Until next year!

All of our students have now departed, whether they be flying back home, making their way to London, or going on the Paris Connection.

Paris Connection arrived save and sound!

It has been a wonderfully lively and exciting month, jam-packed with classes, talks and activities. Life-long friendships have blossomed, important lessons have been learned, and memorable experiences have been had by all.

Thank you for following our journey this summer, and we wish our students all the best for the future!

~ The CamPrep Team, 2016

The Last Dance!

Hello parents!

Our last full day at CamPrep has come to an end, and we are not looking forward to seeing your children leave us tomorrow! For the final day of major classes, the students got up to lots of exciting things. Molecular Biology decorated cupcakes to look like microscopic organisms:

Law class had their final presentation day, with students representing two countries in a moot court discussing issues around the poaching of elephants for ivory. Judges included our Law teacher, Happy, the program director, Dorothy and program assistant Dan. All three judges were very impressed with the high standards of the lawyers.

Our Veterinary Science class operated on a teddy bear, spaying her in the same way that real vets would spay pets – although slightly less gory!

After the final three hours of a grand total of seventy-two hours of major classes, our students were finished! Following an afternoon of packing and getting ready for tomorrow, we all had a wonderful evening. Peterhouse treated us to a delicious banquet in the hall, for our final chance to dine in the oldest room in Europe still used for its original purpose.

We then had an awards ceremony and assembly to celebrate the amazing month we’ve had in Cambridge. Teachers selected an outstanding student from their class – although everyone involved should be very proud of themselves.

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The students were able to watch a video of their whole time here – an emotional experience for all involved!

The evening ended with our final dance, with our very own Global Politics teacher as the DJ. The chocolate fountain was a particular treat and everyone ended the program with an amazing night!

Best wishes,

The CamPrep Team

Final Days, Football and Friendships

Hello everyone,

The end of Cambridge Prep 2016 is sadly fast approaching; even so the penultimate day has been filled with fun activities and outings. The students’ day started with major classes after breakfast as usual and sadly this afternoon attended their final minor class. The Global Politics class held an insightful and  informed debate with the Director Dorothy, Dean Bill and  numerous students in attendance. The teaching faculty are all so pleased to see how much the students have enjoyed themselves and learned.

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The director and faculty hosted the final afternoon tea event with traditional scones, cakes, buns and a variety of tea on offer. The abundance of tasty English treats means this has always proven to be a popular event! Others took the afternoon to revisit their favourite spots in Cambridge or purchase last minute souvenirs and gifts.

Additionally, this afternoon Activities Director James, took an enthusiastic group to Cambridge Lakes Golf Course. There the group received a skills lesson and played a handful of holes before returning to Peterhouse.

In the evening a group of students and staff went to support the local Cambridge United Football Club in their pre-season friendly game against Aston Villa Football Club. Even though our local team were bested, all enjoyed attending the semi-professional local sporting event.

For those not wanting to watch the football, our ever dedicated activities team had a range of board games available to be enjoyed throughout the evening. With this our penultimate day at the programme came to a close. Tomorrow we will see the major classes finish, followed by an evening formal banquet, an award ceremony for the students, and our last dance.

Good night, all!

Exhibition Extravaganza: A day and night of fun, films and face-offs!

Hello everyone!

Today was the big day when many of our students had the opportunity to present what they have learnt in their time at Cambridge Prep, in our Exhibition Showcase. Different classes selected different methods of presentation, and they created something truly impressive!

The Global Business class donned their smart attire and presented their final product ideas, which they pitched to their fellow students and the faculty and admin teams.

Some classes presented their work in the form of visual displays instead, such as the Studio Art class. Their showcase consisted of their final paintings which highlighted the beautiful architecture of Peterhouse!

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The Medical Science class also used visual media, and created excellent informative posters, which explained the causes, symptoms, and potential methods of treatment and prevention for various different diseases. They then explained these in more depth in excellently delivered presentations!

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The filmmaking class displayed their talents with a series of short films, to the delight of a full theatre! Each film was introduced by its director, and the audience was engrossed and enthralled.

Creative writing students showcased their chapbook, Journeys, full of photography, illustrations, poetry, and prose, and Architecture students displayed the models they have been crafting. Staff and students alike had an excellent afternoon perusing the work which our students have been undertaking for the previous three weeks, and it is safe to say that everyone was incredibly impressed by their achievements!

