A Day Trip to Cambridge
16 April, 2019
Alongside the stimulating academic schedule on the Oxbridge International Summer School, we also have a wide range of extracurricular activities that encourage students to explore Oxford and beyond, and develop the important skill of a study-life balance that is needed at a top university.
In the first week of the summer school, have a full day trip to Cambridge. Although our summer school is based in Oxford, summer school students are given the wonderful opportunity to explore the half of 'Oxbridge' - the beautiful city of Cambridge and world-renowned university!
Here we take you through the busy day to show you what our students get up to in Cambridge.
Morning
7am: An early start for students today to prepare for an early coach trip to Cambridge! Students are registered by 7.30 and tuck into breakfast in the Dining Hall.
8am: The coach leaves for Cambridge. Students have brought books and work with them (and some nap after a busy afternoon and evening the day before!).
10.30am: We arrive in the historic city of Cambridge! All members of staff leading the day trip attended Cambridge University and so are perfect tour guides for the city. We start by walking along the Backs, a river-lined walk along the back of some of the most impressive university colleges.
11.30am: We end up in Market Square – the centre of the city. Students climb to the top of Great St Mary’s, a church whose tower has beautiful panoramic views of the colleges.
12.30pm: Cambridge has many cafes and restaurants in the centre, including the many market stalls at the foot of Great St Mary’s. Students split off in groups to find lunch and possibly do a bit of shopping in the many University Outfitters! They are all provided with maps of the nearby colleges, which are open for students to have a look around.
Afternoon
2pm: We reconvene at the church and register, before walking along to Jesus Green, where the River Cam follows through from the colleges. We are going punting! Students and Coordinators lounge in the punts, whilst our brilliant tour guides tell us all about the history of the University and surrounding grounds!
3.30pm: We get off the punts at the other end of the river, close to our next destination – the Fitzwilliam Museum! This is the largest museum in Cambridge and is full of incredible displays from ancient pottery, to suits of armour.
5pm: Once we have explored the museum, we head to Selwyn College gardens to relax before dinner. Some play ball games, whilst others sit in the shade by the chapel and pond, whilst the ducks wander around between them.
Evening
6pm: Dinner is served in the Dining Hall of Selwyn College! Students can pick from a range of delicious meals, and dine in the Hall that is set out for their arrival. Many postgraduate students are still in the college, and are grabbing dinner too before heading back to the library!
7pm: PhD student Benjamin gives an exciting and interactive talk on his research on developmental biology, which is set to help develop more effective and less risky IVF treatment. Students ask questions about his time at Cambridge University, and how he decided to continue from undergraduate study to pursue a PhD.
8pm: The coach comes to pick us up from Selwyn College. When all on and registered, we head back to Oxford.
10.30pm: After a long day, students head straight to bed when we arrive, as do Coordinators!
Work Hard, play hard
Alongside their academic studies, students are given the opportunity to enjoy all that Oxford has to offer and see Cambridge through a wide range of organised activities and excursions while on the summer school.
These activities and excursions include:
- A debating workshop in the Oxford Union, an which has hosted many famous speakers including the US Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, and British Prime Ministers Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, David Cameron and even our current Prime Minister Theresa May.
- A day trip to Cambridge to explore the colleges of the university, punting along the college Backs, a talk by a PhD student, and dinner in a college.
- A chance to learn to punt along the River Cherwell.
- An outdoor theatre trip set in the beautiful gardens of an Oxford college.
- A visit to a college chapel Evensong Service in the evening.
To join us in Oxford this summer, choose your course and apply for the Oxbridge International Summer School.