Effective 1st March 2022

Booking lessons with ITS means you agree to the terms and conditions set out in this document. Both signing it and electronically agreeing to it constitute a legally binding agreement. Please be sure you have read and understood it clearly. Please ask for clarification of any points about which you are unsure. “ITS”, “ITS Education Asia”, “ITS Tutorial School” all refer to the same entity owned and operated by International Tuition Services Ltd.

General

Communication

Generally, all communication will take place with the administrative staff and managers. Please note that any communication that may impact on billing must be made in writing i.e. bookings and cancellations. You can use, e-mail, text, apps or paper. Tutors are prohibited from having contact with students outside of ITS so please do not ask for their phone numbers or email addresses. Parents are welcome to discuss their child’s tuition with the tutors at the ITS premises, on the phone or online – please make an appointment or come along at the beginning of a lesson or 5 minutes from the end. Alternatively, written communication to tutors may be provided via the ITS email address [email protected] . Tutors have absolutely no involvement with billing, payments, bookings or cancellations. Please do not try to engage tutors with these tasks. If your child or helper is carrying an instruction or communication/payment from you, please tell them very clearly to approach the reception desk.

All communication received by you from ITS Education Asia will be by phone, app, SMS or email to the numbers and addresses you provide when you book with us. Please try to provide at least two numbers and two addresses. At least one of these must be for the account holder - the adult paying the invoices. It is useful, especially for older students, if we also have contact details for them in case we need to contact them directly regarding last minute scheduling or lateness. For younger students, you may also want to provide us with the mobile phone number of your helper who may be caring for the child when we need to discuss last minute scheduling. Please note that we will also send out emails to you from time to time with more general news about ITS including but not limited to important educational dates, upcoming deadlines, new staff, new courses and other important announcements. There is an unsubscribe function on our emails but please note that if you unsubscribe you may miss important information relevant to you and we recommend you elect to receive these emails. Please note that we will not share any of your details with any third party whatsoever. Your privacy is important and we keep all your details entirely and securely within ITS where it is only accessible to management and administrative staff.

Certain ITS activities and events will be marketed by us through our website and social media channels. This will include photographs and video and will include images of students. Our cut-off age is 12. If we wish to use images of children who are 12 or younger, we will ask your explicit permission. Children aged 13 and over are considered old enough to consent (this is the usual start-age for social media accounts) and will be asked directly.

Signing these terms and conditions means you agree to receive messages from us and you agree that your children aged 13 and over can consent to their images appearing in our marketing.

Booking
All bookings must be made by the authorized person/company who has an account with ITS. In the case of children taking lessons, it is the parent or guardian, or the company to which billing is made, who is the client. Children cannot book tuition. Older children (15-18 years old) are welcome to request lessons as they are clearly capable of doing so, but this must be followed by a written request from the authorized person before the booking can be confirmed and the lessons take place. Please remember that a confirmed booking is a legal contract and the client is liable for all billing that comes from it. Please read all the terms and conditions carefully, especially the cancellation requirements, before confirming services.

Holidays
ITS does not follow a traditional academic calendar. We follow a normal business calendar which allows us to provide education for more of the year. We are generally closed on official public holidays but some tutors may elect to work and students will be given the option to attend if they wish. There is no obligation to attend a lesson whose schedule falls on a gazetted public holiday. Students should assume there is no lesson on a public holiday unless otherwise informed.

Mainstream school holidays have no effect on ITS lessons. Just because a mainstream school is closed for Christmas for example, does not mean ITS is closed. Students who do not wish to attend ITS during a mainstream school holiday must cancel in writing in the usual manner.

Administration fees:
There is a one-off administration fee for all students of HK$100 to process the student application and issue a student card if appropriate. The card may be required by building security from time to time, especially in evening or week-end sessions. There may be additional administration fees for handling third party procedures such as public examination enrolment and withdrawal. Please ensure you ask about all admin fees relevant to you before signing these terms and conditions.

