Summer Boarding Courses is the first summer specialist to get a perfect score on their British Council Inspection – Melanie Butler asks how they did it
What made you fall in love with the sector and how does your previous professional background help?
Sam: I worked for years in a secure unit caring for young people with challenging behaviour. My first foray into summer schools was during a university break while I was doing a post-grad course.
Having grown up in Singapore, I was immediately blown away by re-experiencing a great mix of cultures in one place, and the bonus that the young people weren’t trying to kill me was brilliant.
I had also run a hotel restaurant. Both roles were great preparation: incredibly long hours, face-to-face challenges, but without the ‘making a difference’ aspect that education brings. Doing a 24-hour shift in a secure unit is real work… 24 hours at summer school learning and laughing is a joy!
Will: My background is in sports coaching. I’ve worked with a whole range of age groups and abilities. A huge part of coaching is quickly building relationships with people and helping them to grow – something I’ve always found really useful at the schools.
My first summer school experience was as an activity leader during university holidays. I instantly fell in love with the industry. There’s something amazing and unique about a staff team coming together from all over the world, and making a school feel like home in a relatively short period of time.
What are the three most important factors in running a great summer school?
Sam: Communication, flexibility and having fun. I was thinking of quality… but quality doesn’t come without these three traits.
Communication is absolutely key, it is the DNA threading through every project. From communicating though your marketing with potential customers, through to daily communication during the course. Make it regular, make it effective.
Flexibility is crucial. There is no 5pm home time, no ‘OK, let’s look at that on Monday’. If the room booking malfunctions or the coach breaks down, everyone having a fundamental approach of flexibility will deliver quicker solutions.
Having fun. If you’re not having fun doing what you do, then why do it? The raw building blocks for all residential courses are the same: young people a long way from home, bringing different cultures and perspectives, a wide mix of transient professionals, and hopefully a bit of sun and ice cream along the way. Ace!
Some summer schools are in the tourism business – but you are part of a mainstream education chain. Why is that important?
Sam: If we are asking someone to pay the price of a small family car, you must deliver an experience that surpasses expectations in order to grow through word of mouth. We can couple a genuine academic experience with a great holiday, that is the not-so-magic formula.
Today, people can learn English from native English speakers on YouTube for free from their sofa, but they can’t get 1 to 1 support or deliver a presentation to a roomful of their peers.
Will: Summer school is now firmly a part of a student’s educational journey. At school during the year, students and teachers are often very focussed on the exams that come at the end. This gives us the opportunity to help them to develop for the 21st century.
Communication, confidence and team work are all skills that have become central to all of our in-house developed courses.
The experience also has to be positive and memorable – we want to be the spark that ignites their interest in studying in English.
“We can couple a genuine academic experience with a great holiday, that is the not-somagic formula”
What is the biggest challenge you have faced in your time in the summer school market and what is your proudest achievement?
Sam: Where to start? I’ll choose the time several years ago, when the host school in-house catering fell through, a fortnight before a course was due to start.
We scoured the country for caterers, chefs, anyone who could cater full board across a whole summer. At one point, someone suggested stock-piling tins of beans. Eventually, the solution came in the form of a professional chef and force-of-nature who came to us after cooking for the McLaren summer ball. The food was the stuff of dreams… the cost was the stuff of nightmares!
Will: I think one of the most amazing things about working in summer school is how different every year can be. On the flip side, we all know that those summers that prove to me more challenging are often the ones that you come away from with life-long friends and a few good stories.
Proudest achievement, I think, would be maintaining and building SBC through some tough industry conditions. It’s hard to maintain quality, keep to your nationality limits, the investment you make in the programme. However, its great to come through it, knowing that the quality of what you offer has grown and that our students will have the experience of their lives!
