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If you didn’t already know, Whitgift Summer School is located in South London and if you could handpick the perfect environment to study in the UK and enjoy a summer making new friends and learning about British culture, this is definitely the place. The beautiful grounds and facilities of Whitgift School feature woodlands, quiet gardens, state of the art classrooms and exceptional outdoor and indoor sporting facilities - all within an hour’s drive to Buckingham Palace! At Whitgift Summer School, we offer a free transfer to/from London Gatwick and London Heathrow airports and London St Pancras train station from 9am – 6pm on each transfer day. When the students come through to the arrival hall, they are greeted by a friendly member of the Whitgift Summer School staff and are taken by train or Whitgift minibus (whichever is quickest) directly to the school

 

 

 

As you can see from the map below, Whitgift is extremely well located: only 30 minutes from Gatwick Airport, 1 hour from London Heathrow and 1 hour from London St Pancras station meaning that students don’t have to travel far to begin their summer school experience with us. When students arrive at Whitgift, the first thing they notice is how green and pleasant our school grounds are; vast, peaceful and secure, the school is located on a secure and safe site. Even though we are only 30 minutes from Central London, it really feels like we are in a different world!

 

 

On arrival, students check-in at the boarding house (known as Founder’s House) and meet our wonderful House Parents who are there to give each student a really warm welcome before explaining the procedure for the Induction Day at the school. House Parents supervise and look after the students and are in the boarding house 24 hours a day, 7 days a week meaning that the students get to know them extremely well!  As you can see from the picture below, the boarding house itself is magnificent and we are lucky enough to be able to offer students a modern, state-of-the-art residence, a place that was built to ensure student safety and comfort at all times.  All bedrooms in the boarding house are single, double or triple and have their own shower and toilet ensuring each student has the necessary privacy – no need to walk in the corridors to shower at Whitgift!  

Socialising and making new friends are extremely important aspects to Whitgift Summer School and the boarding house is integral to this. Firstly, there are a total of 4 kitchenettes located on both the first and second floors that act as places in which students can catch-up over a cup of tea and a slice of toast, play cards or just chat. Secondly, on the ground floor we have a games room with table tennis, table football and pool. This room also has built-in bluetooth speakers which students definitely enjoy! Next to the games room, we have a common room with comfortable sofas and huge bean bags for those students who want to relax in a quieter setting. Outside the boarding house, there is a volleyball and badminton court for students who can’t get enough of sport! All these areas are used during ‘free time’: between the end of activities and dinner, just after evening activities, Saturday evening and Sunday mornings. On top of this, the boarding house overlooks the incredible water garden that features all sorts of exotic animals; it truly is a home away from home for the students, an environment that fosters growth, independence and confidence

 

From the school we run excursions to Central London, Surrey and the coast. Every year we plan our excursions extremely carefully, ensuring that we never repeat the same excursions in the same weeks year on year. This means that our returning students have the chance to visit something different each year. As we are so close to London, our Wednesday afternoon excursions tend to be in or around Central London. A firm favourite with our students is a trip on the London Eye followed by a River Boat Cruise on the Thames. For those who love musicals, we always head to the West End at some point in the summer and in the past we have seen The Lion King, Matilda and Wicked. For sports lovers, please rest assured we always visit some sort of sporting arena. So far, we have been to various ‘homes’: Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea FC, Wembley, the home of football and Wimbledon, the home of tennis! We have also been to the Olympic stadium as well, the hub of the 2012 Summer Olympics that were held in London. The other important home we visit is that of the Queen, Buckingham Palace!

 

As for Saturday excursions, we visit Cambridge, Oxford and Brighton. When we visit the city of spires (Oxford) and Stephan Hawking’s alma mater city (Cambridge) we always go punting on the rivers (the River Cherwell in Oxford and the River Camb in Cambridge) and visit a famous college such as Kings or Christchurch. When we visit Brighton, we head up the incredible i360 tower and walk round the majestic lanes that are unique to the city. Undoubtedly, one of the most popular excursions we offer is the Saturday trip to the Warner Bros. studios in which students have the opportunity to become enchanted by everything Harry Potter. Finally, no summer school experience would be complete without the obligatory shopping trip! Students can shop at Westfield Stratford, one of the biggest shopping centres in Europe, as well as Bluewater, a big shopping centre close to Whitgift School. Parents: please rest assured that for ease, safety and comfort we always travel by private coach hire through a coach company that Whitgift uses year-round.

 

Academies & Activities at your doorstep
Our afternoon activities and academies are on site or at the local golf course – 18-hole, par 71, parkland course designed by Fred Hawtree and five times Open Champion, James Braid - as well as the local horse-riding centre – Kingsmead. The benefit of our location means that we are close to both green spaces and the excitement of Central London. The uniqueness of our location means that our students spend more time benefitting from everything a summer school has to offer rather than spending endless hours on long transfer journeys, not only from airports, but to and from academies and activities. It is this blend of experiences, on our doorstep, that is just one of the unique elements of attending our summer school.

“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.”

― Anita Desai