ISSOS Experience
Each of our summer school campuses has the same structure, so regardless of which campus you choose, you will get the same great ISSOS experience.
Students choose one academic and one elective for the three weeks, and outside of class time everyone takes part in our carefully designed schedule of evening programmes, additional activities and cultural trips.
We are a summer school unlike any other, guaranteeing a summer you will never forget where you will make friends that last a lifetime.
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Academics and Electives
Our exciting academic classes meet for 3 hours each weekday morning and are taught by our highly qualified team of teaching staff who are all experienced, working professionals in their subjects.
Electives take place on four afternoons each weekday. These fun-filled and action-packed classes let students discover exciting new subjects, or develop existing skills, learning from expert professional coaches and teachers.
The Groups
Groups at ISSOS are your smaller family within the wider ISSOS Family. When you arrive you will meet your counselor and will be in a group based on your age and gender, so you will always be with other girls or boys of the same age as you.
There are normally around 8 to 15 students in one group and you will all stay in the same area of halls as your group counselor. As the head of your group, your counselor is there to help you with anything you might need, help your group to bond together and generally act as a big brother/sister figure for you.
Classes, clans and evening activities give students plenty of chances to mix with other students at ISSOS, but your smaller group and your counselor will always be there for support. As with everything at ISSOS, our Scottish heritage comes into the groups too and they are all named after Scottish islands and rivers.
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The Clans
Clans are a very popular part of the ISSOS experience. We have 4 student clans, MacGregor, Wallace, Stewart and MacDonald. New students are allocated to their clan at the Clan Calling event in the first few days, and you will remain a part of that clan every year that you return to ISSOS. If you have had brothers or sisters at ISSOS before you, you will always be in the same clan as your family members were.
Over the course of the programme, the clans compete against each other in a series of friendly competitions and fun team games. The events are judged by our impartial staff clan, the Munros, with the aim being to win as many points as possible in the hope of winning the clan Cup or Spirit Shield! Clan events are a great way for you to meet others on campus outside of your group or class friends.
4pms
Each day after your elective class finishes (with the exception of Wednesdays) there will be activities for you to join in with to help you meet other students, learn new skills, or practice old hobbies. What’s on offer varies at every campus because we plan these based on suggestions and requests from our students.
Students can let their Counselor know what activities they like and they can help to plan a 4pm* around that.
*Due to a slight variation in the timing of the day, there are no 4pm activities at Yale.
Evening Programmes
Evenings at ISSOS are filled with events, with something to match the interests of every student. Our evening programmes include Clan events, like Dodgeball, Sandcastle Building and Urban Orienteering, but there are also other events like our Counselor Fashion Show, Scottish Country Dancing, Creative Night and many more.
These events help to balance the academics and electives and let you get to know lots of other students that you might not have met during the day
