14-17 year olds, girls & boys (English Level: Upper Intermediate to Advanced)
Whitgift School is one of the best IB Schools in the world in terms of its results, with an average points score of 39/45 in 2023. The Pre-IB Summer Courses are carefully designed for students who will be starting the IB Diploma in the next academic year and wish to be better prepared. Taught by expert Whitgift IB teachers, students will dive deep into core subjects, building a strong foundation that will set them on a path to IB success.
Students immerse themselves in an exciting three-week course that revolves around English Language & Acquisition, Maths & Statistics and Integrated Science. Additionally, students will be introduced to two of the fundamental aspects of the IB: TOK (Theory of Knowledge) and CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service), meaning that they leave feeling prepared and inspired. Students receive 23 hours of teaching per week, which combines morning academic lessons with afternoon IB inspired Progressive Skills in Action project work with native English speaking Student Hosts. Students are expected to work as collaboratively as possible, through group projects and in-class discussions.
The course helps students get ready to hit the ground running for their future IB studies – in English, Mathematics, Science, Individuals & Societies, Language Acquisition and the Core. Students are expected to make huge leaps in their knowledge, thinking, open-mindedness and communication skills through the course.
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. Learning and interacting with British students of a similar age greatly accelerates the learning process, makes it more meaningful and leads to long-lasting friendships. 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 Progressive Skills in Action classes, afternoon activities/academies and evening activities as well as having lunch and dinner with the international students.
Course essentials:
Pre-IB Summer Courses consist of a well-balanced programme of academic tuition, activities, sports and excursions. The weekly programme includes:
- 23 hours of lessons per week
- Progressive Skills in Action lessons in the afternoon
- Interaction with local English student hosts
- Sports and Creative Academies and Multi Activities, with four 90-minute sessions of specialist training with professional coachers per week
- Full afternoon, evening and weekend sports and activity programme
- 2 excursions per week including entry to attractions
- 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 are a typical weekly programme and a typical day of Pre-IB Summer Courses.
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.”
