Senior Summer Course
For students aged 13 - 17
Summer Courses for Growing Students
Course Overview
Our senior course takes place in St. Mary’s School in the historic English city of Cambridge. Famous for its university, the city has been home to some of history’s greatest thinkers.
You are welcome to join us on our summer course with residential and homestay facilities. We combine a firstclass education with an integrated social and activity programme to produce a unique study-abroad experience.
The summer academic program is focused around learning English as well as British Life and Culture (though other courses may be available upon request). Students typically study for 3 hours each day and their learning is supplemented by an activity from our extensive social program, which ranges from a sport or enrichment activity to visiting the university colleges, the many museums or punting on the river Cam. Traditionally, enrichment activities include arts and crafts, music and drama, etc.
New for 2025, students undertake a learning track in one of three areas: coding, performing arts or entrepreneurship. Students complete a project during their chosen track while developing a range of 21st Century Skills and their knowledge in several STEAM subjects.
Students also participate in a full evening program which could range from a quiz or games night to a student show, which is entirely student led.
British teenagers spend time in class as Teaching Assistants motivating our students to practise English with local young people of a similar age.
Residential students stay in the newly-renovated Mary Ward House, overlooking the Botanic Gardens. Homestay students stay with families within Cambridge or within a short bus ride of the city.
The facilities at St Mary’s School are excellent and help supplement one of our core values which is that learning should be student-centered and multi-faceted. Our weekend trips to places of interest, including London and Cambridge, help supplement cultural learning.
There is a Student Services Manager who students can discuss any issues with on a daily basis.
St Mary’s School
Our senior summer school course is held at St Mary’s School in Cambridge. The school is in the heart of the city, only a few minutes’ walk from the city centre and Cambridge’s many restaurants, cafés, cinemas and shops.
A Victorian building with a refurbished, modern interior, it has bright and comfortable classrooms with a computer suite and free Wi-Fi. Students also have access to outdoor recreational areas. Whatever your hobbies or interests, there are plenty of activities to try out, ranging from music and drama to arts & craft…. and students keen on sports will be delighted by the impressive sporting facilities on site which include football, table-tennis and basketball.
The main city bus terminal and railway station are a short walk from the school. At St Mary’s, residential accommodation consists of single or twin rooms and shared dormitories. Residential students are given three meals each day, including a choice of hot or cold food with a selection of fresh fruit and salad. Special diets can be catered for on request.
Teaching Methodology
Course Objectives:
The focus of this course is to use a whole language approach that incorporates the practical English skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking to achieve maximum integration and oral language development (see The CCL method video). The course deals with some of the key aspects of the social, cultural, and linguistic structures of modern Britain. The emphasis is as much on factual knowledge as it is on the development of a critical approach to the topics in question. Hence Lesson 1 is called THiNK skilfully and Lesson 2 is called British Life and Culture.
LESSON 1
We are using ‘THiNK’ from Cambridge University Press for our main syllabus. “Whether inside or outside the classroom, THiNK goes beyond building strong language skills to developing the whole learner–with an emphasis on critical thinking, positive values, and healthy self-esteem–ensuring academic and lifelong success.”
The syllabus should be thought of as a series of can-do statements. These are the can-do statements from the textbook and reflect what is covered in the unit. The full list provided is a ready-made framework for teachers to use. At the end of each week the students are given a list of the section of the syllabus they have completed.
LESSON 2
At CCL we divide our three-hour teaching blocks into two halves – in the first half we focus more on new language, we have language games and productive activities to practise this language. In the second half we have British life and culture sessions and prepare for social activities and trips.
British life & culture (BL&C): a Cambridge perspective:
Every summer CCL takes time travel to former times in Britain. Each two-week block has a different daily cultural theme on British history, and each morning we travel to a different year and an important cultural experience.The time travel theme is reflected in class in your BL&C sessions (lesson 2) and forms part of our fortnightly class assembly shows.
Social Program
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Social Activities
Students are encouraged to take full advantage of the rich variety of social, cultural and sporting activities offered by CCL.
