5 Minutes with Andy Brownlee
SBC Academic Director
Meet Andy Brownlee; the Summer Boarding Courses Academic Director. Andy talks to us about his thoughts on studying in the UK. Andy has 17 years experience in both year round and Summer education. He demonstrates his passion for education through the development of the programme, the training of his academic team and the impact these things have on SBC students every year!
Be confident, be open-minded and be excited. It’s going to be an unforgettable experience, and you should be prepared to be involved with everything that summer school can offer you. You can find out more about preparing for Summer School here.
Take every opportunity to talk to your classmates, teachers, and summer school staff. Be involved with everything: the activities, excursions, and social evenings.
Summer schools are so great because we learn all the time; both inside and outside of the classroom. In the classroom we learn from our teachers. Outside of the classroom we learn from our fellow students.
It might seem a little daunting to travel abroad to study, because you are putting yourself outside of your comfort zone. However, this is precisely the reason to study abroad! If we can experience something new, something which challenges us to think and act differently, then we ultimately learn a lot about ourselves, and become more confident for doing it.
I wasn’t given this advice exactly but I read it in a book. And it’s more of an aphorism than a straightforward piece of advice, but anyway: “What is written without effort is read without pleasure”. The lexicographer Samuel Johnson is reported to have said it. We live in a time where, one way or another, we all interact with the written word all the time. Whether it’s an email, a text message or a posting on social media. Taking care to write well is more important than ever – the effort in writing corresponds exactly to the pleasures of reading.
Tolstoy, Nabokov and Joyce. My three favourite writers. Nabokov counted both English and Russian as his native languages, so he could translate for us.
