Make the ocean your office
- Become an internationally recognised qualified surf instructor, ready to work!
- Duration: 3 weeks (in our experience this would usually take 6 months!)
- Train with one of the best surf coach in the UK.
- Everything you need to become a qualified surf coach, achieved in 3 weeks.
- Luxury Accommodation available for course duration
Turn your passion into a profession and get paid to do what you love! Spend your working days at the beach and be trained by the UK’s premiere instructor in the heart of the UK’s surf capital.
Our focus is getting you ready for industry by upskilling you, not just as a surf coach, but in all the things that are influencing the surf industry, like surf skating, inclusive surfing, surf photography and wave pool surfing.
Suitable for new surfers or those who can surf already. This intensive course is designed to help you attain the skills, experience and qualifications to walk into a job as a surf instructor. For those looking to build surf experience before doing this course, our Foundation Surf Training add-on is available to improve your surfing ability.
About This Course
About this course
This intensive course is designed to equip you with everything you need, and more, to work as a Surf Instructor in the UK or internationally. In three weeks we’ll take you through your SLSGB lifesaving award and all the coursework and focus on developing your surfing standard to complete your ISA Level 1 Surf Coach qualification.
The ISA Level 1 Surf Instructor Award is the industry standard for teaching surfing in the UK and around the world. Coupled with a lifesaving award, the Surf Coach Safety or Beach Lifeguard Award, once you have them both, you’re ready to work!
We aim to get you up to the surfing standard in three weeks, and equip you with the tools and knowledge to become an epic Surf coach! If you haven’t surfed much before, don’t let that put you off! We recommend doing our Foundation Surf Training beforehand which is an awesome introduction to all the skills essential for becoming a surf coach.
If you can surf already, your surf ability will sky rocket under the guidance of our professional surfer and become a better surfer and surf coach. If you already have a suitable lifeguarding qualification, you can join the course for two weeks at a discounted price.
We take you beyond the basics. We’ve recently added a whole raft more to the syllabus to align with the ever changing surf industry, like surf-skating, accessible surfing and surf photography. We even cover the world of artificial waves, with a visit to The Wave, Bristol’s inland surf destination, to find out more about wave pools. All this means you’re ready to take the surf industry by storm!
What's Included
- International Surfing Association (ISA) Level 1 Surf Coach Qualification.
- SLSGB National Vocational Beach Lifeguard Qualification (NVBLQ) or SLSGB Surf Coach Safety Award, covering Basic Life Support, Basic First Aid, and Intermediate First Aid.
- Surf Skills Coaching by a UK professional surfer.
- Surf Theory sessions
- Wave pool session at The Wave, Bristol to experience the artificial wave pool technology.
- Loads of video analysis coaching
- Workshop: Introduction to Adaptive Surfing.
- Workshop: Using Surf Skating as a Surf Coaching tool.
- Workshop: Using surf photography and videography as a coaching tool
- Workshop: Building a Surf Brand with Women + Waves Founder Rachel Murphy or Rob Barber
- Workshop: A visit to The Wave, Bristol, to experience employment at an inland surf lake.
- Links with Surf Schools world-wide if you’re thinking of travelling with your qualifications.
Things to help you pass
- Guidance from industry-leading experts steering you through the program.
- Benefit from a surf syllabus developed in collaboration with Women + Waves.
- All essential shadowing included in the three-week experience.
- Opportunity to shadow Newquay activity Centre Surf lessons and Women + Waves coaching weekends.
- ISA logbook meticulously checked and submitted on your behalf.
- All equipment provided and available for use outside of course hours
- Job interview with Newquay Activity Centre or Women + Waves after the course
- Enjoy the perks of our award-winning Centre.
- Luxury accommodation available for the duration of your stay
Ready to ride this wave of opportunities? Feel free to book online or shoot us a message through our chat if you’ve got any burning questions. We can’t wait to share this adventure with you!
Course Itinerary
Here’s an example course itinerary that shows you what you can expect to be doing over the three weeks.
