Coronavirus (COVID-19) update

Coronavirus (COVID-19) update 

Oxbridge International Summer School places the safety and wellbeing of the young people with whom we work as our highest priority. Our position on the Coronavirus is updated with guidance from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Public Health England (PHE).  

At present, we continue to accept and plan for applications onto our 2020 Summer School. This includes applications from areas of the world that are impacted by the Coronavirus.  

We recognise that the situation is currently unstable and will continue to be so for some time. Given the nature of the infection, the developing situation, and the short incubation period of 14-days, we are too far from the Summer School to be able to take definitive action in respect of whether we will be able to accept young people from certain parts of the world onto the Summer School.  

As we approach the Summer School, we will keep our guidance updated. If the FCO advises against or restricts travel from certain areas of the world during the Summer School, we will follow that advice and reach out to those young people as necessary to discuss alternative arrangements before they travel.  

For those young people worried that their ability to attend the Summer School may be affected by future local or FCO restrictions, we advise that you consult local guidance. We also recommend that you take out comprehensive travel insurance to provide cover against the consequences of not being able to travel or to secure a visa.  

At the time of the Summer School, in the event that any young person is adversely affected by either local or UK government restrictions on travel, we are able to exercise our discretion and provide students with a refund on fees (minus the deposit), on the presentation of documentation evidencing such restrictions. Alternatively, we can offer the opportunity to defer the place. More details of this are set out in our terms and conditions. 

For those young people worried that attending a Summer School in the UK may present a risk to health as a result of Coronavirus, we will have stringent security measures in place to protect our young people, informed by guidance from Public Health England. Before and during the delivery of the Summer School we will take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the young people in our care and will ensure we have staff onsite trained to provide appropriate support if necessary. If you would like to discuss our risk management approach in the event please reach out to our team here. 

We will continue to review the situation and to update our policy as necessary, informed by guidance from the appropriate authorities. We will keep you posted as the situation develops.