Well, a non-UK option for English speaking design schools is the Köln International School of Design in Cologne, Germany.
I study here currently, and honestly it has it’s positives and negatives.
Positive: the program. Instead of having a set curriculum of classes that you follow every semester, and instead of having classes at all KISD has set up a program in which you participate in Long (whole semester) medium, and short (1-2 weeks) projects, also in classes, educational, and technical seminars, and hands on workshop introduction. All in a wide range of topics from Graphic to Industrial to Service design. You are required to take a certain amount of credits but you can choose which projects to take, and they are changing every semester.
The design study instead of focussing on just one area (ie graphic design, or industrail design) lets you take all kinds of courses from all different kinds of design backgrounds. It’s really free, and this is where the “you get what you put into it” idea comes in…
The school has a great community of students, and I felt welcome here immediately as an American.
Honestly, there are negatives. Sometimes the students aren’t as motivated as they should be, but this is only sometimes, and I am generally impressed with the work my fellow students do. Skills such as drawing and computer skills aren’t heavily pressed into you, like at other schools. So it might be nice if you have training in those things beforehand, or make a point to focus on them on your own.
The school emphasizes concept oriented design, which is relly fun, and uses much more brain power than the typical (or at least my old) universities do.
The main language is German, but there’s a rule that if one person requests the class to be in English it has to be. So you are never short of communication skills, and it’s a nice way to ease into another language, even if you haven’t got any skills at it yet.
It’s pretty competitive to get into (about one in 30 get in), but I hear that it’s easier for a foreign student to get in, and heck, I got in, it can’t be THAT tough.
Last but not least, the price. It costs a little less than 700 euros per semester to study here, that’s it! Cheap compared to the american super schools. It doesn’t have the ncest facilities (because it’s so cheap) but it’s a great school for learnings sake. I have been here one semester and have already learned so much…
If you wanna know more just ask