We’re always working around the tides and weather conditions so things might move around:
DAY 1
We’ll introduce you to our awesome staff, the Centre, spill the beans on the course, and kick things off with a surf lesson from our pro instructors at Newquay Activity Centre. It’s like a sneak peek into the perfect surf class.
DAY 2
Dive into the pool first thing to show us your swimming skills, gearing up for Lifeguard training. Then, beach time with our professional surfer for some surf skills and progression planning. In the evening, join the Surf Photography in Surf Coaching Workshop and find out the secrets behind gaining those shots which will help your guests improve and get them stoked!
DAY 3
More surf skills, lesson presentation tweaks, and a second round of video analysis.
DAY 4
Back for more lesson fine-tuning and surf skill polishing. Dive into another surf theory session and a dose of video analysis.
In the evening we’re holding a Surf Skate Workshop. We’re talking about how surf skating can be used as a coaching tool and how to run your own Surf skate workshops.
DAY 5
Start your day with an Adaptive Surf workshop led by ISA Coach, Jacob. Get a peek into making surf lessons more accessible and what’s covered in the Adaptive ISA qual. Later, hit the beach for some shadowing with the Newquay Activity Centre surf instructor team.
DAY 6
Time to kick back or catch some waves! You’re welcome to shadow ongoing Surf Lessons at Newquay Activity Centre or Women + Waves.
DAY 7
Another chill day. You’ve earned it! Time for a free surf!
DAY 8
Here’s where Surf Coach Safety or Beach Lifeguard training kicks off. Dive into the module intro and theory, and then we’ll hit the beach to run through water safety and rescue techniques.
DAY 9
Intro to First Aid in the classroom and beach-based training, including board and tube rescues.
DAY 10
Classroom sessions on First aid and Resuscitation, followed by Run Swim Runs, rescue scenarios, and beachside casualty aftercare. Fancy some extra First Aid wisdom? Join our Q&A session in the evening.
DAY 11
We’re wrapping up the last bits of First Aid training and Basic Life Support. Then, brace yourself for Rescue scenarios, blending First aid, rescue know-how, Surf Coaching, and group management skills.
DAY 12
It’s the big day! Your individual First Aid assessment and Beach Rescue and water safety assessments are on the agenda.
DAY 13
More surf lesson shadowing with the Newquay Activity Centre surf instructor team.
DAY 14
Guess what? Another day off. We’re all about that balance!
DAY 15
Start your day right with an optional dawn surf coaching session. Then, hit the classroom for day 1 of the ISA surf coaching qualification with the legendary Barrie ‘Baz’ Hall.
DAY 16
Day 2 of the ISA surf coaching qualification with Baz. He’ll be assessing your lesson delivery and sharing more surf coaching wisdom.
DAY 17
More surf skills development with our pro surfer, followed by some video coaching. Got some killer footage of yourself surfing? Now’s the time to show it off!
DAY 18
Last day of Surf coaching with our pro surfer. They’ll be dropping some final pearls of wisdom in the water. This day is all about wrapping up and getting those logbooks finished off, so we can submit them on your behalf.
DAY 19
Road trip alert! We’re heading up to The Wave in Bristol to geek out on WaveGarden technology and the future of inland Surfing. After chatting with The Wave staff, feel free to ride those epic waves, and our staff will be there to snap pics or coach you in the water.
So, ready to ride this wave of awesomeness? Book online or ping us through our chat if you have any burning questions. Can’t wait to share the stoke with you!
Who Is It For?
This course is perfect for beginner and intermediate surfers looking to turn their passion into a profession and teach the art of surfing to those wanting to learn. It’s also open to those new to the sport who want to change their employment (and life) for the better!
Arguably, undergoing such a process will give you a huge advantage when working with inexperienced students; being able to empathise with their thoughts and feelings whilst on the water in a relatively new environment.
You don’t need any previous qualifications to enroll in this programme. Neither do you need to be a proficient surfer; we have excellent instructors who can teach you from the ground up.