Fees:
ITS reserves the right to adjust fees from time to time as it sees fit. Fee changes will be notified on the website www.itseducation.asia and on the client invoices for the month preceding the fee change.

Bad weather:
Note the following only applies to lessons at an ITS school premises. It does not impact online lessons. In general, online lessons are not impacted by any weather warnings.

Tropical Cyclones
ITS follows government regulations concerning weather conditions and the rules that schools must follow. The following table is taken directly from the EDB.

The following general arrangements will apply and appropriate public announcements will be made:

For ITS the lowering of Tropical Cyclone warning signals will have the following effect:

Lowered before 1pm – all face-to-face lessons scheduled from 3pm onwards can take place. ITS reserves the right to move lessons online. Lowered between 1pm and 3pm – all face-to-face lessons scheduled from 5pm onwards can take place. ITS reserves the right to move lessons online. Lowered after 3pm – all lessons will be online

Any student can request their face-to-face lesson be switched online if they wish.

Heavy Rain
If rainstorm warnings go up during lessons then the lessons will be completed. Parents should appropriate arrangements for children to get home, including sending an adult to collect younger children.

Amber warning signal
ITS remains open and all students should attend as scheduled. If transport or other difficulties lessons will switch online. Any student can request their face-to-face lesson be switched online if they wish.

Red warning signal
ITS will close for primary students. Primary students need not attend. In the first instance we will to rearrange the lesson to online or to another day. Otherwise it will be cancelled without Primary students already travelling may come to school if it is a safer option than going home. Other face-to-face students should attend .

Any student can request their face-to-face lesson be switched online if they wish.

The lowering of signals will have the following effect:

Lowered before 1pm – all primary lessons scheduled from 3pm onwards can take place Lowered between 1pm and 3pm – all primary lessons scheduled from 5pm onwards can take place. ITS reserves the right to move lessons online if appropriate.
Lowered after 3pm – ITS remains closed to primary students. No face-to-face primary lessons place that day.

Black warning signal
ITS will switch all lessons online. Students already travelling may come to school if it is a safer than going home and we will assist in making arrangements for them to return home safely. The lowering of signals will have the following effect:

Lowered before 1pm – all face-to-face lessons scheduled from 3pm onwards can take place. ITS reserves the right to move lessons online.
Lowered between 1pm and 3pm – all face-to-face lessons scheduled from 5pm onwards can take place. ITS reserves the right to move lessons online.
Lowered after 3pm – all lessons will be online

Course Types and Conditions

1. Tuition

Ongoing clients – definition
An ongoing client is someone who makes a commitment to attend on a regular basis, usually weekly, for an indefinite period of time. For example, a student at school in Hong Kong may want help for one hour a week on their Mathematics because they are struggling, but they don’t know how long it will be before their problem is solved. In this case, the parent should request a particular day and time that would be convenient for their child to attend. ITS will try to allocate it, if it is available, or may offer an alternative. Once a day and time slot has been agreed with a client it is considered to be a permanent weekly booking until the client permanently cancels it in writing (please refer to cancellation policy below).

Ongoing clients are billed at the end of the month for the services used that month. Bills are due immediately. ITS does not provide credit terms beyond the calendar month in which the lessons happen. ITS reserves the right to charge interest on fees that are left overdue. In the extreme event that fees are left unpaid for 90 days, the case will be passed to a credit management agency for recovery and a service charge of 40% of the unpaid invoices will be levied.

Block-booking clients – definition
A block-booking client is someone who has a definite idea of a time period they wish to attend ITS and how many lessons they want. Usually, they will be a student on school holidays or on study leave prior to examinations. In this case, the parent should request a particular number of lessons per subject required and indicate the first and last available dates the student can attend. ITS will construct a proposed timetable for parental approval, up to one month in advance of the start date. Once approved, a bill will be issued for the services provided. This must be paid in advance to finally confirm the lessons. Block-booked lessons that are not pre-paid by 7 days before the first lesson is due may be offered to other students.

