Every summer, thousands of teenagers from across the world pack their suitcases and wave goodbye to their family and friends. Rather than spending the summer at home, they choose to embark upon an exciting adventure – a study trip abroad! But why do high school students each year choose to forgo a summer relaxing at the beach to take part in a residential summer school like Reach Cambridge? After all, the rest of the year is dedicated to studying at school!
Reach Cambridge students decide to attend the summer school for many different reasons: to make friends from all over the world, to grow in confidence and independence, to experience a flavour of the student life, and to spend the summer in a place as beautiful and inspiring as Cambridge! However, one of the most important parts of the international summer school is its academic aspect.
A study trip abroad on a summer program like Reach Cambridge can be the perfect way to complement your studies at school. We explore just a few of the reasons why:
1. Study something that YOU are passionate about
At school, you study a wide variety of subjects, which is great as it gives you the opportunity to learn about lots of different things and discover which of those things interest you the most. However, on a Reach Cambridge summer program students choose just one subject to study for the duration of the course. This allows students to explore the subject that they are most passionate about, be it English Literature, Maths, History or whichever course they choose, in greater depth than time allows at school, giving a taste of what it might be like to study that subject at university.
2. Experience expert tuition
Reach Cambridge summer school classes are led by experts in their fields – if you are studying on the Physics and Engineering course you might find yourself taught by an Astronomy researcher one day and a specialist in superconductors the next day!
Many of our teachers are researchers or lecturers at Cambridge University or other prestigious institutions in the UK and overseas.
3. Try something new!
For others, a study trip could be the opportunity to experience a taste of what it is like to study a subject that is not offered at school. At Reach Cambridge, for instance, Law, Psychology, Philosophy and Life Sciences and Medicine are popular choices among those who wish to get a feel for whether studying to be a Lawyer or a Psychologist, say, is the right choice for them.
4. Making the most of what Cambridge has to offer: learning inside and outside the classroom
Many Reach Cambridge summer school classes make the most of the University’s
fantastic classroom facilities, however not all classes are confined to the classroom. At some point during the course your class will step outside to see what can be discovered by taking advantage of what Cambridge as a city and a University have to offer. If you are a budding scientist on the Biotechnology course, for instance, you might take a trip to the Cambridge University laboratories to try your hand at some exciting practical experiments. Law students, on the other hand, enjoy a visit to the Cambridge Courts to see how trials work in real life.
Lectures and classes, combined with local visits, practical experiments, group work and personal projects make for a genuinely holistic learning journey which really allows Reach Cambridge summer students to excel in their chosen subject.
5. Cross-cultural learning
Imagine you are in a class with ten other students, and those ten students come from ten
different countries. This is often the case on an international study program like Reach Cambridge. Many of the classes at Reach Cambridge involve a great deal of discussion and debate on important topics within your chosen subject. During these discussions you will gain insights and hear opinions from students from all over the world – an invaluable experience which may help you to think in new and exciting ways and understand a diversity of perspectives which you can then take back to your own classes at school and share with your classmates.
So, why not sign up for the summer now? You can choose from our wide range of academic courses here and secure your place by applying online today.
