Rochester Independent Summer School
Ages 13-17
Rochester Independent College (RIC), one of the UK’s most well-established independent colleges, are proud to offer a range of refreshingly distinctive summer courses. Building on the College’s reputation for both academic excellence and mind-blowing creativity, we are offering 4 different courses in very small classes where international visitors will study and socialise alongside local students.
At RIC the focus is on individuality, diversity and flexibility, values we’ve woven into our courses. We are looking forward to welcoming young people from all over the world to Rochester from July to mid-August to improve their English, develop their passions and have a taste of life at a British boarding school.
Access the RIC Summer 2022 Brochure here, which contains full details of the course.
Rochester Independent College and SBC are both part of the Dukes Education family of schools. The Rochester Summer School is delivered by RIC in collaboration with SBC.
The teaching at Rochester is rigorous and tailored to the best possible exam results. It offers a broad education combining its original focus on getting students into competitive courses such as medicine and dentistry with a new emphasis on the creative arts.
Studying at Rochester Independent College combines academic rigour with a creative buzz. Students enjoy being here and are treated as young adults. Our teachers have masses of expertise and experience and really get teenagers. It’s a place for individuals and a real alternative to traditional schools.
Our courses are carefully designed to give students a flavour of studying at a UK College as they prepare for GCSE, A-Level, or University study.
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RIC summer courses will offer a balance of sports, music, cultural activities, games, arts, walks and competitions so there is something for everyone on the programme. We listen to our students and if there’s something you’d really like to do we’ll try and make it happen.
Rochester has parks in the castle and along the Esplanade and Shorne Woods Country Park has 288 acres of ancient woodland. Rochester offers a range of quirky vintage shops and independent boutiques as well as museums, delicatessens and second hand bookstores.
We have our own on site sports facilities but we can also use local leisure centres. At the end of each week of courses we hold a summer festival party and barbecue in the college gardens, a showcase celebration of student artwork, music and performance
Close to but outside of London, Rochester is ideally placed as a base to explore England from. It’s a short journey from Rochester to Whitstable, so seaside day trips are a breeze and the art galleries and theatres of London are only 40 minutes away by train.
Trips to London are an integral part of each course. From nationally and internationally acclaimed museums such as the National Gallery, Tate, Victoria and Albert Museum and Design Museum to exciting independent London projects such as Shoreditch Street Art tours and RIBA London Open House Architecture walks.
During excursions, students will have some supervised free time in small groups, allowing them to visit shops and explore the local area.
RIC’s boarding is all on-campus and our summer students will have their own study bedrooms, some with en-suite facilities. As all of RIC’s accommodation is on-site, students do not have to travel between teaching buildings and their residences.
As well as common rooms and study areas, summer students have access to the College’s sports pitch, fitness centre, on-site cinema, art studios and award-winning wildlife gardens. The historically distinctive site with eye-catching listed buildings linked by award-winning wildlife gardens creates a special sense of place to explore and in which to live, study and work during your summer course.
Take a virtual tour of the RIC campus here.
The welfare and wellbeing of our students is our main priority and our dedicated staff team are available 24 hours per day to assist with any needs that a student might have during their stay with us. We take great care to ensure that RIC is a safe environment for all our students and staff.
All courses are 2 weeks in duration. Price includes return transfers to/from London Heathrow, London Gatwick and London St Pancras Eurostar station for flights/trains scheduled to arrive/depart between 09:00-16:00 on published arrival and departure days.
In order to submit your booking for Rochester Independent, click on the ‘make a booking’ tab in the right-hand corner of our home page and fill out our ‘Make a Booking’ form.
Your dedicated Admissions Manager will then contact you via your preferred method of contact to confirm any outstanding details. This will be the perfect opportunity to ask any questions before a deposit is paid. Once your details are confirmed, you will be sent a booking confirmation email, which serves as formal confirmation of your child’s place.
Your admissions manager sends a booking confirmation containing an invoice and the flywire payment link.
