The ACE Programme
Competitive Energy Meets Real-World Impact
CEFR LEVEL - B2 - C2
The ACE Programme is an immersive, competition-led experience designed for students who want to challenge themselves as global citizens and make a real-world impact. Built around the core values of Academic excellence, Competitive spirit, and Energy to succeed, ACE brings together students from around the world to tackle themed modules in pursuit of points, prizes, and personal growth.
ACE has a dynamic project-based syllabus that nurtures critical 21st-century skills — communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking — as students progress toward the final, competition showcase. Our aim is to stretch every participant intellectually and emotionally as they explore important global themes and gain hands-on entrepreneurial experience, all while developing their confidence and fluency in English.
Inclusive Learning Across Two Streams
We believe that diverse abilities enrich the learning environment and that with the right balance, peer-led learning and authentic communication can thrive. This can be especially true in a competition, where students of different backgrounds bring different ideas and energy to the tasks.
That’s why on this programme we create teams of mixed nationalities and ages and we split students into two language level streams:
- Red
Designed for juniors at A1–B1 level. With more teacher guidance and scaffolded support, Red students tackle the same meaningful themes as Blue, ensuring everyone participates and grows.
- Blue
Aimed at students at B1+ level. Blue teams receive more autonomy to plan, debate, and execute their projects, pushing them toward self-directed, team-based learning.
Every student completes a pre-arrival language test to ensure they are placed in an appropriate team.
Real-World Modules That Make a Difference
This Is Your Life
Students collaborate with professional filmmakers and local charity partners — including The Bradby Club and Gloucestershire Young Carers — to research and produce short documentaries about real people facing real-world challenges. They’ll learn project management, interview techniques, and filmmaking basics, culminating in a live showcase event where they present their documentaries and take part in interviews in front of an audience. Throughout, students explore social and political issues, deepening their empathy and sense of citizenship, while being assessed by a panel of industry judges.
Community and Commerce
Students take their storytelling one step further by launching entrepreneurial ventures that support the charities they featured in Module 1. Guided by teachers and business mentors, they’ll form teams, develop a product, craft marketing strategies, and sell their creations at a real pop-up market. Revenue goes directly to the featured charities, and teams compete to see who can raise the most — putting their teamwork, commercial thinking, and communication skills to the test. Success here is measured not just by sales, but by the leadership, collaboration, and resilience students show along the way.
Soft Skills, Serious Competition — and Meaningful Impact
Our pre-testing system places each student in the right class for their English level, allowing everyone to progress comfortably and with the right support. From beginners to advanced learners, each level explores the world in its own way:
Commitment to Quality and Support
Every Dusemond course is grounded in our commitment to creating a positive, nurturing environment. ACE Programme is about collaboration towards a challenge— so we support every learner to find their voice and contribute. Throughout the programme, we also invest in ongoing teacher training and regular observations to ensure high standards and consistency, so students receive a rich and engaging learning experience every time they walk into class.
Student Outcomes?
ACE students leave the programme with a sharper entrepreneurial mindset, enhanced fluency and confidence in English, and a greater understanding of their capacity to make a positive impact — on their team, their charities, and the world around them.
