Your child’s place is reserved for the term: You are paying for a reserved class place, not individual sessions attended. There are therefore no reductions or refunds for holidays, sickness, auditions, professional work or other absences.

Three terms / 36 weeks: We provide three 12-week terms each year – a total of 36 weeks of classes.

Payments are spread over four months: Each term’s total fee is divided into four equal monthly payments. The monthly payment does not necessarily relate to the classes taking place that month.

Leaving the Academy: We require half a term’s notice when leaving. Notice must be given by email by the 14th of the month. If notice is received after the 14th, the following month’s payment remains due.

Initial payment: When you first join, you pay an initial amount equivalent to half a term’s fees. This is used to cover the required half-term notice period if you later leave.

Automatic payments: Monthly payments are collected by Direct Debit through GoCardless.

Failed payments: A failed payment or payment-related account adjustment may incur a £15 administration fee, plus any third-party payment charges actually incurred.

What your child needs: Students should wear the full PopGems uniform and appropriate dance shoes. No outdoor shoes, jewellery, chewing gum or mobile phones are permitted in class. Please provide a sports-style bottle containing clear, non-fizzy liquid.

Respect matters: We expect students and parents/guardians to treat our teachers, staff and other families with courtesy and respect.

Photos and videos: Photography/video preferences are managed separately on your child’s enrolment form, so parents/guardians can make an informed choice about promotional use of their child’s image.

Health and injuries: Please tell us about any illness, injury or other condition that could affect your child’s participation in dance.

Staying connected: We use the Band App to keep parents informed, share progress and provide rehearsal videos.

Please read the full Terms & Conditions before enrolling.

Full Terms & Conditions

1. CLASS ATTENDANCE AND ABSENCES

Class places are reserved for individual students for the duration of their enrolment.

Fees are payable for the place reserved and are therefore not reduced or refunded because of absence, including absence due to holidays, illness, auditions, rehearsals, professional work or other personal commitments.

We are unable to guarantee catch-up classes for missed sessions.

Nothing in these Terms & Conditions affects any statutory rights you may have.

Classes that cannot take place at the studio

If a class cannot be held at the dance studios because of circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to a further lockdown, government restrictions, closure of the premises or other exceptional circumstances, PopGems Academy may provide the class online or by another reasonable alternative arrangement.

2. LEAVING POPGEMS ACADEMY

We hope that our students will stay with us for many years. However, if you decide that your child is no longer going to attend PopGems Academy, you must give the required notice set out below.

Fees are not refundable simply because a student wishes to leave before the end of their current enrolment or term.

Our notice arrangements are explained in full under Initial Payment / Notice Period below.

3. PAYMENT TERMS

To make payments easier and more manageable for families, class fees are collected in equal monthly instalments using our Direct Debit payment system.

Our classes run over three 12-week terms each year, providing a total of 36 weeks of classes per year.

Each term is divided into four equal instalments.

The monthly instalment is the total fee for the relevant term divided equally across four payments. It is not a payment specifically for the classes taking place during that calendar month.

This means that the payment dates do not necessarily correspond directly to the dates on which classes take place.

Payment schedule

Spring Term — Four instalments are collected on or around 1 January, 1 February, 1 March and 1 April.

Summer Term — Four instalments are collected on or around 1 May, 1 June, 1 July and 1 August.

Autumn Term — Four instalments are collected on or around 1 September, 1 October, 1 November and 1 December.

For example, the August payment is the fourth and final instalment for the Summer Term, even though the Summer Term classes may have finished in July. This payment arrangement is used to spread the cost of the term evenly across four months.

If a scheduled payment date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, the payment may be collected on the next available working day.

All fees are subject to VAT where applicable. Any VAT due will be included in the fees charged.

4. INITIAL PAYMENT AND NOTICE PERIOD

Unlike many children’s activities and clubs, PopGems Academy does not charge a joining fee.

When a student first joins PopGems Academy, we require a one-off initial payment equivalent to half a term’s fees (6 weeks).

This initial payment forms part of the student’s enrolment arrangement and is intended to cover the student’s final half-term of attendance when they eventually leave the Academy, provided the required notice has been given.

Our regular monthly payment plan begins from the start of the student’s enrolment. This means families do not have to pay a full 12-week term upfront, as was previously required, while PopGems Academy still has the necessary notice period to manage class places and offer available spaces to other students.

Giving notice to leave

If you decide that your child is no longer going to attend PopGems Academy, you must give half a term’s notice (6 weeks) by email.

Your child will remain entitled to attend their usual class throughout the six-week notice period.

The initial half-term payment will then be applied to this final six-week period of attendance.

Your normal monthly payments will continue to be collected as scheduled during the notice period where applicable, and any remaining payments will then be cancelled once the notice period has been completed.

Notice to leave must be given by email no later than the 14th of the month so that we can make the necessary changes to your payment schedule.

If notice is received after the 14th of the month, the following month’s scheduled payment will remain due.

Example: Notice received on 14 October is received by the deadline. Notice received on 15 October means the following month’s scheduled payment remains due.

Please do not cancel your Direct Debit independently before contacting us, as cancelling a Direct Debit does not itself cancel your contractual payment obligations.

5. GOCARDLESS DIRECT DEBIT

PopGems Academy uses GoCardless through our class-management/payment software to collect recurring payments.

You will be asked to set up a Direct Debit mandate through our system. Once this has been completed, your agreed monthly instalments will be collected automatically.

