Where to start? Marlborough College Summer School offers one of the most stimulating and engrossing holiday-course programmes in the country. The college itself is stunning, located in the heart of the eponymous, pretty Wiltshire town and surrounded by picture-perfect English countryside. The showcase programme is the residential Open Minds course, which is particularly suited to thoughtful, enquiring teens between 12 and 17. A fortnight at Marlborough was ‘the best time of my life’, enthused one former pupil we asked.
‘Adventure, risk, creativity, fun’ are the watchwords of the course, for which there are two options, one for native speakers and the other aimed at those who need tandem English language instruction (an assessment is done on arrival). A specific theme is the focus topic during the first week, followed by collaborative project work in the second. Past subject modules have included ‘silence and noise’, which explored the issues of connectivity and community in the world today.
Sparking debate, encouraging critical thinking and empathetic engagement with differing points of view is the goal of the course and, indeed, of the entire camp ethos. Students told us the experience boosted their self-confidence and that engaging with other teens from around the globe changed their perspective on the world – and, of course, that it was fun. Study and discussion occupy three hours in the morning. A restorative lunch (the food got lots of thumbs up from those we spoke to) precedes a full-on afternoon of amazing activities.
Students pick one activity programme each week from a dizzying list of 22, which means they can get seriously stuck in during that time. The choices range from the traditional riding, drama, photography or tennis offerings, to the unusual – ‘stay alive survival’, ‘cooking for university’ and ‘journalism for teenagers’. There’s an energy recharging afternoon tea, followed by one more hour dedicated to the camper’s pastime of choice. Dinner, then evening entertainment, socialising and relaxing ends each day.
Busy brains need a break, so the summer school organises adventurous weekend excursions too. One weekend may see pupils on a two-day canoe journey down the River Wye, warming up around the campfire in the evening and sleeping under canvas and stars. There’s also a trip to the wild west coast of Wales to try out coasteering, surfing and kayaking, with accommodation provided in a beachside bunkhouse. The two-week programme comes to a close with an awards night and masked ball. There’s provision for lucky students who are staying on for a second fortnight session, as the camp offers a middle weekend of low-key activities and outings before it’s all go-go-go again.
Pupils are placed in small ‘clans’ on arrival, with a ‘clan leader’ acting as mentor and counsellor. Accommodation is within the college’s boarding houses, in single or shared rooms. There are also common and games rooms to hang out with new friends, and sports facilities such as tennis courts and football pitches are only a few minutes’ walk away. A houseparent is available 24 hours a day and there’s an on-site medical service. Parents anxious for their child to have a digital break will be relieved by the camp’s mobile phone policy: one hour’s use two to three times a week, and an hour a day at weekends. If a student needs anything from town, it’s only a short stroll to the high street – after getting permission to go off site.
We hear so many great things about the summer school – the overwhelming feedback from past campers was that the experience lifted their self-confidence enormously and that they really loved making friends with teenagers from other cultures and backgrounds. Two weeks there could change lives forever.