The course programme includes approximately 3 hours of activities each day including sports, Arts & Crafts as well as visit to local attractions. We also offer enrichment activities such as public speaking, debating & critical thinking.
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Excursions
Additionally, full-day excursions to important locations such as London, Stratford-Upon-Avon, Oxford and Brighton are arranged during weekends throughout the course period.
We ensure our activities are educational and enjoyable for our students, as well as giving them opportunities to interact, practising their English
Learning Track
Residential students will partake in a learning track between 16:30 and 18:00.
Students have a choice between coding, performing arts or entrepreneurship.
Each track is organised around a two-week programme. Students studying for longer than two weeks may study on more than one learning track.
Each track has been carefully designed to ensure the development of 21st Century Skills such as team work, leadership, creativity and logical thinking as well as the cross-curricular links with STEAM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths).
Cambridge
The city is home to Cambridge University, widely acknowledged as a centre of global importance in education and learning. It has some world-famous landmarks including King’s College Chapel and the Botanic Gardens.
In the summer, the city is alive with visitors from all over the world and this is a particularly good time to visit and enjoy the traditional pursuit of punting on the River Cam.
Cambridge is clean, vibrant and safe and most major attractions are to be found within a walkable distance in the city centre.
Course Dates & Fees
Homestay
Cambridge 1 - Homestay Accommodation - 6 July – 20 July 2025 (2 weeks) - £2,400
Cambridge 2 - Homestay Accommodation - 6 July – 27 July 2025 (3 weeks) - £3,600
Cambridge 3 - Homestay Accommodation - 6 July – 3 August 2025 (4 weeks) - £4,800
Cambridge 4 - Homestay Accommodation - 20 July – 3 August 2025 (2 weeks) - £2,400
Cambridge 5 - Homestay Accommodation - 20 July – 17 August 2025 (4 weeks) - £4,800
Cambridge 6 - Homestay Accommodation - 27 July – 17 August 2025 (3 weeks) - £3,600
Cambridge 7 - Homestay Accommodation - 3 August – 17 August 2025 (2 weeks) - £2,400
Cambridge 8 - Homestay Accommodation - 6 July – 17 August 2025 (6 weeks) - £7,200
Residential
Cambridge 1R - Residential Accommodation - 6 July – 20 July 2025 (2 weeks) - £2,950
Cambridge 2R - Residential Accommodation - 6 July – 27 July 2025 (3 weeks) - £4,400
Cambridge 3R - Residential Accommodation - 6 July – 3 August 2025 (4 weeks) - £5,800
Cambridge 4R - Residential Accommodation - 20 July – 3 August 2025 (2 weeks) - £2,950
Cambridge 5R - Residential Accommodation - 20 July – 17 August 2025 (4 weeks) - £5,800
Cambridge 6R - Residential Accommodation - 27 July – 17 August 2025 (3 weeks) - £4,400
Cambridge 7R - Residential Accommodation - 3 August – 17 August 2025 (2 weeks) - £2,950
Cambridge 8R - Residential Accommodation - 6 July – 17 August 2025 (6 weeks) - £8,750
FAQs
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Course fees include 15 hours of tuition per week alternating between morning and afternoon lessons, morning or afternoon activities on four week days and three evenings, one full day excursion each week, airport transfers on the specified course dates to and from London airports, shared homestay accommodation, all meals (packed lunch for excursions), use of course material and end-of-course report and certificate.
The fees do NOT include pocket money, local bus fare (if applicable), bank/credit card charges, enrolment fee of £100, damage fund of £200, and airport transport on days other than those advertised as our course dates.
Students can also choose to go on extra trips at additional cost. This is normally charged at £45.00 per person per trip to include coach and entrance.
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A genuinely educational experience – all lessons, activities and visits have a linguistic and cultural purpose, as well as being enjoyable.
UK teenagers act as Teaching Assistants enabling students to meet local young people of a similar age.
The maximum class size is 16.
Students are tested before being placed in classes with students of a similar language level. Placement is kept under review, ensuring that each student is in the most appropriate group.
The latest Cambridge University Press course books are used for each level, together with specially selected materials relevant to the age and interests of the students.
