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For families who are thinking about sending their children to a summer school to improve their English language skills or attend an academic programme, choosing the right course might not be as easy or simple as you think. A quick Google of "English summer school for teenagers" will result in four hundred and one million results...Hmmm, so where to start looking? How to choose the right summer programme for your child? What things do parents need to think about so that their kids have a great summer experience? Here, I'll look at some important factors that parents should consider before booking.

550,000 English Language Students

Before anything else, and for parents who do not know, the UK in particular is a fantastic place for students to visit and study during the summer months. This is due to the many years that summer programmes have been running in the UK and the vast experience that schools and staff have gained during that time. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the UK was one of the top destinations for students who wanted to improve their English. Over 550,000 students were coming to the UK to study English each year, an incredible number of people!

High Standards

Parents can rest safe in the knowledge that most education providers in the UK are accredited by some sort of official body. This means a school has been inspected according to specific criteria and has reached the expected requirements, ensuring that the safety of students, management, teaching and resources are all of the highest standard.

Choosing The Right Course

When researching a course, students and parents will obviously have a good idea of what they are looking for. From Intensive General English to Academic Enrichment, IELTS preparation to STEM, each family will have a good idea of what type of course they want and need. However, there are some general questions that can help ensure that expectations are met, and disappointment avoided (!):

1. How many hours of study are there per week?
2. What are the class sizes?
3. What level of English is required for the course?
4. How many students attend this course each week?
5. What is the nationality mix?

It's a good idea for parents to have clear answers to these questions to avoid issues when their children are on the course. Problems arise when students expect one thing and get something very different, eg. expecting morning lessons only, but actually having afternoon lessons too.

Activities & Academies

One of the most important aspects of any summer school is the activity programme that is provided. It is true that some students base their choice of school on what is offered outside the classroom and for good reasons: many students excel in sport, music and drama in their home country and want to ensure they maintain and even improve their skills and high standards during the summer months. Also, I am pretty sure when I say that, for many students, the activity programme is the best part the summer school experience! Parents should carefully check to see what summer schools offer and ask:

1. Is there a good balance between sport & creative options?
2. How many hours do students have activities per week?
3. What Academies does a school offer and are they run by professional coaches?
4. How many activity/academy choices can students make over the duration of the course?
5. What equipment is needed?

Schools should be able to answer these questions and be as clear and transparent with parents as possible. For example, at Whitgift Summer School, 3 of our Academies come at an extra cost (Fencing, Horse Riding and Golf), and we tell parents about this at the time of booking. Another important thing to ask is location: are all the activities/academies at the school or are some off-site? If they are not at the school, how far by minibus is the venue? It's important that students arrive at their summer school knowing what to expect.

Excursions

Continuing on the theme of all things outside the classroom, excursions are also a vital aspect to a positive summer experience. Parents need to find out not only where their child will go for their trips, but also if entry tickets to a venue are included. Additionally, it's important to find out if the coach/train tickets to and from the excursion are included in the advertised course price.

Residence

Another key area for parents to consider is accommodation and how schools allocate students to rooms. At Whitgift Summer School, students must share a room with a student of the same sex, similar age range and from a different nationality and/or linguistic background (unless they request a single room). All schools are different, and some allow students to share a room with a student from the same country, it just depends what experience each individual student is looking for.

Arrival/Departure Information

Getting to and from a school is a question that I get asked a lot when I meet parents. Will someone be at the airport to collect my son/daughter? Will a staff member be at arrivals? Where should we meet the staff member exactly and at what time? Is the arrival/departure transfer free? These are all important questions, and each school will have a procedure for collecting and dropping students off. At Whitgift Summer School there is no charge for flights landing or taking off between 09:00 - 18:00, but there is an out of hour charge for flights outside these times. Again, it's very important that schools inform parents of this at the time of booking.

What makes a summer school special?

Students and parents really are spoilt for choice when it comes to summer short courses in the UK. They will see when they look online that there are so many fantastic and professionally run summer schools that provide unique and inspiring programmes for teenagers and young learners. Each school will have something special and unique that will spark a student's interest. It might be the academic course or the evening activities or perhaps the school's location, its residence or excursion programme. For us at Whitgift, it's the fact we have English speaking students from Whitgift Schools who take part in the course. Known as Student Hosts, they provide our visiting international students with a chance to practise their English in afternoon project-based lessons, afternoon activities and evening activities.

I hope the areas mentioned here will help parents and students. In conclusion, the best thing parents can do when choosing a summer school is to ask as many questions as possible!