UK summer schools

Robert Price from Brooke House College in Market Harborough relates that they have offered their fully residential summer course for over 20 years, and adds, “The course is constructed to offer each and every student the opportunity to improve his or her English, whilst, at the same time, taking advantage of a huge range of sporting and social opportunities in the form of activities and excursions.”

At Saint Michael’s College in Tenbury Wells, Janine Faulkner says that their own summer school programme was born out of a need to cater for students arriving prior to term time. “We introduced an academic preparation summer class as we started to get a few students who would come for the summer first and then start their academic term with us,” she says.

However, for some, seasonal programmes remain a relatively new venture. Sophia Vaenttinen-Newton from d’Overbroeck’s College in Oxford says they developed their summer school programme in 2003 after realising there was definite room for growth. “The development came from a need to cater for a gap in the summer school market for students aged between 15 and 19 years. We wanted to expand our expertise and skills in teaching this age group.”

Adapting course content to help appeal to as wide an audience as possible is a must for any school managing a summer programme. Tommi Muttonen from Twin Vacation Centres explains how they started offering their Chelsea Football Club Coaching programme five years ago. “We offer football training delivered by Chelsea FC coaches in combination with English language lessons at our vacation centres in London, Great Malvern and Haywards Heath.” Meanwhile, at d’Overbroeck’s College, Vaenttinen-Newton says that they offer several exciting day excursions, including trips to the Globe Theatre in London and the National Space Centre in Leicester.

At the Bolitho School in Penzance, course focus shifts from the academic to the more cultural, as Kenneth Jaggard, at the school, explains. “The lessons tend to focus less on grammar and more on examining the differences between our culture and language, e.g. in areas such as education, home life, food, celebrations and festivals,” he says.

While course content is important, immersion is crucial if students are to fully develop their English language skills. Price takes integration that one step further, however, and notes, “Every year we employ a number of British volunteer boys and girls on the course to mix in with the international students during activities, excursions, meal times and free time.”

Summer courses offered at independent schools in the UK have a number of advantages for students. Not only do students benefit from factors such as on-campus living and an array of on-site facilities but class sizes are often small and tailored to individual needs. Siân Choma-Peters, from Ceran UK, runs a junior summer programme in conjunction with Sherborne School for Girls in Dorset and says, “We have a ratio of one staff member to three students, enabling us to ensure a high level of supervision”.

Those wanting to go on to study in the UK also benefit from their experiences at a summer school. Ian Mucklejohn from Vacational Studies in Newbury underlines that summer programmes can offer students life-changing opportunities. “We are more than a language course in the summer; more than a summer camp in England; more than a summer course for juniors. We are a complete growing-up experience; a step towards adulthood; a rite of passage,” he says.

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