Any changes to the amount or payment arrangements will be communicated to you in advance where required.

GoCardless provides secure Direct Debit payment processing and customer payment notifications.

Failed payments

If a payment fails, is reversed or requires an account adjustment, a £15 administration fee may be charged.

We may also charge any third-party or payment-platform fees that we actually incur as a direct result of the failed payment or adjustment.

If a payment fails, we will contact you regarding the outstanding amount and may take reasonable steps to recover it.

6. BEHAVIOUR AND CONDUCT

We expect all students and parents/guardians to behave respectfully towards our teachers, staff, other students, parents/guardians and venue staff.

Good behaviour, manners and respect are expected at all times.

Rudeness, abusive behaviour, threatening behaviour or unacceptable conduct from students and/or parents/guardians will not be tolerated.

Where behaviour is seriously or repeatedly unacceptable, PopGems Academy reserves the right to review or terminate a student’s place.

7. CLASSROOM AND STUDIO RULES

No jewellery may be worn during class.

Chewing gum is strictly prohibited.

Full PopGems Academy uniform must be worn to all classes, except trial classes.

Outdoor shoes must not be worn in the studios. Only appropriate dance shoes may be worn.

Students should leave valuables at home. PopGems Academy cannot accept responsibility for personal belongings that are lost, damaged or stolen, except where liability cannot lawfully be excluded.

Mobile phones are strictly not permitted during class.

Students should bring a sports-style bottle of water.

Fizzy drinks are not permitted.

Only clear liquids are permitted inside the studios.

8. STAFF AND CLASS COVER

On occasion, PopGems Academy may need to arrange for another suitably qualified member of our team to teach or cover a class.

We will endeavour to ensure that any replacement teacher is suitably experienced and appropriate for the class.

The use of a replacement teacher does not, by itself, entitle a student to a reduction or refund of fees.

9. PROFESSIONAL WORK AND CREDIT

Students who train with PopGems Academy agree, where reasonably applicable, to credit PopGems Academy in professional work in which they participate, such as show programmes.

10. BAND APP AND COMMUNICATION

PopGems Academy uses the Band App to communicate with parents/guardians, share information about classes and progress, and provide rehearsal videos and other relevant class material.

Parents/guardians are responsible for ensuring that the contact details provided to PopGems Academy are kept up to date and that they check relevant communications.

11. HEALTH, INJURY AND PHYSICAL CORRECTION

Dance is a physical activity and, as with any physical activity, there is an inherent risk of injury.

All PopGems Academy staff are appropriately qualified for the classes they teach and are DBS checked where required.

Dance teaching can sometimes require a teacher to physically demonstrate, guide or correct a student’s position or movement. Where physical correction is appropriate, this will be carried out with care, professionalism and appropriate consideration for the student’s age and circumstances.

Parents/guardians must inform PopGems Academy of any illness, injury, medical condition or other relevant circumstance that may affect their child’s ability to participate safely in class.

Students should not participate in a class if they are unwell or injured in a way that makes participation unsafe.

Parents/guardians should speak to PopGems Academy before class if they are unsure whether their child should participate.

PopGems Academy will take reasonable care for the safety of students during classes. Nothing in these Terms & Conditions excludes or limits any liability that cannot legally be excluded or limited.

12. TRIAL CLASSES

Trial places are available only at selected times of the year and are subject to availability.

Trial places are deliberately limited so that we can continue to provide the best possible experience for students who are already enrolled and committed to their classes.

Trial places are secured through our online booking system on a first come, first served basis.

If your preferred class is full, you are welcome to join the waiting list.

If you would like the trial booking link, have questions about trial availability, or would like advice about which class or classes may be most suitable for your child, please contact us through the contact form on our website.

13. WAITING LISTS

Class places are prioritised for existing students.

Where places become available, they will then be offered to students/parents or guardians on the relevant waiting list.

Joining a waiting list does not guarantee that a place will become available.

14. PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEO

From time to time, PopGems Academy may take photographs or videos of classes, rehearsals, performances or other Academy activities for promotional purposes, including use on our website and social media channels.

Because these images may contain children, we manage photography and video use separately from these general Terms & Conditions.

Parents/guardians will be provided with appropriate information and, where consent is the relevant legal basis, an opportunity to provide or withhold consent for their child’s image to be used for promotional purposes.

You can contact PopGems Academy if you wish to discuss or change your photography/video preferences.

15. CHANGES TO CLASSES AND THE ACADEMY

We may occasionally need to make reasonable changes to class arrangements, teachers, venues, schedules or other operational matters.

Where a significant change affects your child’s class, we will provide reasonable notice where practicable.

16. COMMUNICATION AND CONTACT DETAILS

Parents/guardians are responsible for providing accurate and up-to-date contact information.

Please ensure that emails from PopGems Academy and our payment/class-management systems are not being directed to your junk or spam folder.

Where these Terms & Conditions require notice by email, the notice must be sent to the email address specified by PopGems Academy for this purpose.

17. STATUTORY RIGHTS

Nothing in these Terms & Conditions is intended to remove or restrict any rights you have under applicable UK consumer law.

If any provision of these Terms & Conditions is found to be unlawful, invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be treated as modified or removed to the extent necessary, and the remaining provisions will continue to apply.

18. CONTACT

For questions about classes, trials, waiting lists, payments or your child’s enrolment, please contact PopGems Academy through the contact form on our website: www.popgemsacademy.com