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If you are a student with a high-level of English and want to take that next step with your English language level, our Intensive General English Course can help you reach your English language goals.

 If your English level ranges from B2 - C1, our Intensive General  English Course is perfect for students who want to focus on accuracy  so that they can improve in areas that matter most to them. You might be:

• preparing to take the IELTS, B2, First or C1 Advanced Exams
• about to begin studying at a UK Boarding School or Internationl School in your city 
• at an English speaking school already and need extra support 
   

Whatever the context, we can help with your Academic English needs.

You probably (and rightly!) feel that you already have a very high-level or English,  but that now you are ready to take that next step up to become advanced-level user of the English language. In order for us to help you achieve this, we will be using engaging and challenging materials that stretch and push you as you look to boost your Academic English language skills. As a class, you will have clear and set goals from the first lesson. Many Upper-Intermediate and Advanced English language learners are very fluent, so we will be focusing on accuracy and developing your range of more advanced structures and vocabulary.  Most importantly, the classes will be fun as well as dynamic: just because you are learning at a higher-level, does not mean lessons should be boring!

Each week has a specific, up-to-date and stimulating topic that is aimed to promote healthy discussions and develop your ability to debate. We are of the belief that a great topic is essential in motivating you to talk during lesson time and there will be lots of opportunities for everyone to communicate and offer their perspective of the matter being discussed. This may take the form of an in-class discussion, group/pair work and debates. This type of work will be particularly useful if you are preparing for the IELTS exam (particularly parts 2 and 3 of the exam) or B2 First exam (parts 3 and 4). Functional language such as giving opinions, disagreeing, asking for clarification and developing arguments will be reviewed, which will mimic the two or three-way discussions that occur in the IELTS and Cambridge speaking exams.  All these skills are also essential for any student who is attending an English medium speaking international school and will equip them well for in-class discussions and communication is general. This functional language will also prepare you well for the language you will need during seminars if you plan to attend university in an English-speaking country or course that is taught in English. 

One of the reasons we integrate each skill – Reading, Writing, Listening and Speaking -  with the topic of the week is that it provides you with the necessary context you need in order to improve your confidence – especially with unknown language. In this way, you will have both the necessary linguistic and cultural awareness to approach two skills that can sometimes be more challenging: reading and listening. We will be using texts that are longer than perhaps you have been exposed to and this will provide you with plenty of opportunities to discover unknown language and create strategies to understand what unknown words mean. Ultimately, it is our aim that you will complete the course able to read more effectively and be able take notes from an extended listening task more efficiently and accurately.

Always linked to the theme of the week, you will have the opportunity to study the ‘anatomy of an essay’, focusing on how to write an introduction, topic sentences, coherent and cohesive paragraphs and logical conclusions. Different ways of approaching writing will take place during your course which will include following a model of an essay and collaborative writing where you will work together.

We all know that it is essential to prepare well before we start something new. Whether that be a course, project, essay, exam or school, preparation is key. As Abraham Lincoln once said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe” and so , by familiarising and engaging with tasks and challenges that mimic the things you will undertake in the near future, you will complete our course with a new set of linguistic skills that will help you with your future studies.

One of the unique aspects of our summer school is that international students will have a chance to study alongside British students who are from Whitgift School. From 12:30 – 21:30 each day, students from Whitgift Schools attend the summer school and take part in project-based lessons, academies, activities, and evening activities with you, our visiting international students. This means you will make friends with students from the UK and also find out what life is really like in a UK boarding school.