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It was wonderful to be able to welcome students back to the International Whitgift Summer School in July this year!

The 6^th Whitgift Summer School was very different in many ways. Firstly, it was delivered online, with students logging on to interactive classes from their home countries, and secondly, two new courses were launched: An International Baccalaureate preparation programme (Pre-IB) and English for Academic Purposes classes.

All lessons were taught live from Whitgift classrooms between 9am-12.30pm each day, with regular breaks away from screens. We were lucky enough to welcome students from three different time zones in Germany, France, Japan, Thailand, China and Hong Kong, along with students based in London. Once again, the course included several our own Whitgift pupils and, despite the change in learning outcomes this year, I am pleased to report that the positive student-centred ethos and rewarding international richness of the academic courses remained as strong as ever. The students really threw themselves into both programmes and all worked hard to improve their skills, bringing a vibrancy and energy to the online lessons.

Whitgift School is a top 10 Global International Baccalaureate school, and the new Pre-IB Course was taught by Whitgift IB teachers. Over the 3-week duration of the programme, students worked collaboratively in lessons to develop their understanding and skills over 3 core IB subjects: English, Maths and Science, under the guidance of our experienced teachers. Each week they were also introduced to a different element of the IB diploma course that they were planning to undertake in the next academic year covering Theory of Knowledge, Creativity Activity Service and the Extended Essay. The students clearly got a lot out of this exciting new course with 100% of respondents strongly agreeing that, through the support of their teachers, they felt better prepared for the IB in the next academic year. It was so fantastic to welcome these students who wanted to prepare for the International Baccalaureate with us and we are delighted that they felt ready when they left!

We also ran two summer English language courses which were taught by our expert Whitgift Summer School teachers. Mrs Manteaw and Ms Lewis have both taught on our intensive General English course and so know the school very well. In these academic English courses, they focused on helping English language students improve their academic skills in order to be better prepared to succeed on a British curriculum or at an international school where English is the main language.

In addition to attending lessons, a strong Summer School community feel was built through the weekly Course Director assemblies, an active online student area, and the sharing of supplementary resources. It was very pleasing to see positive relationships develop between the course participants, mirroring the usual experience of our Summer School students, and fantastically, 100% of survey respondents reported making new friends over the course.

I would like to share a comment of one of the Summer School students, which I think perfectly sums up our programme:

“Frankly, I enjoyed every single second of the course! Whether the teachers, students, topics or exercises... I am still delighted about having had the opportunity to be a part of the Whitgift school community!”

We were delighted to have been part of this learning community ourselves and now that the course has finished, we wish the participants the best of luck in the next stage of their academic journey.

We are now looking forward to relaunching our physical Summer School in 2022 and cannot wait to welcome international students back to the school site and in our fantastic boarding house.  Whether you wish to improve your English or feel you need to prepare for the IB Diploma, we will be here to support your learning and also ensure you have a fantastic time.

Bookings will open on 1 October. Please book early to avoid disappointment!