reasons) we can guarantee something upfront.

* List of parameters

Things we try to take into account when making the planning:

• speaking only in Dutch in the shared houses: we try to take into account what people have indicated in the form (for some people this is critical, others don’t want to feel forced)
• we try to take into account why people chose the language campus: one person likes the social environment, for another student it’s a retreat to be fully focussed on studying
• level (we try to put people together who have approximately the same level) so it’s easier to communicate on a same level if there is a desire to speak in Dutch
• gender; in the houses with shared bathrooms we try to have one bathroom for each gender
• some houses have a classroom and then we try to schedule most people who have class in that classroom in this house
• timetable (in some houses with rooms with shared bathrooms we try to have a mix of timetables, so the house is not so crowded when people do self study and to avoid a line in the morning for the bathroom)
• groups (we try to put people in the houses with at least one other student from the same group, not to have a house with 6 people from 6 different groups)
• mother tongue: we try to mix nationalities to avoid that people switch to their mother tongue when one language becomes dominant in the house (others may feel excluded)
• we try to take into account age groups; especially the youngest and the eldest participants might feel more comfortable in a house with some other people of approximately the same age
• we try to take into account individual requests: like a ground floor preference for health reasons, being in the same house as someone you know
• we try to remember the personal characteristics if someone visited us before (someone very social, a natural leader, someone who preferred to study most of the time in the room?)

Facilities at the park:

• reception
• bike rental
• mini golf
• tennis court
• free parking
• mini beach
• water activities (canoe, pedal boat), swimming
• fishing (lake is well-known for carp fishing)
• restaurant / beach bar (to be opened in 2025)
• park shop (to be opened in 2025)

Distance to Westerbork (nearby town): 2.5 km:

• 2 supermarkets (Lidl + Jumbo)
• 1 biological super market
• many restaurants
• outdoor swimming pool (free tickets for visitors of the Language Campus)

The initial plan: a budget option
We started to promote the Dutch Summer School in Amsterdam in 2014. A lot of people reacted that the cost of the accommodation was simply too high for them.

That’s when we decided to look for a second location (additional to Amsterdam). After scouting many locations all over the Netherlands, we found the ‘banana shape’ group accommodations of ‘Landgoed Het Timmerholt’ in Drenthe. To put it simple: the cheapest accommodation that we could find in the Netherlands. A little bit outdated, but significantly more affordable than Amsterdam.

The other assets
Already in the first week of the Summer School in 2015, we found out that price wasn’t the only benefit of this location:
– the quiet nature environment was a perfect place to study, opposed to a city with many distractions
– the fact that all students booked accommodation and stayed together, resulted in a great social atmosphere
– 100% of the students was fully focussed (compared to Amsterdam where half of the people didn’t book accommodation and continued their lives next to the intensive course)
– it’s much easier to practise speaking Dutch in the country side, opposed to an international city where everybody is used to communicating in English

Drenthe becomes main location
In the beginning, half of the students chose ‘Amsterdam’ and the other half chose the ‘best price’ in Drenthe. But gradually we started to build our name, and more and more the other advantages of our courses in Drenthe became known. Most people who visited our programme in both Amsterdam as Drenthe, preferred Drenthe. The return rates in Drenthe were significantly higher. As a result Drenthe became our ‘main’ location and Amsterdam a second option.

2020: the end of the banana buildings
We were very sad, when we were informed that the good old banana buildings were bought by a developer; who planned to demolish them in order to construct luxury houses. So, again, we had to search all over the Netherlands: not only for the best price! Now, we wanted a place that could offer all the other things as well: nature, self catering houses grouped together, at the country side. But we had one extra demand: we wanted to avoid a similar situation, that we rent something for a few years and are then we’re kicked out. So, then we looked for something to buy.

The solution
We visited locations in Flevoland, Brabant, Overijssel, Gelderland and other places in Drenthe. But the solution was much closer than we thought: just 100 meters away! At the same holiday park: a whole street was for sale! After a week of playing monopoly, the deal was done.

The upgrade
The purchased buildings were not as outdated as the previous ‘bananas’. Nevertheless… now that we owned the buildings, we had the chance to invest in quality, just like we do with our programme. And so we invested in a total renovation: new kitchens, new interieurs, new bathrooms, new gardens, insulation, even some new roofs!

And the result? In 2023, we still offer the same rates for the accommodation as in 2018. But in 2018, for this money you didn’t have a dish washer, a washing machine, an oven, locks on the door, a renovated interior, our single rooms even didn’t have a window! We can still offer the same rates, simply because we own the buildings.

And that makes that our ‘Language Campus’ still meets the initial criteria: a great environment for the best price!

The address of the Language Campus: Vakantiepark ‘Landgoed Het Timmerholt’, Gagelmaat 4, 9431 KT, Westerbork

You can get there:

• by car (free parking)
• by hub taxi from railway station Beilen. The Hub Taxi is a subsidised taxi service, funded by the Drenthe province. You can reach the holiday park using the Hub Taxi from the railway station (approximately 3-3,50 euros). Order it at least 1 hour before your ride, by phone +31-883394850.
• by public transport from railway station Beilen: QBuzz 22 from railway station to bus stop ‘Westeinde’ in Westerbork + walk 36 minutes
• by regular taxi from railway station Beilen: call this company (please note: book it in advance!)
• by bike from railway station Beilen: take your bike in the train (costs 7,50 euros), it’s 30 minutes by bike from railway station Beilen

• new Auping mattresses in all the bedrooms since 3 January
• all bedroom windows have mosquito nets now
• there are a few bicycles available that you can use for free to do groceries
• we have added extra fridges to the larger houses

It’s not a hotel
Would you like full board (meals included)? A spacious room with a table to study? Privacy and time for yourself? Someone who cleans your room every day?
Then probably our Language Campus is not the right concept for you.

Our concept is aimed to be affordable + sociable:
– You prepare your own meals (or even better: you agree on cooking/eating together with your house mates).
– The bedrooms are small (with just a bed and a closet). You share a kitchen / living room with other students, the shared space is where you spend most of your time.
– You and your housemates are responsible to keep the house clean. An end clearning is included.

It’s not a ‘normal’ language school
Study at the Language Campus, stay at home, and commute every day?
People who book accomodation: 96% finishes the programme. People who don’t: 70% finishes the programme.

We’ve had plenty of students who booked a course without accommodation and regretted that choice. They miss out on the interaction between students after class: doing homework together, enjoying the time at the park, practising Dutch with each other. And the programme is super intensive. It’s too tiring if you combine it with being 2 hours/day in a car and all those things you need to do at home.