Block Bookings for Intensive Courses: What to Include in Your Terms

Why Intensive Courses Need Their Own Terms

A standard lesson agreement covers a repeating weekly arrangement — cancel with notice, pay per session, relatively low stakes on either side. Intensive courses are different in almost every respect.

Pupils pay upfront for a significant block of hours. They're often working to a tight deadline — a test booked in two weeks, a job offer conditional on a licence. The financial and emotional stakes are higher, and the implications of things going wrong are more significant.

That's why a single set of general terms rarely covers intensive courses adequately. A separate or extended agreement for block bookings protects you and gives your pupil clarity before they commit.

Payment and Refund Structure

This is the most important section to get right. Intensive courses typically involve upfront payment for the full block — which means you need to be clear about what happens if hours go unused.

Key questions to answer in your terms:

• Is the full amount due upfront, or in stages? Many instructors take a deposit with the balance due before the course starts
• What is refundable if the pupil cancels? No refund, partial refund, or sliding scale based on how much notice is given?
• What is refundable if you cancel or can't complete the course? Your obligations should be as clear as the pupil's
• Are unused hours transferable to future standard lessons, or do they expire at the end of the course window?

Being clear on these points upfront prevents the majority of post-course disputes.

What the Course Actually Includes

Spell out exactly what a pupil is buying. How many hours? What does an hour mean — 60 minutes behind the wheel, or does it include debrief time? Is a mock test included? Theory support?

This matters because pupil expectations and instructor assumptions often diverge. A pupil who believes their ten-hour intensive includes a mock test and you've only planned driving time will feel short-changed, regardless of who's technically right.

If you offer a structured syllabus for your intensive courses, attach it or summarise it in the agreement. This sets expectations and demonstrates the professionalism of your approach.

Test Availability: Managing Expectations

One of the most common sources of tension in intensive courses is test availability. A pupil books an intensive specifically to pass before a certain date — and then discovers no suitable test slot is available in that window.

Your terms should be clear that you are not responsible for test availability, and that progression to test depends on pupil readiness as well as slot availability. This isn't about being unsympathetic — it's about avoiding a situation where a pupil feels the course "failed" because of factors outside your control.

Pupil Cancellations and No-Shows

Intensive courses are time-intensive for you as well as the pupil. A no-show or late cancellation on a three-hour block has a much bigger impact on your diary than a missed standard lesson.

Your cancellation policy for intensive courses can reasonably be stricter than for standard lessons — longer required notice, different refund terms. Make this explicit. A pupil agreeing to a 72-hour cancellation policy for a block booking is doing so with full knowledge; being surprised by it later is not.

A Template as a Starting Point

The detail required in a good intensive course agreement makes it worth using a proper template rather than adapting a standard lesson agreement. A template ensures you don't miss key clauses, keeps your terms consistent across pupils, and gives you something to update as your own experience reveals gaps.

These are templates rather than legal advice — if you have a complex or high-value dispute situation, professional legal guidance is always worth seeking.

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