Oxford Scholastica Academy: Academic Summer School for 12-18 year olds

While our daughter liked her instructor, the academic content at Oxford Scholastica Academy (OSA) was incredibly disappointing. Despite an application process implying academic matching—and our advance notice of her prior Psychology coursework—the class remained strictly entry-level. When she advocated for a challenge or different course, administration took three days to respond. Their poor solution was simply assigning extra work, which would have isolated her from the community-building activities she joined the camp to experience.

Post-camp, they offered to waive the fee for a fee-based internship. We declined as don’t value fee based internships and were unwilling to invest more time in OSA, where they don’t seem to prioritize the student’s experience. Our request for funds to enroll her in an alternative course to make up for the lost education was denied.

OSA seems far more focused on enrollment revenue than the student experience. We have twins and our son had a phenomenal experience at a different university camp - Summer Springboard - the contrast between those experiences was shocking. I would just suggest looking at other options - as there are great options out there - before enrolling with OSA.

Oxford Scholastica Academy was the first-ever summer program that I attended. Despite being extremely worried about travelling alone to a new country, Oxford Scholastica Academy's activity coordinators and tutors made the experience so welcoming.

Out of the many subjects that OSA had offered, I chose the discovery medicine course. We explored topics like heart diseases, clinical trials, and diagnostics. We had also done hands-on practicals such as presentations on specific cardiovascular diseases and a heart dissection. I loved how hands-on the whole experience was, from using a UV light to check how cleanly we've washed our hands in case of a surgery to dissecting and looking at a pig's heart. I also enjoyed all the self-study and articles that were provided to me. It allowed me to use skills like critical thinking to enhance my knowledge in medicine. In addition to this, the tutors at OSA are extremely patient. They teach the lectures in an easy and efficient way to learn. Apart from the lectures, she had also described what it would be like to study medicine, giving me more insight into the major. She was extremely kind and friendly, allowing me to learn and study efficiently.

Other than the academic side of OSA, I was able to learn lots of life skills, such as independence, learning how to take care of myself, navigation and so on. OSA gives enough freedom for students to go and independently explore the town while also keeping track of their safety. During my time there, I learnt how to navigate around the cities, like looking for restaurants and different sightseeing locations. I faced some challenges with payment since I only brought cash, while most restaurants used card or e-wallet payment. To work around this issue, I researched locations that accepted cash before visiting. This experience taught me valuable skills, such as managing my own money and finding nutritious yet affordable meals.

Lastly, the OSA experience allowed me the opportunity to make new and long-lasting friendships. Throughout the program, I got to connect with my housemates and peers through game nights and sports in the park. I had managed to connect with students from all over the world, each bringing their own unique perspectives and experiences. These friendships went beyond academics, and I got to share ideas, opinions, and grow from these experiences.

Overall, OSA has been and will be the best summer program. While being there to study, I also got to learn more practical and useful skills like teamwork & independence. It gave me enough freedom to not only study and learn about my course but also allowed me to explore the town and create lasting bonds.

Oxford scholastica gave me the most memorable , exciting and educational 2 weeks of my life ...(I regret not staying there for 4 weeks ) . Scholatica doesn’t only broaden your knowledge on your subject but helps you discover so many talents in you which even you yourself didn’t know of.The quality of education you receive here .. helps you in innumerable ways even in your own country but but but ...scholatica is not only about education ...I did so many fun activities here ...like punting , the Scottish dance , international ball to name a few . I made friends for a lifetime and I thank scholatica from the bottom of my heart ... I am still in touch with the wonderful activity coordinators Omar and tia they were my support system back in oxford . I would recommend this Summer school to everyone .ITS A MUST. And would love to visit it again myself . All this was possible thanks to the wonderful , encouraging and understanding staff of scholatica !

OSA was absolutely amazing! i had heard about it and their programs were in the middle of the school year for me but it was absolutely amazing. i genuinely miss it so much it was so much fun learning about different careers, cultures and still having an absolutely amazing time. 100/100 would recommend this to anyone planning on going to a summer school in england. the highlights of my trip were the ball and the different opportunities we had to meet people and talk about their careers/countries. i now have so many friends in so many parts of the world who i’m still in contact with.

The most valuable experience I’ve ever had in a multitude of ways. The academic side was fascinating and stimulating, not only I n terms of content, but it also gave me so much more confidence, in a classroom setting that has definitely helped when going back to school since. I made friends from all over the world and remain in touch with them through social media, which is such a rare occurrence at such a young age, Also we took part in so many fun activities, including the famous oxford punting! (Which was so much harder than it looks, but completely hilarious and one of my favourite memories to date). The beautiful city of Oxford combined with the awesome people and OSA team serves for a guaranteed unforgettable experience.

I’ve had the greatest experience during the summer school. I had the chance to meet new people from all over the world who have the same aspirations as me. It made me feel even more passionate about what I want to study in the future. Not only the learning, we got to visit really cool places and do so many fun activities. The staff are so friendly and welcoming as well. When I signed up for the summer school I was really nervous and not sure of how it’s going to be like but from the first day I started I felt so welcomed. I honestly experienced so many things that I would’ve never done on my own. :)

This summer school is the best i’ve ever been to ! You get to meet a lot of people from all around the world, you get to learn a specific subject, and it’s taught to you by some amazing teachers. And the staff is really nice too. But you also get to do some fun activities in your free time or in the evening like punting and even going ice cream tasting ! All in all, Oxford scholastica was the best two weeks of my life and I truly recommend it to anyone looking for a 2 or 4 week summer school. Truely amazing experience !!!

My whole experience was the literal best, i spent two weeks there and honestly when it was over i wished I could spend more time there im not usually a social person but joining oxford scholastica really helped me step out of my comfort zone and become a more outgoing person it was really amazing and i would recommend it to anyone, also the variety of different courses is really nice and the course i joined in was really interesting and the fact that we actually got to experience what we wanted to be in the future was amazing.