As you can imagine you will be learning lots of technical skills from our team. Some are harder than others and we think surfing may be the most difficult to learn from scratch. However, we have proved this to be achievable for many of our students who were first-time surfers during the course. If you don’t pass the surfing skills within course time you have a further 12 months to make the grade.
If you think you may benefit from a few extra sessions before or during the course, please check out our surf lessons and get in touch, we will discuss how this works. Please bear this in mind for any other technical skill that you think could need improvement.
However, this course does require competent swimming skills and a good level of fitness.
The course includes training & assessment modules alongside optional shadowing hours, helping you gain instructing experience in a variety of areas.
You’ll get the chance to find direct employment and further training opportunities depending on your interests and abilities. If you can tick all of the following requirements, then you’re in a great position to start:
- 18+ years old
- Competent swimmer (to attain Surf Coach Safety + Rescue or Lifeguard Award)
- Enthusiastic to learn
- Good level of fitness
PERSONAL SKILLS
In terms of personal skills, You’ll need :
- Patience and the ability to work well with others
- Enthusiasm to learn and train
- Sensitivity and understanding
- Leadership skills
- To be thorough and pay attention to deta
- Knowledge of the English language
- To be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
- The ability to retain important information
- The ability to remain calm when faced with new situations
Why Go Intensive?
We’ve been delivering training courses since 2001 and we’ve identified 10 reasons why our intensive surf coaching course takes away the headache of doing it on your own!
- We recognised a problem! Each trainee who tries to attain their ‘shadow hours’ always struggles because you have to book in with a surf school for each lesson, they’re rarely consecutively and you don’t necessarily get to shadow with great instructors. The whole process can take months, but with us, you receive them within your surfing coaching module from instructors who are trained to help you get the most out of your shadowing sessions.
- Getting your logbook completed and submitted correctly can be a real faff. If you get it wrong (highly likely the first time), it will be sent back to you, and you must track down the instructor that you shadowed to correctly fill in the document. We solve this problem by assisting you to get it right the first time and then submitting it for you.
- Many new surfers struggle to gain the standard required for their ‘surf test’. We teach you the skills required to pass the test and put a huge focus on getting you there. We do this using our professional surf coach. We have proved this to be achievable for many of our students that were first-time surfers during the course.
- If you can surf already, we concentrate on getting footage of you to pass the ‘surf test’. Upon achieving this, we concentrate on taking your surfing to the next level. Not only do your personal surf skills benefit, but you learn from the process of achieving this. Double win.
- It’s called Intensive for a reason. In three weeks we pack a lot in. We concentrate on teaching you real coaching skills both in the classroom and at the beach. Video analysis, goal setting, teaching mixed ability groups, dealing with tricky conditions, these are all skills that we see as essential to becoming an awesome coach.
- The SLSGB lifesaving awards are designed to equip surf instructors with safety skills and first aid knowledge to deliver safe, insurable lessons. We will get you there in a week. If you already have the award, we can discount the course price and reduce the length by a week.
- With 7 beaches in Newquay, we can guarantee conditions to surf on every given day of the course. Spending 3 weeks in the surfing centre of the UK is something that will benefit all new surf instructors and we’re pretty sure that you’ll LOVE our beaches.
- We don’t just want you to be a surf instructor; we want you in the tribe. Workshops on surf skating, surf photography, adaptive surfing—explore the diverse facets of being a surf instructor. It’s not just a job; it’s a community.
- Surfing isn’t just an ocean thing anymore. We’re taking it inland, and you can join us on a trip to The Wave in Bristol, chat with the staff, and witness how this industry is changing the surfing game.
- In a nutshell, we’ve been through this process with pupils repeatedly for the last 20 years. This course has been developed to encapsulate all the features that you need to achieve in an intensive, fun three weeks in Newquay.
We’d love to teach you to be a surf instructor, book online now or drop us a message through our online chat if you have any questions!
Facilities & Kit
Our Headquarters
Our purpose-designed building is ideally located within walking distance to Towan Beach, Fistral Beach, Newquay Bay as well as the bustling town centre itself.
