12-17 year olds, girls and boys (English level: Elementary – Advanced)
Wycombe Abbey is a world leader in outstanding education and is consistently one of the UK’s best performing schools with over a third of students received Oxbridge offers every year. Attending Wycombe Abbey Summer English Courses enable international students to experience gracious school life of this leading British independent school.
Wycombe Abbey Summer English Courses are classic English summer school programmes carefully designed for students who want to learn and improve their English, experience an inspirational combination of varied social, culture activities and excursions alongside their structured English tuition. Students live, study and play in an English speaking, multinational environment, where they have fun, make new friends from around the globe, and enjoy every opportunity to improve their English ability.
Students are given an English level assessment when they arrive at the school, to make sure they are placed in the right class to really enjoy and learn as much as possible. English is taught in small classes of 12-15 students by qualified EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers who have ability to make language learning fun. Students receive 3 hours per day of General English teaching in addition to 6 hours of Language Activities classes and cultural events per week.
The aim of the course is to improve English comprehension skills, along with grammar and pronunciation, as well as building confidence in communicating through English. The course syllabus covers essential English language skills with particular emphasis on speaking, listening and pronunciation both inside and outside the classroom, helping children to turn theoretical knowledge of the language into a practical ability to express themselves with confidence. The comprehensive syllabus is combined with a wide range of afternoon activities designed to give them the opportunity to develop new skills, whilst using their spoken English in a specific context. Students move on to a new activity each day incorporating Journalism, creative writing/storytelling, Vlogging, Cookery, drama, Art and Craft.
Course essentials
Wycombe Abbey Summer English Courses consist of a well-balanced programme of English tuition, activities, sports and excursions. It includes:
- 15 hours of English tuition per week
- 6 hours of Language Activities classes and cultural events per week
- 6 hours of sports per week
- 2 full-day excursions per week to London and beyond, and half day local excursion
- Full afternoon and evening activity programme on non-excursion days
- Maximum class size is 15, and the average class size is around 12
- Insurance and airport transfers are NOT included (£60 per way to/from Heathrow & Gatwick airports)
Activities:
Outside morning classroom, students will improve language skills through a broad range of sporting, cultural and entertaining activities, such as:
- Basketball
- Badminton
- Table Tennis
- Dance
- Volleyball
- Swimming
- Softball
- Soccer
- Tennis
- Aerobics
- Disco
- Barbecue
- Challenge event
- Treasure hunt
- Sports competition
- Blind Date
- Quiz Night
- Talent Show
Excursions:
Excursions are a vital part of the summer experience for international students to gain a cultural understanding of the UK alongside English language learning. Students will have 2 fully day excursion each week to experience the rich cultural heritage of Britain. The choices include:
- Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre
- Buckingham Palace
- Big Ben and Houses of Parliament
- The National Gallery
- The Tower of London
- Covent Garden Market
- The Science Museum
- Shopping at Oxford Street
- Brighton
- Oxford
- Cambridge
- Leeds Castle
- Chessington World of Adventures
The sample timetable below is a typical summer programme of Wycombe Abbey Summer English Courses.
Boarding:
Students stay in comfortable Wycombe Abbey’s boarding houses with single, triple or quad rooms all with en-suite bathrooms. Girls and boys are accommodated separately. Common rooms and kitchens and provide the perfect environment for relaxation and socialising. A team of friendly staff will stay with the students to look after them in the evenings and is on duty throughout the night.Meals:
Well balanced, nutritious three cooked meals a day with a wide range of salads and hot dishes are provided in the school dining room. Vegetarian meals are always available and are clearly labelled. Drinks and snacks are provided during break times. Packed lunches are provided for excursions.Facilities:
Excellent sports facilities including an indoor heated swimming pool and impressive sports facilities. There are students’ lounges, common TV room, and kitchens facilities in the accommodation.Laundry:
Laundry is done once a week. All bed linen is provided and is laundered once a week. Towels are not provided.Wycombe Abbey is a world leader in girls’ boarding education and a place where academic excellence, empathy and integrity thrive. It is one of the UK’s most successful independent boarding schools for girls, aged 11 to 18. The School is committed to creating tomorrow’s women leaders and has a long tradition of academic excellence, it is consistently one of the country’s best performing schools with over a third of girls received Oxbridge offers every year.
Founded in 1896, the School is set in 160 acres magnificent parkland in Buckinghamshire, England with its own lake, and is only 30 miles from the centre of London, 20 miles from Heathrow airport. It provides a secure and comfortable country lifestyle setting for the course.
The vision of Wycombe Abbey is to pursuit of academic excellence, the development of each pupil’s talents, the fostering of an awareness of God and an understanding of the needs of others. The ISI inspectors were blown away, bestowing a rare and much coveted ‘exceptional’ status on the pupils’ learning and achievements.
The School has an extremely impressive record of academic success and is consistently one of the top performers in public examination league tables. The GCSE and A level results for 2021/2022 were outstanding with 89.9% of examinations awarded 8 or 9 (A*) and 96.5% of results at 7 – 9 (A-A*) in GCSE. At A level, 65.2% of grades were awarded A*, with 97.4% of results graded at A*-B. The school is ranked first in the South East for academic results and third in the UK in Parent Power, The Sunday Times Schools Guide 2022.
With such excellent exam results, Wycombe Abbey girls gain admission to competitive courses at leading universities throughout the world. One third secure Oxbridge offers with the majority heading to Russell Group universities or prestigious Art, Drama or Music Schools. Also US top universities such as Brown University, Duke University, Columbia University, Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University and Yale University.
