How can a summer school experience help prepare young learners for boarding school?

So Many Reasons for Summer School

There are so many reasons why Summer Boarding Courses are the perfect choice to help prepare your child for British boarding school life.

Since 2008, we have provided 15,800 overseas students with the chance to experience what it is like to learn away from home in a residential setting on a summer school programme. Offering so many, this wonderful experience for the very first time.

As you may expect from an education provider with ‘Boarding’ in its name, our track record in providing fantastic accommodation and welfare provision is ranked highest in the industry. As demonstrated in our Number One ranking by The EL Gazette and by our British Council inspections, which have received perfect scores on more than one occasion.

To show how SBC can be a truly influential stepping stone in preparing students for all parts of boarding school life, let’s look at all the key areas to help show you the difference a summer school can make, in helping; build social skills, educational development, and the chance to meet fellow students with shared interests from different backgrounds.

As well as professional development and proactive student learning, learners have every chance to make new friends, try a whole whirlwind of exciting activities, learn fascinating new subject knowledge and explore wonderful new places – making summer school an incredible place to prepare young people for the challenge of adapting to boarding school.

Academic Preparation at an International Summer School

At a summer camp, we are about so much more than fun and play. We believe in summer school being a transformative experience where students can develop the skills for future academic success; especially in helping learners adapt to the scholastic demands of boarding school and university.

In each of our courses, we offer academic programmes with a strong focus on independent learning and developing research skills, which very much mirror the level of challenge students would face in a boarding school learning environment.

With our Time to Shine research projects, students are required to take responsibility. They have to meet tight deadlines, perform under pressure, and practise public speaking; which is the perfect preparation for meeting the academic expectations to succeed in a high achieving education setting like a boarding school.

A common aim that Summer Boarding Courses share with so many boarding schools throughout the world, is to prepare students for academic life at university. With spaces available on vocational programmes, such as Medicine, we are passionately invested in providing students with the best possible chance to gain the experiences they need in the early stages of building successful careers.

By providing students with similar academic experiences they have at a boarding school, learners will be much more familiar with their future boarding school curriculum. Enabling them to start their new boarding school classes with confidence. Through gaining valuable knowledge of what to expect, students are much better placed to reduce anxiety that learners commonly experience in making the transition to an unfamiliar learning space.

Developing Study Habits and Time Management

Each teaching day on an SBC campus, a student is effectively following the same daily routine as they would at a boarding school. They wake up early, get ready for a day of lessons, have breakfast, join assembly, before arriving on time for class. By repeating this routine, even for as little as two weeks, a young learner is growing their independence and maturity, enabling them to make the transition to boarding school as smooth as possible.

The same obviously applies for the afternoons and evenings, with the exception of having to do homework or study. Instead of housemasters, student accommodation has house parents and house wardens to ensure the highest possible levels of safety. Similar to a boarding school, summer school has a curfew and a lights-out routine which varies between younger and older age groups.

Adapting to a Residential Learning Environment

For students who have never lived and studied in the same place before, summer school can provide invaluable experience in helping them settle. By experiencing the boarding school lifestyle beforehand, students are able to adjust to; a more structured schedule, spending longer periods on campus, and are able to adjust to the communal experience of sharing a living space with others.

Through early exposure, students are better positioned to adjust to campus life, enabling them to deal with the day-to-day reality of balancing free time and study. But even more importantly, by attending a summer school as preparation for boarding school, students can build the necessary social skills to help them make new friends and to work effectively alongside new classmates. When talking about the value of making new friends at summer school, Alexander a student from Germany told us:

“In Germany after the fourth grade, you’re going to a new school and after that you stay in that school forever, which is why I haven’t made new friends in like six years and it’s a very important skill that we possibly don’t learn anymore. But after these two weeks, I have a feeling that I got better at it.”

Alexander, Student, Germany 

Building a Foundation for Advanced Learning

With the help of expert tutoring, all of our courses provide students with the chance to further their understanding of complex subjects and work towards relevant academic achievements. Topics are introduced by passionate teachers, and are explored through student-led project work and exciting activities, providing students with constant engagement and the chance to acquire a great deal of new knowledge over the course of two weeks. Our Introduction courses in: STEM, International Relations, and Political Science & Governance as well as Psychology and Engineering, are designed to be an accessible gateway for learning, encouraging students to discover their passion for fascinating new subject areas.

In expressing the positive experience she had during her Psychology course at Cambridge College,  Rafaella from Brazil shared:

“I felt like the classes were very interactive and fun and full of information, but not in a way that I couldn’t understand. For me, I considered myself a complete newbie to psychology. Yet at the same time, it never felt incomprehensible, but something I could gradually learn. I feel like that’s a very good aspect of it. That, and the lessons were so much fun.”

Social and Cultural Integration

Very often, boarding schools are multicultural learning environments that enable cross-cultural relationships to thrive, and summer schools, in this sense, are identical if not even more culturally rich. Since Summer Boarding Courses began we have welcomed students from more than 150 different countries, creating lively cosmopolitan classrooms full of varying belief systems and different ways of looking at the world, creating an environment built on a culture of understanding one another and the constant showing of mutual respect. All of which are absolutely essential when sharing a living and learning space together at a boarding school.

To describe the academic and social experience of his course, Toby from The UK said:

“Not only has Engineering given me more insight into what I want to learn, I also really enjoyed it, so much that  it’s pushed me more into doing it at university. I’ve also made a lot of good friends, especially people from abroad.” 

Social Programmes and Activities at Summer Schools

As well as benefiting from the confidence a more independent daily routine brings, students gain enormously from our activities and social programme. All of our extracurricular activities are purposefully designed to grow confidence and personal growth. At Summer Boarding Courses, our staff are always on hand to ensure everyone feels valued and part of the group, which helps students make new friends and adjust to their new summer surroundings very quickly.

At summer school, each student is given a chance to do something different and is encouraged to step out of their comfort zones. Whether that is being the main character in a murder mystery, the model for a trashion show, an international boy band in a karaoke, or the star of the night in a talent contest – the magic of summer school is that each and every star gets to shine. Providing all students with unforgettable memories, hugely enjoyable tests of character, and an immeasurable amount of reasons to feel proud of themselves. By the end of summer, so many of our students return home feeling taller, having developed fantastic qualities such as leadership and teamwork, providing the best possible springboard to start boarding school.

For decades, summer school has helped prepare generations of vibrant young people by giving them the chance to step into the next chapter of their lives with confidence. It’s so much more than an unforgettable summer, but a real chance to grow independence, build confidence, inspire new knowledge and build momentum for the wonderful opportunities that are waiting ahead.

At Summer Boarding Courses, we are privileged in being part of young learners’ development and helping them make the most of their formative years. None more so than supporting young people adjust to new environments as unique as boarding school.

To help students prepare for boarding school, summer school truly is an incredible option. So why not make your boarding school preparation brighter by experiencing summer school?

Prepare your Child Today for Boarding School

To learn all about our wide variety of programmes at Summer Boarding Courses, check out our inspiring locations that include Oxford, Cambridge, and Eton. Discover all about the incredible range of subjects now on offer and all about the unforgettable excursions and social activities your child could enjoy once they are there.