The evening provided the Speech and Debate class with their chance to shine, as they hosted a debate inside the Cambridge Union Society. The Union is Cambridge’s oldest and largest debating society, and its debating chamber was modelled on the Houses of Parliament. It has played host to many renowned speakers and leaders, including Winston Churchill and Theodore Roosevelt, and tonight our students had the opportunity to walk in their footsteps and speak here.

The students debated three topics: the American Dream, American foreign policy, and the abolition of boys! All impressed with their eloquent, articulate, and impeccably delivered arguments, and all of the debates were very tightly fought. Congratulations to all who participated!

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Best wishes,

The CamPrep Team

 

Fairies, Football and Felicitations

Good evening parents!

As we start the final week here at CamPrep, showcases of the students’ subjects have begun – and it’s been wonderful seeing the hard work that has gone into the past month! Sunday began with a brunch organised by our activities directors in the glorious  Deer Park.

Sunday morning proved the perfect opportunity for a selection of sports. We visited Parker’s Piece for games of football (the British version!), frisbee and American football. Taking advantage of the continued heat, others went swimming once again – a very rare opportunity for a normal British summer!

Following this, CamPrep was able to visit a jazz concert at Jesus Green, located next to our older neighbours at CamTrad. This kick-started a very creative evening, as after dinner we watched the drama students’ brilliant production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Having already watched a production of it earlier this week in King’s College Fellows’ Gardens, it is safe to say that our students matched up to the professional standards.

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The play was followed by a delicious ice-cream party hosted by Oxbridge Academic Programs’ founder, Jim Basker. In the Deer Park once again, it was the perfect location to celebrate the Thespian skills demonstrated in the performance.

Finally, we’d like to wish a happy 21st birthday to one of our activities directors, James! He had a marvellous day, made all the better by the cards, cake and gifts given by the students and the team at CamPrep! 

Best wishes,

The CamPrep Team

A luminescent end to the night!

As we wind up to the end of Week 3, the students are beginning to showcase some of what they’ve been up to over the last few weeks during their lessons. The Law majors had a fierce and controversial public forum debate, about whether there should be one 12-hour period per year during which people can commit any crime with impunity. Judge Dorothy thought all the speakers were on top form and showed amazing improvements from their first debate earlier on in the program.

With the final lessons of the week completed, our students then took the chance to enjoy a great mix of activities today. One group had a wonderful afternoon venturing out to Shepreth Wildlife Park, where they enjoyed the lovely weather in the company of a diverse variety of animals – the adorable otters were a particular highlight!

Meanwhile, some of the students enjoyed a busy couple of hours of mixed sports at the local leisure centre, including football, basketball and badminton.

Aglow with luminous balloons, colourful FX lights, and multi-coloured glow sticks, the Nightingale Room was the setting for the long awaited UV (ultraviolet) party. Everyone got to show off their luminescent face paint and the fun shirts they designed yesterday, and with a brilliant, pounding soundtrack courtesy of student DJs Gia and Adeline, the dance was an absolute success!

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In fact, it was so good, even the Director got on the dancefloor!

Good Night!

~ The CamPrep Team, 2016

 

Poets, paddling and plays!

Hello Parents!

Despite the epic London trip yesterday (check out yesterday’s updated blog entry to see what each class got up to), there was no time to rest for our students today, as they began to pull everything together in preparation for their final week exhibition showcase.

The creative writing students had a particularly interesting day today, with the major students visiting the Ai Weiwei exhibition at Downing College’s Heong Gallery, while the minor students enjoyed a workshop led by renowned poet Lucy Berry (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIQglONO9cQ&)

Workshop led by renowned poet Lucy Berry

Activities were in full flow today! In the afternoon, a group of students took to the river for an enthusiastic round of Kayaking.

 

Meanwhile, another group were busy preparing T-shirts for tomorrow evening’s UV Party, which is shaping up to be quite an event!

 

The evening saw a second trip to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream in King’s College Fellows’ Garden, as the ever reliable Cambridge Shakespeare Festival entertained our students for one last time. Tonight also saw another entertaining ghost tour, as our students came to realise that there are scarier entities than Pokemon populating the ancient nooks and crannies of the town…

 

Good night!

~ The CamPrep Team, 2016