Our state-of-the-art HQ, with toilets, heated changing rooms, hot outdoor showers, lockers for valuables and storage for clothes and bags. Although we prefer to use the beach and ocean as our classroom, we do have a nearby training room for our theory work.
Kit
If you’ve surfed before you’ll know how much kit and equipment there is, and it can be a daunting prospect having to pay for it all. Or perhaps you’re travelling from abroad and can’t squeeze a wetsuit in your luggage? So, for the duration of the course, we have all of the necessary equipment stocked in our centre for our students to use for free. At the beginning of the course, you’ll get supplied with key kit to use for the duration of the course or until you get your own.
Our knowledgeable team is always happy to offer advice on kit and equipment before, during and after the course!
Equipment
We’re keen to support you in upskilling yourself, so we’ll allocate you use of our boards during your spare time throughout the course. If you want to improve your surfing during the evenings or weekends, our equipment is ready to be used.
This is an unusual privilege on a training course like this, but we feel it will offer you an excellent opportunity to up-skill. Please note this will need to be booked in with the centre for your required times.
About Us
As the longest-running activity centre in Newquay and the surrounding area (since ’99); we have the necessary experience to consistently maintain the highest level of safety and fun. We are a two-time Gold winner at the Cornwall Tourism Awards and a Gold Award winner at the South West Tourism Awards. Our coasteering routes have been fully risk assessed by our expert team of leading coasteer instructors, ensuring you have the safest possible experience whilst enjoyably pushing your boundaries.
For years our team has pioneered the training of surfing, bodyboarding and coasteering instructors in Newquay, enhancing core qualifications with professional in-house tuition to build experience in all outdoor conditions. We are a the only SLSGB Affiliated Training Centre in Newquay which allows us to run SLSGB awards and qualifications, including the internationally recognised NVBLQ Beach Lifeguard and Surf Coach Safety courses.
We have a purpose-designed, state-of-the-art centre, conveniently located close to both Towan and Fistral beach. We have hot showers, heated changing rooms, lockers, separate male and female toilets and clothing storage. We also boast a hire centre well-equipped with top quality equipment for all your needs after your coasteering session.
Accommodation
To supplement our Intensive Surf Instructor Course, we have a couple of in-house accommodation options available to add on as an extra. We have two apartments, both within walking distance to the beach and both stylishly fitted out with all modern luxuries.
Please note: the cost of accommodation is not included in the course price. Accommodation is charged at £795 for the three week duration of the course and is due 8 weeks prior to the course start date.
SUNSET VIEWS APARTMENT, PENTIRE, NEWQUAY
Our first apartment overlooks Pentire Headland and benefits from lots of natural light in a spacious living area. This two-bedroom property is perfectly located close to Fistral Beach and Newquay Town Centre; ideal for a post-lesson surf or a bite to eat in the evening. Both the Gannel Estuary and Crantock Beach are within a five-minute walk too, with the coastal path or main road being accessible from the apartment.
Our luxury apartment is located on the third floor with both elevator and staircase access. There is also a spacious, open-plan kitchen diner to enjoy home-made meals after a hard day of training. There is a juliet balcony in the kitchen that enjoys morning sunshine for alfresco breakfasts too. The dining room houses a large dinner table which is a great space for working or eating while enjoying ocean views out across Fistral Beach.
During the course we transform the living room into a lush workspace to deliver some relaxed lessons in a chilled atmosphere.
In the large lounge you will find a sofa-bed, flat-screen TV, plenty of space and a private south-facing balcony. This means you will benefit from sunshine all day alongside excellent opportunities to check the surf and catch some epic sunsets.
Each of the two bedrooms have a set of twin beds, a wardrobe, chest of drawers, bedside table and reading light. One has an en-suite with two hand basins, a bath, shower and toilet. There is also a separate bathroom and WC. Both bedrooms have stunning sea views for that ultimate hint of luxury.
NEWQUAY BAY APARTMENT, THE HARBOUR, NEWQUAY
The second choice of accommodation is our Newquay Bay Apartment, a place where you really couldn’t get any closer to the action if you tried. This apartment is ideally located directly above the Newquay Activity Centre HQ, making it the perfect choice for those who like to snooze that alarm clock every once in a while!
