GLS Berlin College Summer Camp — Berlin, Germany

Students choose either German or English and study twenty lessons of forty-five minutes each week. Classes run in the afternoon so that mornings and evenings stay free for the activity programme. Groups are international and capped at fifteen students, and the school places each participant by level after an entry test: German runs from complete beginner to advanced, English from elementary to advanced. Teenagers who want a formal qualification can add the telc preparation option, which extends the timetable by ten lessons a week over a fixed three-week block and leads to the official telc German certificate at B1, B2 or C1. The school is an accredited telc examination centre, so the test is taken on site.

The published package covers tuition, accommodation with half board, the daily activity programme including entrance fees, one full-day excursion each week outside the city, and insurance covering medical care, personal liability and luggage. Airport and station transfers, the unaccompanied minor service, a public transport pass and the telc examination options are booked separately. Stays are flexible from one week upwards, with arrival and departure on Sunday.

Participants live on the school campus in studio apartments shared by three to five students, each with its own bathroom and a raised sleeping area under the roof. A hostel within walking distance of the campus offers twin rooms with shared bathrooms as an alternative, and a day-camp option is available for teenagers who stay with their own family in the city. Accommodation is mixed, with staff on the campus and clear house rules for the group.

Half board is included: breakfast and dinner are served for residential participants, with the campus cafeteria and garden terrace used for meals. Lunch is taken during the day programme in the city and is not part of the half-board arrangement. Dietary requirements are handled by the school on request and should be stated at booking.

Two activities are scheduled each day, one in the morning before lessons and one in the evening, with entrance fees already included. The programme is built around the city itself: guided walks through the historic centre, a cycling tour along the former Wall route, boat trips on the river, street-art and creative workshops, open-air cinema and evening games on campus. Each week adds one full-day trip outside the city, for example to Potsdam and its palace park or to the lakes around the region.

The campus covers roughly sixteen thousand square metres in the Prenzlauer Berg district and holds around sixty classrooms, a student residence, a cafeteria and a large garden. Students use the lounge, the barbecue area, the billiard room and the outdoor volleyball and basketball courts between lessons and activities. Museum Island, the Brandenburg Gate and the main historic sights are a short public-transport ride away.

Berlin College brings together up to one hundred and eighty teenagers aged sixteen to eighteen from fifty and more countries, which makes the shared language of the group English or German from the first day. The programme is designed for mature, independent teenagers: guides are available throughout the day and the group follows a fixed schedule, but there is no round-the-clock supervision, so participants move around the city in small groups with agreed check-in times. Families choosing this camp should be comfortable with that level of independence.