The fee includes all accommodation, meals*, lessons, academic materials, general sports, social activities and events, all standard excursions including admission costs, Wi-Fi, weekly laundry services, graduation certificate, academic progress report and travel insurance. Airport transfers from/to London Heathrow Airport on Start/End Dates start from £50.00 each way.
*we will endeavor to meet all dietary requirements, e.g. vegetarian, vegan, Halal etc.
Each academic course has a minimum duration of two weeks, however if you would like to enrol onto a second course you would be able to do so after the completion of the first course.
The academic program at Rochester Independent School started as a one terraced house, but as the school expanded, it gradually bought up 14 (mainly) listed buildings in the heart of a designated conservation area.
Opened in 1984 by mathematicians Brian Pain and Simon de Belder, the college was known as Rochester Tutors and was predominantly 6th form, teaching A levels and retakes. Gradually over the next 3 decades the campus grew to 14 listed buildings in the heart of Rochester and changed its name to Rochester Independent College.
At RIC you’ll stay on campus, in a single room, some of which have modern ensuite facilities. Boarding at RIC combines the informality of a university hall of residence with the supervision and pastoral support appropriate for older teenagers. The emphasis is on providing a comfortable, happy and fun environment.
RIC offers a real alternative to traditional independent sixth form boarding schools and Rochester’s halls will quickly become your home from home. Throughout the year up to 120 of the 345 students at the College board each year with boarding from 13+ starting in September 2023.
You have a right to cancel your booking within 14 days from the date of the Confirmation (the “Cancellation Period”) without giving any reason.
All cancellations must be made in writing and take effect from the date we receive such notice. Where a cancellation is made more than 30 days prior to the Arrival Date, there will be a refund of all Course Fees paid, minus the Deposit.
The quickest and easiest way to find out whether you need a Visa is to check via this link here.
EU, EEA and Swiss citizens can travel to the UK for holidays or short trips without needing a visa. This applies now, after Brexit.
For those that do require a Visa, the application that you will need to apply for is the Standard Visitor Visa.
It is important to note that, depending on the country, applications can take around 20 working days (or 3-4 weeks) to process. You are advised to begin the application process as early as possible. Once the Visa is obtained, we will need to receive a scanned copy of the student’s passport and the Visa by e-mail. SBC International reserve the right to cancel a booking, if a copy of the Visa has not been received 4 weeks before the course arrival date.
If you have any queries regarding the application process, please contact your local embassy who should be able to offer you the correct support and guidance.
Yes, if you would like to make any amendments to your booking then you can do so by contacting your Admissions Manager.
At the end of the program all students receive a certificate of attendance from their Director of Studies at their graduation ceremony.
At Rochester the minimum level of English language required is intermediate (B1+) or above.
Before the summer, we send an online test for students to complete. We will use the results to confirm their suitability for the course. In the case that a student does not meet the required level on the test, we will conduct an academic consultation to assess the next best step.
We have an extremely high ratio of staff to students throughout the summer. At each Campus, we have a Welfare Co-Ordinator, who oversees the welfare and safety of the students and would deal with any pastoral issues. We also have several House Parents/College Mentors, who are responsible for the day-to-day care of the students and are the first point of contact if any student felt as though they were upset in any way. Alongside these members of staff, all employees are trained before the summer in Child Safeguarding and many of the staff are trained in giving First Aid. There will also be a dedicated Admissions Manager for each Campus, who will be the main point of contact for families with any issues or concerns.
Our friendly and supportive staff team are available 24 hours per day to support students. We pride ourselves on offering the best possible care to students, and achieved British Council area of strength in ‘care of students’ and ‘safeguarding under 18s’.
Start Date | End Date | Duration | Price |
---|---|---|---|
Sunday 10th July 2022 | Saturday 23rd July 2022 | 2 Weeks | £2,600 |
Sunday 24th July 2022 | Saturday 6th August 2022 | 2 Weeks | £2,600 |
Sunday 7th August | Saturday 20th August 2022 | 2 Weeks | £2,600 |