News

Around school at the end of January and start of February, boys start to approach the Summer team in the corridors asking "When are the applications starting?". We know exactly what this means, it's time for Ambassadors to start applying to take part in Summer.

Every Summer Whitgift Summer School welcomes approximately 35 students from our School to the Summer Programme. These boys and girls who live in the London area add so much to our Programme, and are a credit to both themselves and their respective institutions.

Our Ambassadors join the Summer Programme at lunchtime and stay until the International students go to bed. This means that they are present for Project classes, afternoon and evening activities, dinner, and some free time which the students have. Why does this add so much to our Programme? The Ambassadors are native English speakers, who are able to interact with the International students on their level, talking about things which are relevant, interesting, and are able to give insight into what life in the UK is like.

In project classes, students have a unique opportunity to work together on distinct weekly tasks, which will be presented to the rest of the cohort on a Friday. Many of these tasks focus on cultural exchange, including projects where students must research others' countries of origin. This is a brilliant chance for our International Students to learn about the UK, its customs, and its rich culture.

During activities students can play alongside, or against our Ambassadors. Always thought your country was better than the UK at tennis? This is your chance to prove it! In the evening, activities are a little more relaxed and focus on teamwork and having fun, where students are mixed, ensuring that the British students are spread evenly amongst the groups. With a ratio of around 1:3 British to International, students have infinite opportunities to mix and learn from one another.

The statistics bear all of this out. We asked our 2025 cohort "Did you enjoy working with the British Students". All of them said "Yes", which is a testament to the hard work of our Ambassadors in making the International students feel welcome, listened to, and encouraging them to have fun. Indeed 92% of our International students said that they made friends with the British Students (and 100% made friends with others) meaning that the English language learning experience does not end when a student leaves Whitgift, the students stay in touch and can keep practising their English for long after the course has finished.

Whitgift Summer School isn't just about learning English, taking part in activities, sampling a top British boarding school, gaining confidence and living experiences which will be remembered for years... it's about making friendships which can last a lifetime.

I'll leave the last word to one of our students who, when asked "What's the best thing about Whitgift Summer School?" answered very simply "The Student Ambassadors".