Twin Summer Centre Buckinghamshire New University

The centre runs a general English programme for young learners with 15 hours of lessons a week, taught in three-hour blocks in the morning or afternoon and adding up to 30 hours across the two-week programme. A placement test on arrival groups students at the right level, and abilities from elementary through to advanced are accepted. Lessons are taught in small groups and every student receives a certificate on completion.

Every package includes full-board residential accommodation, English tuition, the placement test, social activities and a completion certificate. Excursions are organised in tiers. The Bronze package covers four full-day London walking tours with entry to some free museums, a half-day excursion to Windsor and a walking tour of High Wycombe. The Silver, Gold and Platinum tiers add further visits, among them the London Eye, a Thames boat cruise, Madame Tussauds, a full-day trip to Oxford with punting, Windsor Castle and the Hellfire Caves.

Students stay on campus in single or twin en-suite bedrooms across three accommodation blocks. The blocks are open to both boys and girls, with designated areas by gender, and group leaders oversee each block. Laundry facilities are available on campus for a fee.

Meals are served on campus and included on a full-board basis. At each meal students choose from two main dishes and are served dessert, fruit and a drink. The kitchen caters for vegetarian, vegan, halal, gluten-free and lactose-free diets.

Days alternate between lessons, onsite activities, walking tours and full-day excursions to London, taking in the Royal and Westminster route, the Science Museum and Hyde Park, Tower Bridge and the South Bank, and the British Museum and Oxford Street. Evenings follow a rolling programme that includes a welcome evening, a British culture night and quiz, a fashion show made from recycled materials, sports or a murder mystery, movie nights, disco or karaoke, a casino night, a photo challenge, a game show evening, a scavenger hunt, an international talent show and a farewell party.

The High Wycombe campus offers film and television suites, drama and dance studios, a sports and events hall, a fitness centre, table tennis and a campus cafe. Classrooms are modern and well equipped, and the campus sits on the edge of the Chiltern Hills with straightforward road access to London, Oxford and Reading.

The centre is aimed at students aged ten to eighteen who want to combine English study with a mix of city excursions and countryside surroundings. Twin operates a safeguarding framework that includes a round-the-clock support service, supervised excursions for younger students, individual student mentors, weekly welfare tutorials and police checks on all staff. Students come from many countries, so English is the shared language in and out of the classroom.