Dukes Cambridge Summer School: Pre-University Courses in Cambridge

Dukes Cambridge teaches six courses: English Pathways, and five subject faculties — Art & Design, Business, Global Leadership, Medicine, and Science & Technology (STEM). All carry twenty hours of academic content a week in classes capped at fifteen students, and the minimum English level to enrol is B1. The teaching is pre-university rather than school-syllabus: students explore a subject in depth, work from evidence, build and defend an argument, and present their thinking in seminar-style discussion. The operator prices English Pathways as its English course and the five faculties as subject courses.

The programme is sold per course in a residential and a day version, over two or four weeks depending on the start date chosen. The residential fee covers tuition, accommodation, all meals, course materials, the excursion programme, the extracurricular multi-activity programme, comprehensive travel insurance, a progress report, a certificate, a letter of reference and the graduation party. Flights and airport or train transfers are not included; the operator offers a transfer service for an additional fee, quoted by its admissions team. A deposit per student is payable to secure a residential place and counts towards the course fee.

Residential students are housed in twin en-suite rooms. The campus has a modern dining hall, a student common room, seminar rooms, an auditorium, Wi-Fi and a laundry service. The twin room is the only room type the operator publishes for this campus, and it is included in the course fee — no room upgrade charge is published.

The residential programme is full board: all meals are included and served in the campus dining hall. The day programme includes lunch and the evening meal. The operator states it will do its best to meet dietary needs, giving vegetarian, vegan and Halal as examples.

An extracurricular multi-activity programme runs alongside the academic timetable. The operator names arts and crafts, badminton, ball games, basketball, creative writing, cricket, a fashion show, a fitness class, football, karaoke, a photo challenge, quiz night, rounders, secret cinema, tennis, a trashion show and yoga. Excursions in Cambridge and a day in London are part of the fee, and the programme closes with a graduation party.

The programme runs at Sancton Wood School in central Cambridge. The campus provides seminar rooms, an auditorium, a modern dining hall, a student common room, twin en-suite accommodation, Wi-Fi and a laundry service. Cambridge itself is part of the programme, with excursions in the city and a day trip to London.

Dukes Cambridge sits in the College Pathways tier and is aimed at ages fourteen to seventeen who are beginning to think seriously about university. The operator frames it as a first step: depth in a chosen subject, the independence and critical thinking that degree study asks for, and the communication skills to go with them. Students come from around the world, pastoral care runs around the clock, and everyone leaves with a progress report, a certificate and a letter of reference.