Comfortable student accommodation

Through our charitable organisation we have catered for groups on our site since 1991. On the main Challenge Europe site in France, student accommodation is permanently receiving updates and reconfigurations. In the very earliest days we had dormitory style accommodation in order to keep costs down, but with time students are wanting another choice.They want allocated rooms, preferably with a private shower room. They want a communal games and relaxation area.

In 1991 we started up our first tennis tours. These were either groups of children doing several weeks of tournaments over the school holidays, or students, or part-time students, doing several months of training with tournaments. It was a year-round operation, and the original dormitories worked well. It made our prices attractive, and helped the new arrivals to become integrated into the squads quickly.

Individual rooms

The first change was when one of the dormitories was converted into holiday accommodation registered at the local tourist authority, and no longer used for students. We started adapting the layout of the two buildings into private rooms with private showers. This lasted for several years, but eventually we ran out of space, and we went from tennis only tours, to tennis with studying. Two new buildings were purchased and now all of the configurations are to give maximum comfort and private space both for studying and relaxing, yet still keeping the communal rooms for eating and relaxation.

This means that Challenge Europe accommodation is necessarily fractionally more expensive, and more comfortable. A typical business student , or business student combined with tennis, will be eight months on site, so he will expect to make himself at home in his own private space.

All services are provided on site, with meals, washing and relaxation tied into the daily work, training and tournament schedule. We have a nine-seater minibus. The total capacity of all four buildings is around twenty persons.

In the buildings WIFI is available everywhere, and there are workspaces in various settings. There is one big classroom, used as a games room outside of classtime. Meals are adapted according to the daily programme, but there is usually a choice of three types of food at any meal.

All buildings are run by solar energy, as well as heating with local wood in winter.  We show the young people how to keep energy and water consumption to a minimum, and how the building has been adapted to make a pleasant home for long stay guests.