RESIDENTS have had their say on a language school’s plans to build student accommodation in Headington.

EF is hoping to expand its facilities at Cotuit Hall, in Pullens Lane, to make room for student accommodation and teaching facilities.

But at a meeting last week residents had a glimpse of the plans and said they were satisfied they would not cause many problems.

Laurence Reynolds, of William Street, Marston, said: “We have had problems with language students but this is completely different. This academy will expect the same kind of discipline that you would expect at a boarding school.”

One Pullens Lane resident said: “Language students can be a nuisance and there was concern because the name is the same.

“But I don’t think those concerns are justified.”

EF, which is based in Switzerland, had bought Cotuit Hall, which was built in the 19th century, from Oxford Brookes University in May last year. It will now be turned into an International Academy, taking foreign students aged between 16 and 18 who are on two-year A-Level or International Baccalaureate courses.

This will include expanding the building to have 142 bedrooms.

Project manager Anna Ireland said: “At the moment we are using Cotuit Hall for teaching but we don’t have any students living here.

“EF is the parent company but this is a private high school and there is a very different type of programme. The students are here to study.

“Hopefully we will be in a position to put in a planning application at the beginning of May.”