News

We are really pleased to announce that students and parents can now book a place at Whitgift Summer School for our Intensive General English and Pre-IB Courses. The summer programme lasts for a total of 6 weeks and will take place from Sunday 10 July – Sunday 21 August 2022.

We know the summer may seem far away, and that many families and students have not even decided what holiday camps they might want to attend in the Summer of 2022, but we also know that time goes by very quickly! It is for this reason we thought it would be a good idea to offer some information about our summer school programme and the two courses we offer here at Whitgift in the months of July and August.

How it started: a summer English Course for international students

The first ever English language course for international students at Whitgift was in 2015, and each year since then (apart from 2020 due to Covid-19) we have been welcoming students from all over the world to study for a minimum of 2 weeks and a maximum of 6 weeks. Every year, the summer school has grown, and students from around 23 different countries now attend. Although we have expanded, we are still a small summer school and as a result we can give all our visiting international students the care and attention they deserve. To this, the students benefit from an English language programme that is based upon intensive and communicative English language classes in the morning, which are followed by project-based lessons in the afternoon. We have a strict nationality mix with no one language dominating at the school, which means that English is the lingua franca, and every student gets to speak and communicate as much English as possible as well as make new friends from every corner of the world.

Something new: an International Baccalaureate preparation course

In 2021, we introduced a new course to our summer programme: the Pre-IB course. Whitgift is in the Top 10 IB schools in the world with an average point score of 41.6/45 in 2021 and we wanted to share our fantastic IB provision in a short course format.  This course is for students who wish to prepare for the International Baccalaureate and are due to begin this rigorous diploma in the September soon after our summer school finishes. Students who are on this International Baccalaureate preparation course have subject specific lessons in the morning (English, Maths & Stats, and Science) and are integrated with the advanced English students in the afternoon for the Progressive Skills in Action classes. Other key elements of the IB are embedded into the course such as TOK, CAS and the Extended Essay. Pre-IB students also take part in all the academies, activities, and excursions we run too.

Students benefit from small classes.​​​​​​

Residence and rooming

Every residential student that stays in our modern, safe, and secure boarding house must share a room with a student of the same gender, but of a different nationality. There are no exceptions! We think it is important that students share a room with someone who is not from their home country because it enables them to make new friends and importantly, speak English as much as possible.

Learn with English speaking students

In the afternoons, English-speaking students - known as Student Hosts - from Whitgift School and Old Palace of John Whitgift join the international students for project-based lessons, afternoon activities, dinner, and evening activities. Having the Whitgift students involved on the summer programme gives the visiting international students a real flavour of what it is like to be at school at Whitgift and allows them to become part of the Whitgift Community. Many of our international students have remained friends with the Whitgift students long after their summer school experience, which is one of the main aims of our summer school: to create long-lasting, cross-cultural friendships.

End of week reports

At Whitgift, each student’s academic development and general wellbeing is important, and we know that it is reassuring for parents to be kept up to date with their daughter or son’s progress. It is for this reason that we send a detailed report to parents at the end of the week so that they can see how their son or daughter is getting on in all areas of the school. Teachers write a report on students’ development in lessons, activity leaders discuss the activities and academies the boys and girls have taken part in, and the house parents note how the students have been adapting and behaving themselves in the boarding house. We also have a prize giving event at the end of the week to celebrate the students’ achievements. These prizes vary from being the most improved English language speaker to the best boarding house boy or girl. The biggest and most prestigious prize a student can win is ‘The Whitgift Award’, which is given to the summer school student that best represents the ethos and philosophy of Whitgift.

Academies & Activities

Whitgift School has some of the best facilities any student who is looking for a summer holiday camp could wish for. We make the most of these facilities, not only in terms of the modern classrooms we have, but also in the afternoons when the students take part in academy and activities. When lessons are finished, students have two options:

1.       Multi Activity

OR

2.       Academies

If a student picks an ‘Academy’, then they select one option for the week. If a student selects the ‘Multi Activity’ then they have two options for the week. Academies are run by specialist coaches whereas the Multi Activity option is run by our outstanding activity leaders. Whether students are on our English language course or pre-IB course, they can benefit from the wide selection of activities and academies we offer.

Evening Activities

In the evening, students have a further 2 hours of activities and normally have 3 choices to choose from. These activities vary on a weekly basis, but have included: capture the flag, laser tag, football tournaments, yoga, t-shirt making, orienteering, pamper night, film night, introduction to cricket…to name just a few! One thing that always stays the same is the Friday night Disco!

Excursions

Excursions are a really important part of our summer school and we want to ensure that students are able to visit some of the most famous sites and cities that the south of England has to offer. Students have two excursions per week, and these take place on Wednesday afternoon and Saturday all day. Please look at our excursions page to find out more.  

Incredible location

We might just be one of best well-located English language and academic summer schools for teenagers and juniors in England: we are only 45 minutes from London Gatwick airport and about 1 hour from London Heathrow airport. This means that after a long flight and going through security, students do not have to travel far to get to their destination – Whitgift School. A member of the Whitgift Summer School team will be at the airport to collect students when they land and take them to the school. We also offer a pick-up service for students travelling from Paris Gare du Nord to London St Pancras on the Eurostar.

What's included in the price?

Included in the price: 3 meals a day, school resources, lessons, excursions (including entry to all venues), activities, airport transfers and laundry. Not included in the price are flights, pocket money and the Fencing, Golf and Horse Riding academies. These academies are £100 extra each per week. 

We really cannot wait to welcome students to our summer school in July and August, for what promises to be a memorable summer. If you have any questions, please do get in contact with us via email or video call.

We hope to hear from you soon!