Full-time clients – definition

A full-time client is someone who attends ITS as their only school, having all lessons and preparation for either the IGCSE or IAL examinations. There is a separate set of documents for enrolment and to agree times, fees and so on. Full-time clients pay a deposit and pay their monthly fee in advance.

Cancellations for Ongoing/Block-booking/Full-time clients
All cancellations must be made by the authorized person/company who has an account with ITS. In the case of children taking lessons, it is the parent or guardian, or the company to which billing is made, who is the client. Children cannot cancel tuition. Older children (15-18 years old) are welcome to inform us of upcoming cancellations, as they are clearly capable of doing so, but this must be followed by a written request from the authorized person before the cancellation can be confirmed and the fees waived.

Ongoing clients cancellations:

Ongoing clients should inform of required cancellations as soon as they know of them. For sudden cancellations you must inform us two working days before the scheduled lesson if it is to be cancelled. This must be done in writing. The administrative office operates from 10 am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday. Thus a lesson scheduled for a Thursday afternoon must be cancelled before 6pm on the previous Tuesday, at the absolute latest. Note that Monday lessons must be cancelled on Friday. Properly cancelled lessons will have their fees waived at the management’s discretion. Fees will not be waived where it is clear that reasonable notice could have been given and was not. For example, an examination date will be known months in advance so cancelling two days before is not acceptable.

Permanent cancellations must also be made in writing at least two days before any scheduled lessons are to take place. A permanent cancellation received the day before a scheduled lesson will only apply from the following week. Please do not assume that ITS knows when you wish to finish tuition. The taking of examinations does not automatically mean that tuition will finish. Many students continue tuition after examinations have taken place. You must cancel lessons in writing under all circumstances. Without written notice, the lesson remains scheduled and non-attendance will incur charges. The only way to have lesson fees waived is to cancel in writing at least two days beforehand.

Extended leave:
Students who wish to take a break of three consecutive weeks or more should note that ITS reserves the right to re-allocate these slots should another student book them. Alternatives will be offered as close to the original booking as possible.

Sickness:
If you are able to provide a medical certificate then fees may be waived for lessons missed as a result of sickness at the management’s discretion. Please let us know as soon as you know you cannot attend due to illness. The medical certificate can be provided afterwards but must be received before the last day of the calendar month in which the sickness occurred. If no certificate is provided within the relevant billing month, the missed lessons will be charged and must be paid for. Certificates must be from a medical practitioner. Certificates will not be accepted for non-medical reasons such as psychological counseling. Certificates will not be accepted from family members.
If you have a long term condition that requires ongoing medical visits and treatment and which may therefore disrupt your treatment you must inform us in advance or as soon as you receive a diagnoses. We may need to liaise more closely with your medical practitioner to determine when sick leave can be granted without charge. You may still be subject to the 80% attendance rule stated below.

Attendance:
All ongoing students are expected to maintain a minimum of an 80% attendance record for their booking. Average attendance will be calculated over 3 months on a rolling basis e.g. Jan-Mar followed by Feb-Apr etc. Students failing to maintain an 80% record will be billed for the balance between what they have attended and what they should have attended. However, lessons cancelled more than a month in advance will not be included in the calculation. Please note that ITS never double books slots so a persistent failure to attend booked classes is incredibly unfair to other students who are waiting for times. The attendance calculation is inclusive of all absences regardless of reason, including sickness.

Block-booking clients cancellations

Tutorials:
Block-booking clients will be given a payment deadline on an individual basis but it will generally be two weeks before the lessons start. Cancellations received after the payment deadline but at least one week before the start date will incur a cancellation fee of 10% of the value of the cancelled slots. Cancellations received within one week of the start date will incur a cancellation fee of 25% of the value of the cancelled slots. Cancellations received within two days of a booked slot will forfeit the entire fee.

