Originally Posted by Aviatrix
Getting OT, but I hope I'm allowed this little discourse.
Alderney is an island, not a town. It has a population of 2000, and can be circumvented by car in about ten minutes. Its airport has three runways (two grass, one asphalt), the longest is 880m long. Alderney is currently served by a fleet of Islander and Trislander aircraft; I believe the runway may be long enough for Twin Otters and DO228s, but I don't believe it could take anything larger. The fact that you have to use small aircraft means that the overheads per passenger are much higher, so offering low-cost flights is out of the question.
Alderney is a great place for family holidays (got some lovely beaches). It's a great place for walking, sailing and birdwatching. It's got some fantastic restaurants. But it hasn't got the infrastructure to cope with language holidays, and being so remote and inaccessible I don't think it's the sort of place where students would want to be stuck for a typical two-week course.
A tiny fraction might, and considering how many there are, that might suit the island (and the students) nicely. But you can see already that I know NOTHING about Alderney, so you already know the worth of my opinions on this subject
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I took a Spanish friend of mine to Scotland when we were 16/17 - had a rail pass and went to Inverness, Aberdeen, Drumnadrochit, Nairn, Stirling etc.. she learnt MUCH more in the two weeks there than in the month she spent in London. People were kinder and more patient, and took the time to listen. We've both loved Scotland ever since.