Language schools in the Philippines write their rules differently, and the rules themselves differ. This article does not define “sparta” or “semi-sparta”. It sets out, in the schools’ own words, what six schools’ official pages say about going out, curfews, tests, penalties, drinking and smoking. Checked on 31 October 2026.
In short
Two schools can both use the label “semi-sparta” and still set different curfews and conditions for going out. Instead of the label, compare going out, curfews, tests and self-study, penalties, and drinking and smoking on the official page of each school you are considering.
Seven rule items to compare
Labels vary from school to school, so this article does not sort schools into groups. It sets out what official pages say on the seven items below.
For the whole process, see our guide to studying English in the Philippines.
- Going out (weekdays and weekends)
- Curfew time, and what happens if you miss it
- Daily tests and pass marks
- Self-study time on weekdays
- Penalties and grounds for expulsion
- Mobile phone use
- Rules on drinking and smoking
Going out: weekdays and weekends
Here is how official pages describe the conditions for going out. Quotations are in the schools’ own words; Target and CEGA publish in Japanese, so those are our translations.
Pages on this site: Genius, Target, CG Academy, 3D Academy, English Fella and CEGA
Genius (Regular)
Wording on the official page: “Regular Programs (NON-SPARTA): No Curfew”
Genius (Semi-SPARTA)
Wording on the official page: “If below 70%, students are not allowed to go out on weekdays.”
Genius (SPARTA)
Wording on the official page: “Monday to Friday: No going out” and “Weekend outings are allowed only if weekly performance is 80% or higher.”
Target
Wording on the official page: “Students who cannot clear the following tasks cannot go out that day.” (a short test and attendance at required classes and mandatory self-study, Monday to Thursday)
CG Academy
Wording on the official page: “Students are not allowed to go on a trip or go out anytime from CG during weekdays or school days.”
3D Academy
Wording on the official page: “On weekdays, sleeping out is not allowed without certain reason, with the written notice.”
English Fella
Wording on the official page: On staying out overnight: “Students who stay outside for a night without permission will get 2 warnings, and counselling with the staff.”
Curfew times
Curfew times, and how the days of the week are grouped, differ by school. CEGA’s official campus page lists “curfew: none” for both of its dormitories. We could not find a curfew time on English Fella’s regulation page.
Genius (Semi-SPARTA)
Wording on the official page: “Sunday to Thursday: 11:00 PM” and “Friday, Saturday, and the day before holidays: no curfew”
Genius (SPARTA)
Wording on the official page: “Saturday: no curfew” and “Sunday: 11:00 PM”
Target
Wording on the official page: 23:00 on days with lessons the next day and no curfew on days before a school holiday (our translation). For minors, 22:00 on any day of the week.
CG Academy
Wording on the official page: “Fri, Sat, and the eve of public holidays (when there are no classes the next day): 12:00 AM (midnight)” and “Sundays or the last day of public holidays (when there are classes the next day): 10:00 PM”
3D Academy
Wording on the official page: “Monday to Thursday : from 5am to 11pm”, “Friday and Saturday : No Curfew”, “Sunday : from 5am to 11pm” and “Minors under the age of 18 and Semi-Sparta course students: Everyday 11pm”
English Fella
Wording on the official page: “Students will get 1 warning for a curfew time violation within 3 hours of the curfew time and 2 warnings if they exceed 3 hours of the curfew time.”
CEGA
Wording on the official page: “Curfew: none” (first and second dormitories; our translation)
Daily tests and weekday self-study
Tests and self-study are described differently at each school. We found no rule about retaking tests on the pages we opened.
Genius
Wording on the official page: “participation in the morning vocabulary test and movie class activities will also be counted and added to the total hours shown on the certificate” (on how certificate hours are counted)
Target
Wording on the official page: A short test with a pass mark and required classes and self-study from Monday to Thursday. “In some courses, self-study is mandatory and must be done in the classroom at the designated time.” (our translation)
CG Academy
Wording on the official page: “Daily Vocabulary Test is from Monday~ Thursday.” and “2 times scores below 50% within the week - Can't go out that Friday”
English Fella
Wording on the official page: “Students are encouraged to attend their daily self-study time and take a daily vocabulary test.” (Power Intensive Course)
Penalties and grounds for expulsion
Schools count violations differently: by fines, points or number of warnings.
CG Academy
How penalties are counted: “50 points: students are not allowed to go out for 1 week.” and “100 points: not allowed to go out for 2 consecutive weeks.”
Grounds for expulsion: “200 points: leads to dismissal/expulsion from CG.”
3D Academy
How penalties are counted: “First offense, oral reprimand with letter of apology. Second offense, P1,000.00 fine (to be donated to our monthly outreach program)”
Grounds for expulsion: “Students who receive 3 warnings will be expelled from the academy.”
English Fella
How penalties are counted: “6th warning: Call for being grounded (Student cannot leave the campus until their leaving date.)”
Grounds for expulsion: “7th warning: Expulsion without refund and informing the parents and the agency.” (from the “Warning Regulation (12 weeks period)” section)
Genius
How penalties are counted: For entering a room of another gender, the first time is “a Php 2,000 fine”
Grounds for expulsion: The second time: “immediately expelled without refund”
Mobile phones, drinking and smoking
We found few mobile phone rules on the pages we opened. Genius says “During tests, cellphones must be placed in the designated box under the supervising teacher’s care”. CG Academy says, about e-books as textbooks, “classes using small-screen smartphones are not permitted”.
We did not find rules on drinking and smoking on the Target or CEGA pages. The other four schools say the following.
Genius
Drinking: “Drinking alcohol on school premises is strictly prohibited.”
Smoking: “Smoking is permitted only in the designated outdoor smoking areas.” (for shared rooms)
CG Academy
Drinking: “Bringing and drinking of any alcoholic beverages inside the school are strictly prohibited.”
Smoking: “When you are caught smoking in non-smoking areas and/or caught smoking inside the dormitory” (50 points in its penalty table)
3D Academy
Drinking: “Liquors are STRICTLY BANNED from the dormitory.”
Smoking: “Smoking in non-designated areas is subject to P1000 penalty.”
English Fella
Drinking: “Bringing or drinking alcoholic beverages inside the school campus will be subjected to 2 warnings.”
Smoking: “Smoking in non-smoking zones will be subjected to 1 warning.”
How schools label their own rules
Of the six schools above, these use category names on their official pages. Quotations are in each school’s own words.
Genius splits its rules into “Regular Programs (NON-SPARTA)”, “Semi-SPARTA Programs” and “SPARTA Programs”. In answer to the FAQ question “What are semi-sparta rules?”, Target says it is one term for how strict a language school’s rules are (our translation).
3D Academy mentions “Semi-Sparta course students” in its curfew section, and English Fella lists “Sparta & J-Sparta Students” and “2nd Campus (Sparta)”. CG Academy has courses named “Sparta Course”. We found no category name in CEGA’s dormitory listings.
As the tables show, the same label does not mean the same curfew or the same conditions for going out. Compare schools by what each item says, not by the label.
Next step: compare the rules of the schools you like, item by item
Open the schools you like in the list of schools in the Philippines and compare their official rules on the seven items. For any item that is not written down, ask the school before you apply.
If you are choosing by how much teaching you want each day, see how many one-to-one lessons a day. For the whole process, see our guide to studying English in the Philippines.
