ISSOS Summer School at the University of Cambridge

Each student takes one academic subject and one elective. Academic classes run for three hours every weekday and are taught by qualified teachers who are working professionals in their fields. The academics offered in Cambridge are Business and Entrepreneurship, Debate, English Language, Journalism and Study Skills. The elective meets on four afternoons each weekday and can be Outdoor Leadership, Photography, Tennis or Theatre.

The programme is all-inclusive. The fee covers academic and elective tuition, accommodation with full board, course materials and equipment, all full and half-day cultural trips and excursions, evening activities and Sunday workshops, insurance, ISSOS clothing and branded merchandise, cultural events, the ISSOS Highland Games, an academic report, a completion certificate, transport between the selected airport and the campus, and the online English level assessment that forms part of the application. A registration fee is payable with the application and is part of the published total.

Students live in St Edmund’s College, one of the historic colleges of the University of Cambridge, used exclusively by ISSOS for the summer school. It is a ten-minute walk from the town centre and sits within extensive private gardens. Bedrooms are single or twin and are allocated after applications close; every student has a desk, a wardrobe and a shelving area, and single bedrooms in Cambridge have en-suite facilities. Shared bedrooms are shared by two students of the same sex and around the same age.

All meals are included and are served in the oak-panelled dining hall inside St Edmund’s College.

Evenings and weekends are given over to the activity programme: evening programmes, clan events, Sunday workshops and the ISSOS Highland Games, together with full and half-day cultural trips to some of the most interesting towns and cities in the UK. All trips and activities are included in the programme fee.

As well as university classrooms and event spaces, Cambridge gives the summer school access to a range of university facilities, and students live and eat in St Edmund’s College, which ISSOS uses exclusively for the duration of the programme.

ISSOS is an international summer school for students aged 13 to 18 from all over the world. Places are limited to ten per cent per nationality, and native and non-native English speakers are mixed at all times, so that the group stays genuinely international. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is one of the world’s leading centres of education, and the city is known for its architecture and its multicultural atmosphere.