Attention is paid to accuracy as well as fluency, and help is offered when grammatical difficulties arise.
Classroom activities such as role-plays, simulations and language games give students practice in communicative language skills.
Language connected to excursions is introduced and followed up in the classroom.
Students take home a work file as a permanent record of course achievement.
An Attendance Certificate and a detailed record of achievement are provided for all students on course completion.
Courses of 2 to 6 weeks’ duration
Age limits are closely followed. There may be exceptional circumstances when a student outside the age range is allowed to join the course if the school is sure their presence will not adversely affect the course and that proper safeguarding procedures are in place
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Please check the Enrol section of the website to fill the enrolment form online and pay the deposit.
Alternatively, to reserve a place on a course please send the enrolment form together with your Banker’s Advice form showing that your deposit of £200 and enrollment fee of £100, totalling £300, has been transferred to the Centre’s bank account. The official Certificate of Acceptance cannot be issued before the deposit is received by the Cambridge Centre for Languages. For bank transfer, our account details are: Account No: 50112453, Sort code: 20-17-35, Barclays Bank, 28 Chesterton Road, Cambridge CB4 3AZ, England. IBAN NUMBER: GB47BARC20173550112453; SWIFTCODE: BARCGB22, reference: student`s name.
The deposit and enrolment fee can also be paid by credit card (please see “Section Four” on the enrolment form).
The balance of fees is due, at the latest, 4 weeks before the course begins, and can be paid in the same way as the deposit. Please note that for all payments made by bank transfer, ALL international banking fees must be pre-paid.
Failure to comply with the registration formalities and payment terms may result in the enrolment being cancelled.
Payments may not be made in instalments.
The Cambridge Centre for Languages reserves the right to decline an application for a course.
By registering a student on our course, parents/guardian/agents give the Cambridge Centre for Languages permission to include the student in the course photographs we take or films we make to be used for promotional purposes.
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We regret that no reduction of fees can be made if a student begins the course late or leaves early.
In case of cancellation we will refund all course fees and the deposit only if cancellation is received in writing within 14 days of the booking being made. Please note accommodation fees are exempt from the cancellation policy.
If a student of a country for which there is a visa requirement to enter the U.K. is refused by the British authorities (British Consulate or visa section of a British Embassy) to have this visa, and a copy of the official visa refusal letter is sent to the Cambridge Centre for Languages four weeks before the course starts, at the latest, all monies received from the student will be refunded. If, however, the refusal letter reaches the Cambridge Centre for Languages within the last four week period before the start of our summer course, only course fees less the deposit will be refunded. To avoid this situation, students are advised to complete registration formalities and visa applications well in advance of the course starting date.
Within four weeks before the course starts, refunds of course fees (less the deposit) will be made if the student is taken seriously ill and cannot attend the course and this fact is verified by a medical/hospital report.
The Cambridge Centre for Languages aspires to offer the students a study environment as internationally mixed as possible. If, however, enrolments are received for a course in such a way that it puts one particular nationality in a substantial majority, the parents/guardian/agents of the students will be informed of this situation before the course starts and if they decide to cancel the course as a result of this, all monies (less the deposit) will be refunded.
A damage fund of £200 is collected from the student on arrival and returned to him or her at the end of the course, less the amount needed to cover any loss, breakage, and/or damage the student causes either at school or homestay or outside during trips or activities.
A student who fails to observe the rules of the Centre or brings it into disrepute may be required to leave, in which case a refund of fees will not be made.
We will immediately inform the parents/guardian/agents if a student has a poor school attendance or punctuality record, or does not have a good reason for not being at his homestay by the prescribed time after lessons/daily activities. If there is no improvement in these areas, we reserve the right to ask a student to leave the programme, in which case a refund of fees will not be made.
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The Cambridge Centre for Languages reserves the right to change students` homestay arrangements or make amendments in the social programme, if circumstances dictate it.
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Students are advised to insure in their own country against illness, accident and loss of money or property. The Centre accepts no responsibility for loss, damage or expense resulting from these causes.