Sickness:
If you are able to provide a medical certificate, then you will be issued a credit for future use or, at our discretion, refunded for prepaid lessons missed due to sickness. Please let us know as soon as you know you cannot attend due to illness. The medical certificate must be provided within seven days of the missed lesson(s).

Full-time cancellations:
These are laid out in the additional enrolment documents.

2. SAT/ACT courses
Students attending SAT/ACT courses, whether extensive or intensive, must settle their invoice in full before the class starts to confirm their place. Payment deadlines will be issued on a course-by-course basis but will generally be two weeks before the course starts. Cancellations received after the payment deadline but at least one week before the course start date will incur a cancellation fee of 10% of the course fee. Cancellations received within one week of the start date will incur a cancellation fee of 25% of the course fee. Cancellations received on or after the start date will forfeit the entire fee.

3. Fashion courses
Students attending fashion courses, whether extensive or intensive, must settle their invoice in full before the class starts to confirm their place. Payment deadlines will be issued on a course-by-course basis but will generally be two weeks before the course starts. Cancellations received after the payment deadline but at least one week before the course start date will incur a cancellation fee of 10% of the course fee. Cancellations received within one week of the start date will incur a cancellation fee of 25% of the course fee. Cancellations received on or after the start date will forfeit the entire fee.

4. UCAS Applications
Students using ITS for a UCAS application should note that we have no control over the offers made by universities, and we make no guarantees that an application through us will be successful. Grade predictions and references provided by us will always be an honest reflection of student ability based on all the knowledge we have of that student drawn from teaching them, seeing past results and references, mock exam results and any other relevant information we may have access to. We will not under any circumstances make a grade prediction higher than that which we think is realistic and we will not write references that do not accurately reflect our opinion of the academic ability of a student.

5. Other programmes and services
ITS runs/offers a variety of other programmes and services both internally and in conjunction with 3rd party providers/assistance. In this case, there may be additional terms and conditions which will be made clear to you. Where the terms and conditions of such a course contradict those in this document, it will be made explicit which takes precedence.

6.Free trials
From time to time, ITS may offer free trial lessons for any of its services. Free trials are booked into tutor timetables and once confirmed must be used. Failure to use a confirmed free trial will mean the forfeiture of this benefit. Free trials cannot be rearranged or rebooked for any reason. Free trials are non-transferable.
ITS reserves the right to cancel lessons at any time. We will of course do our utmost to give as much warning as we can, and no charges will be made in such circumstances.

Exam fees:
Students enrolling in Edexcel examinations will receive an invoice in HKD which must be settled in HKD to ITS. Payment will be accepted by bank transfer or cash or cheque. If paying by bank transfer, make sure you cover any bank charges. Invoices must be settled immediately as payment needs to be sent on to Edexcel. Failure to pay promptly will mean students not being enrolled in their public examinations. ITS accepts no liability whatsoever for exclusions or additional fees made by Edexcel for late payments. Refunds are at the discretion of Edexcel. You should read Edexcel’s terms for refunds carefully. This is especially important for if bad weather prevents a student attending an examination. Any refund made by Edexcel to ITS on behalf of a student will be refunded to the student. Any withdrawal refund will be minus HKD100 administration fee per IAL unit or IGCSE subject.

Lesson locations
Students will agree a usual location for their lessons – at the ITS school or online class. ITS reserves the right to switch the location of a lesson by giving reasonable notice through the usual channels with the primary aim being to avoid disruptions caused by circumstances beyond its control including, but not limited to, bad weather, mild teacher sickness, transport disruption and government interventions on school attendance.
NOTE: Booking lessons with ITS means you agree with the terms and conditions set out in this document. Signing it constitutes a legally binding agreement. Please be sure you have read and understood it clearly. Please ask for clarification of any points about which you are unsure. This document is issued on 1st March 2022 and supersedes any previous terms and conditions documents issued by ITS.