11-17 year olds, girls & boys (English Level: Elementary to Advanced)
Whitgift English in Action Summer Courses is an unique intensive English summer programme, combining English Skills lessons with English in Action, where students use English while learning new skills, such as presenting, debating, public speaking and engaging in fun entrepreneurial activities.
Students’ English level is assessed through an online test before they arrive, by which they will be placed in classes with students of similar age and ability, to make sure that the students are in a group most suited to their ability level.
Students receive 23 hours of English lessons per week, which combines morning English Skills lessons with afternoon Progressive Skills in Action lessons.
- General English Skills: Lessons aim to develop students’ reading, writing, speaking and listening skills alongside their knowledge of grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. Lessons are linked thematically to the planned excursions students undertake throughout the course and elements of British Culture and Literature are embedded into the syllabus.
- British Culture: British Culture lessons are linked thematically to the planned excursions students undertake thought the course. For example, if the planned Wednesday excursion is to Buckingham Palace, Monday and Tuesday’s lesson may focus on the history of the royal family or other elements of the British Monarchy. Likewise, if the Saturday excursion is to Cambridge and King’s College, then the theme of Thursday and Friday’s lessons will be Cambridge related.
- English in Action: In the afternoon, all students will take part in ‘Progressive Skills in Action’ lessons with English-speaking British students of the same age. The Lower School students (11-13 years) will have a focus on life and social skills, and be taught presentation techniques and work on tasks focusing on communication and teamwork skills. Students in the Upper School (14-17 years) will work together on engaging topics that allow them to develop their critical thinking, research, debating and entrepreneurial skills. These classes have been designed with the characteristics of IB World Schools in mind and encourage students develop a deeper understanding into the topics they look at each week.
- Academic English: For students who have a high-level of English and want to take that next step with their English language level, the lessons will be focusing on accuracy and developing their range of more advanced structures and vocabulary. The themed weekly project with stimulating topic will promote healthy discussions and further develop student’s ability to debate, and give students the opportunity to study the ‘anatomy of an essay’, focusing on how to write an introduction, topic sentences, coherent and cohesive paragraphs and logical conclusions.
In addition, learning outside the classroom through a wide variety of specialist Academies & Activities Programme as well as interaction with local English students are also vital parts of the experience. All students will have opportunity to interact with local English students of a similar age, who arrive at the school at lunch-time each day and take part in English in Action classes, afternoon activities/academies and evening activities as well as having lunch and dinner with the international students. Interacting with English native speakers greatly accelerates the English learning process, makes it more meaningful and leads to potentially long-lasting friendships.
Course essentials:
English in Action Summer Courses consist of a well-balanced programme of English tuition, activities, sports and excursions. The weekly programme includes:
- 23 hours of English lessons per week
- Interaction with local English student hosts
- Full afternoon, evening and weekend sports and activity programme
- Sports and Creative Academies and Multi Activities, with four 90-minute sessions of specialist training with professional coachers per week
- 2 excursions per week including entry to attractions
- Staff-to-student ratio of approx. 1:5
- Maximum class size of 12 students (typically 10-11 students per class)
- Insurance and Airport transfers (Heathrow & Gatwick between 09:00-18:00 GMT)
Activities:Outside the classroom, students will improve language skills through a broad range of Sports and Creative Activities, carefully organised in a two-week rolling programme. The Academies/Activities in weeks 1/3/5 differ to weeks 2/4/6. The Multi Activity Course enables students to try out two different activities every week.
*Supplements:
Horse Riding and Fencing Academies have an additional cost of £150 per week, and must be selected when making the booking.In addition, there is a wide variety of evening and weekend activities, for example: Talent Shows, Discos, Karaoke Evenings, Fun & Games, Quiz Competitions, Cinema Trips, Bowling, etc.
Excursions:
Excursions are a vital part of the summer experience for international students to gain a cultural understanding of the UK alongside English language study. Students will have 2 trips to London each week to experience all that London has to offer. These trips are part of the syllabus, and are researched and prepared for in lessons. Linking these trips to lessons results in a more meaningful experience, and it will also create longer-lasting memories.
The possible choices are:
- Buckingham Palace
- Houses of Parliament
- West End Musicals
- London Zoo
- Natural History Museum
- Warner Bros (Harry Potter) Studios
- Hyde Park
- London Eye
- British Museum
- Thorpe Park
- Oxford Street
- Chelsea Football Club
The timetables below show the typical weekly programme and a typical day of intensive Whitgift English in Action Summer Course.
Boarding:
Students will stay in a new, state-of-the-art boarding house, all rooms with en-suite bathroom. The boarding house is situated overlooking the Water Gardens, which are home to exotic species such as flamingos and wallabies.Girls and boys are accommodated separately. The staff members are staying in the same boarding house with the students, looking after them in the evenings and are on duty throughout the night.
Meals:
Three freshly-cooked meals are provided a day with snacks in the afternoon. There is a menu of food choices, and we cater for different dietary requirements. Packed lunches are provided for excursions.Facilities:
Outstanding sports facilities with modern, indoor Sports and Conference Centre, a 25-metre, variable-depth swimming pool, a fitness suite, a sports hall, and four glass-backed squash courts; TVs & common areas in boarding houses. Email and internet access is available, enabling our students to stay in touch with their families.Laundry:
Laundry is done once a week. All bed linen is provided and is laundered once a week. Towels are not provided.Whitgift School is an outstanding British independent school, currently educating approximately 1,500 boys aged 10 to 18. Whitgift School has a long and fascinating history. It’s founded in 1596, renowned for its first-class education, and a commitment to achieving the highest standard. The motto of Whitgift School is Vincit qui patitur (“He who perseveres, conquers”).
Whitgift is friendly, challenging and inclusive. Situated in 18 ha of beautiful parkland in South London, it has some of the finest facilities of any school in the UK. Successive inspections have ranked Whitgift amongst Britain’s finest schools.
Whitgift has a strong academic achievement. In 2022, 68.2% of all A-Level grades awarded were A*/A (or Pre-U equivalent) and nearly 30% of all grades were A*, which ranks Whitgift No.62 at Independent School ranking. And at GCSE, 91.5% of all grades awarded were at 7, 8 or 9 (equivalent to the old A/A*). Nearly 50% of grades awarded were a 9. The remarkable exam results put Whitgift at No.22 according to Independent Schools Council examination results. This leads to exceptional success in gaining places at top universities, mostly at Russell Group universities.
Whitgift School is considered one of the best IB school in the world. In 2021, Whitgift was placed 10th in the world and best all-boys UK school for its International Baccalaureate (IB) results, and in 2022, 24 Whitgift candidates for the IB achieved an average of 41.6 points out of 45 and three-quarters of the students gained 40 or more points, with three pupils achieving the maximum 45/45, which ranked Whitgift top 7 in the UK and top 18 among global top IB schools. In 2023, 100% pass rate for IB students, 50 candidates achieved an average of 39 points out of a maximum of 45, and 21 candidates gained 40 or more points with 3 scoring 44 out of 45.
While Whitgift School has one of the finest academic results in the country, it also affords substantial importance to co-curricular activities within the school life. This is reflected in the sporting facilities as well as an array of musical activities. Just as Sir David Frederick Attenborough, biologist and BBC Blue Planet presenter, made the remark – “You have an astonishing school. I have never seen anything like it. Perhaps you know this, perhaps you don’t, but take it from me, you have an amazing school.”
