Why do students and parents trust Discovery Summer year after year?
Choosing a summer school for your child or teenager isn’t easy – there are so many websites with beautiful photos and promises of an amazing educational experience – but hearing about real-life experiences is vital.
Many Discovery Summer clients find us through recommendation by a friend or local representative. But if you’re looking for a UK summer school for the first time what do you do?
We talked to some of our students and their parents to find out what they love about Discovery Summer, why they return and what makes them recommend us.
Here’s what they had to say:
- Student Voices
At Discovery Summer we’re lucky enough to welcome students from around the globe. In summer 2025, students of 42 different nationalities studied with us.
We spoke to students at our different summer schools – Benenden, Collingham (in London), Shrewsbury and Winchester – to find out why they love our summer English and speciality courses.
Benenden – 8-16-year-olds
Our first stop was Benenden where we offer our residential English Plus+ programme for international students aged 8-12 and 13-16. The school has a beautiful, green campus with excellent facilities.
We spoke to students from China, France, Germany, Portugal and Spain who loved the positive, fun atmosphere, the opportunity to learn English, and the chance to try new activities whilst making international friends. Surprisingly, even our young students appreciate the great organisation and caring staff.
Shrewsbury – 11-16-year-olds
At Shrewsbury we offer three different options: English Academy, Coding & Tech Academy, and Sports Academy (including a choice of Adventure Sports, Golf, Horse-riding, or Tennis). Students can also take the Trinity GESE (General Exam in Spoken English) whilst they are with us.
The students we spoke to loved spending time doing their chosen activity and meeting students of different nationalities. They also appreciated the focus on kindness.
Watch the video to hear what our students from Italy, Turkey, Finland, Ukraine and Czech Republic had to say.
Winchester – 13-16 and 15-17 year olds
At Winchester, 13-16 year old students can study on the Global Young Leaders or English Plus+ programmes. Meanwhile, students aged 15-17 with higher level English can study different subjects on the Pre-University course (e.g. AI, Business, Debating, Economics, Engineering, Film Making, IELTS).
We spoke to students from France, Germany, Greece and Turkey as well as our English Student Hosts.
Many of them mentioned enjoying the great classes and the opportunity to visit new places and make life-long friends. Many students return to Winchester year after year to try new more challenging options as their English improves.
Collingham, London, Family programme 5-17 year olds + adults
This unique programme in London is designed for families who are on holiday in the capital and use this opportunity to improve their English. Juniors, teens and their parents can all learn in one traditional building in a leafy garden square in Kensington.
Our junior students love the fun, interactive classes and museum visits as well as the chance to make international friends.
The adults meanwhile appreciated the kind, patient teachers and the chance to improve their English.
Watch the video to hear why our students from China, Germany, Japan, Poland and Turkey recommend us.
2. The Parent Perspective
Whilst students value fun and friendships, parents are looking for a safe, secure environment where their children can learn and grow in confidence.
We spoke to some happy parents at Benenden who shared their thoughts with us. As well as positive comments about the beautiful school with great facilities, it was lovely to hear that they appreciated all the staff who’d looked after their children.
We look forward to welcoming them back to Discovery Summer in the future.
3. External accreditation, an assurance of quality
As well as listening to our students and parents it’s important to reflect on feedback from the British Council who carry out detailed inspections every 4 years. We were very pleased to be awarded 12 strengths when they last visited us in 2023.
You can read the full inspection report here.
4. Talked to our experienced team today
Our small head office team has years of experience organising high-quality summer programmes. We are a family-run business with a real passion for creating positive learning environments for international students. That’s why so many parents trust us to look after their children and teens year after year.
Please contact us today, by email, phone or WhatsApp with any questions. We’d love to hear from you so that we can recommend the most appropriate summer course for your child whatever their interests and English level.