10 Great Reasons to Choose ISSOS at Cambridge
We know it can be hard to choose between our 3 amazing summer school campuses, so we’ve rounded up our top 10 reasons to choose ISSOS at Cambridge.
We know it can be hard to choose between our 3 amazing summer school campuses, so we’ve rounded up our top 10 reasons to choose ISSOS at Cambridge.
1. Because it's safe
This is at the top of the list for all 3 campuses, because it was the most important factor in choosing to set up our summer schools where we did. Cambridge is a small city in England’s East Anglia region, but its narrow streets and cobbled lanes give it a distinctly small-town feel. Because it’s so small in size and easy to get around traffic in the centre is minimal, as most residents and University students choose to travel by bicycle.
2. You can try Punting!
Punts are flat bottomed boats that are propelled through the water using a long wooden pole. Punting in Cambridge goes back to 1903 when Jack Scudamore opened his boatyard on Mill Lane, initially building and renting rowing boats. But as punting started to become popular in London he spotted an opportunity to build his own punts, perfect for touring the shallow waters of the river Cam, and the rest as they say is history!
Scudamores now have over 150 punts in their fleet on the River Cam. King's College Chapel, The Wren Library and the Bridge of Sighs, are just some of the famous Cambridge landmarks you can see during a punting tour. There is no better way to see this beautiful city and on a sunny summer day it’s the perfect way to relax.
3. Experience life at one of the world’s best universities
Cambridge University was founded in 1209 and its buildings include Kings College Chapel, Cavendish Laboratory, and the Cambridge University Library - one of the largest legal deposit libraries in the world.
Getting the chance to experience university life in a world famous campus like this is an amazing opportunity for young students. Football fans will be interested to know that Parker's Piece in Cambridge is also widely regarded as the birthplace of the rules of Association Football. The Cambridge University Football Club Laws were first used on Parker's Piece and were adopted by the Football Association in 1863.
4. Discover local secrets
Students who choose Cambridge as their campus should keep their eyes open to see if they can spot any signs of the infamous Cambridge Night Climbers. Stories initially emerged about the Night Climbers in the late 1930s in a book (published under a pseudonym) by one of the members, who documented the club’s illicit adventures solo-climbing the city’s numerous colleges and chapels under the cover of darkness.
Still active today, the Night Climbers is an exclusive and highly secretive club because what they do is also highly illegal, not to mention dangerous. They are normally only evident when they play one of their famous pranks. In 1958 they were able to get an Austin Seven (a car!) on to the roof of Senate House, which it subsequently took the university a whole week to get back down again. Then in 2009 the members placed 25 Santa hats on the very top of various buildings in the city.
5. Follow in the footsteps of the world's most eminent academics
Students choosing our Cambridge campus will be keeping good company. Given its status as one of the world’s finest universities it is not surprising that Cambridge has been home to some of the greatest academic minds in history and affiliates of the University of Cambridge have received more Nobel Prizes than those of any other institution.
There are far too many to mention in one short article, but Cambridge boasts Stephen Hawking, Sir Issac Newton, Florence Nightingale and Charles Darwin amongst its notable alumni.
6. The Trips and Outings
Students at our Cambridge campus get the chance to visit Windsor on one of our Saturday trips, home to the famous Windsor Castle where Prince Harry married Meghan Markle. It's the largest and oldest inhabited castle in the world, and the Queen's favourite weekend home. Students will tour the castle and see the changing of the guards, before having time to shop in the vibrant town centre.
Our other Saturday trip for the Cambridge students is to Oxford, a stunning city dominated by one of the oldest universities in the world. Students will tour the city and will be able to see a number of locations used in the Harry Potter films along the way.
In addition to Saturdays, our Wednesday trips are half-day outings, and from Cambridge this means the opportunity to visit two of the following 4 options: the beautiful Ely Cathedral, The Imperial War Museum at Duxford, The Raptor Centre to get up close and personal with Birds of Prey, or Ten Pin Bowling.
7. Museums
Cambridge boasts the country’s highest concentration of internationally renowned collections outside of London, and many of the University’s museums are free to visit. From the Fitzwilliam, to the Sedgwick, the Polar Museum to the Botanic Gardens, Cambridge’s collections offer over 5 million works of art, artefacts and specimens all within just one square mile. Full information on the University’s collections can be found here.
8. The Academic Choices
The options at all 3 of our campuses vary, with some subjects being offered in more than one location. But wherever you choose to go the standard of teaching you can expect for your chosen subject will be second to none, as we pride ourselves on finding the very best in their field to teach our academic options.
Cambridge is the place to be if you want to study: Debate, Business & Entrepreneurship, Journalism, English Language or Pre-IB.
9. The Elective Options
As with the academic choices, electives vary at each of our 3 campuses, but we guarantee that they will all be fun filled, action packed and taught by the best in their field to enable our students to discover exciting subjects while gaining new skills and experience.
Pick Cambridge if you would like to try: , Photography, Outdoor Leadership, Theatre or Tennis.
10. The ISSOS Experience
Starting and ending our campus lists with the same two points might seem like cheating, but they are the most important of our reasons to choose any of our ISSOS summer schools.
We limit the number of any one nationality to just 10% at all of our locations, so students get a truly international, unique and exciting experience where they can combine learning, creative enrichment and action-packed adventure in Cambridge, Yale or St Andrews.
They will join a Clan, make friends for life and generally have The Experience Of A Lifetime.
Ready to join us?..