Newquay Bay Apartment is a modern, quiet, two-bedroom property that benefits from brand new fixtures and fittings due to a complete refurbishment in 2021. There is a new and modern kitchen as well as a brand new bathroom. The apartment is just a two-minute walk to Newquay Harbour where you will find one of our favourite wild swimming spots and idyllic ocean views. In the opposite direction, but just as close, you’ll find Newquay Town Centre with an abundance of coffee shops, restaurants and surf shops.
During the course we transform the living room into a lush workspace to deliver some relaxed lessons in a chilled atmosphere.
Inside the property there is a large and spacious living room/diner, comprising a sofa bed and brand new 52” TV. There is also a sizable dining table that lends itself nicely to group meals. Alternatively, it can double up as a large work or study space to go over your course notes in the evening.
The two bedrooms are both twin rooms with zip-link beds; these can be connected together if you’re after a private double room or you’re staying with a partner. Both rooms have wardrobes, chests of drawers, bedside tables and reading lights.
The living room space benefits from four large windows that face out across Towan, Great Western and beyond – all the way to Watergate Bay on a clear day! There is also a large south-facing courtyard to the rear of the property, perfect for catching some rays or hanging wetsuits out to dry.
There is also the advantage that we will hold a number of classroom sessions in the large lounge in the apartment as it is a great spot for group discussions, training etc. We also base some of the coaching weekends which you will have the opportunity to work as a shadow instructor on, at the apartment. We will explain to you, during your induction how we manage this to ensure that it doesn’t impact on your living environment.
You can view more images of our accommodation.
You will be in an apartment with fellow students from the course and we will do our best to place you with people of similar ages, backgrounds and interests. This will vary depending on course participants. You will be sharing a same-sex twin room.
Please note:
There is a £100 Security Deposit, made payable in cash on arrival. This will be held by the landlord until the final inspection, if there is no damage and the property is cleaned to the agreed standard it will be refunded.
There is also the advantage that we’ll hold a number of our classroom sessions in the living area of the Newquay Bay Apartment, as it’s a great spot for group discussions, video analysis and training. This is super handy for those living there; logistics couldn’t be easier, they can leave their laptop and notebooks at home, and it’s the quickest commute on record!
Payment Plans
SPLIT THE COST OF YOUR COURSE INTO EASY PAYMENTS!
When booking one of our courses the are four easy options for payment:
1. PAY IN FULL – Pay the full amount in one, that’s it, you’re done!
2. 50/50 – Pay 50% deposit and the remaining 50% at an agreed date
3. SPLIT INTO 3 – Spread the cost into 3 equal payments. Pay a third of the cost immediately and the remaining two thirds on agreed dates.
4. MONTHLY PAYMENT PLAN – Pay an initial holding fee (of as little as £250 and we can then set up monthly payments to come out on the 1st of each month.
We can’t guarantee your place until we have received a payment from you. To hold the place for more than 24 hours we require a non-returnable holding fee. This can be as little as £250 and will be deducted from your final payment for the course.
Once you have made a payment, you’ll then be sent a confirmation email with booking details on. Full Payment must be received 12 weeks prior to the course start date
Life After The Course
STAYING AROUND NEWQUAY?
After successful completion of the instructor course, you’ll have the opportunity to become a member of our friendly team, or you may go on to work with other providers and expand your experience and training. There’s opportunity to for instructor roles at Newquay Activity Centre and Women + Waves.
STAYING IN THE UK?
If you’re thinking of heading inland that doesn’t mean you need to stop Surf Coaching! We’ve got links with the Wave, Bristol and other new wave pools coming online, so you can spend your time in the city but still get surf time!
THINKING OF GOING FURTHER AFIELD?
For those who want to use this course as an opportunity to travel, your qualifications are internationally recognised and can give you the opportunity to do just that.
Our Academy graduates have gotten jobs all over the world in places such as Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Costa Rica.
