Abbey Road Programs

Abbey Road Programs

Why choose Abbey Road Programs?

Abbey Road Programs provides several summer programs for high school students. From study abroad, to language and cultural immersion, to student travel around Europe, Abbey Road is proud to offer it! With program locations currently in Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, USA, Canada and the Czech Republic, high school students have the opportunity to see the world, experience life abroad, and learn about regional languages, art, history, and culture. Abbey Road even offers schools and education organizations the option to customize a program! Check out Abbey Road Programs' main site for more details.

Reviews

Default avatar
Melissa
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

cannot recommend this program enough!

My 16-year-old daughter spent a month in Nice and loved every moment of her experience. She had nothing but great things to say about all the planned activities, her French classes, the other kids in the program, and her accommodations. She didn't know a soul before she embarked on this journey, but she made friends quickly. The staff were extremely knowledgeable, helpful, and made us feel confident that our child was in the best of hands. She's returned home a more grateful, cultured, happier version of herself! I have only positive things to say about Abbey Road! It was a life-changing time in our daughter's life and we're so grateful!

Pros
  • accommodations
  • activities
  • staff
Default avatar
Mark
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

2023 rising senior's summer in Barcelona

My son has just returned from the 3-week Spanish program at BCN. A well-structured program offered 3 hours of learning in the morning followed by an afternoon and evening of planned activities that allowed the students to practice what they learned. The weekends were planned to allow the students to explore areas outside Barcelona. The students respected the teachers and support admins. My son has been home for a few days and has let us know how much he enjoyed it.

Pros
  • Well structured
  • Weekend activities
  • Communication
Cons
  • Maybe more free time for the students
Default avatar
Kathleen
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Abbey Road French Immersion Program - Nice 2023

My daughter had an amazing experience with Abbey Road in Nice this summer! And, as a parent, I can confidently say that the Abbey Road team is caring, professional, attentive to the students and safety conscious. The team is attentive to the parents as well; they are responsive and keep the lines of communication open at all times. The language immersion, cultural activities, private studio apartment living are just part of the incredible experience and fun. My daughter made wonderful new friends as well! From learning the language interactively by participating in the daily life of Nice, to experiencing the french culture, amazing food and beauty of Nice, this program is exceptional. I highly recommend Abbey Road, Arthur and his team.

Default avatar
Reagan
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

it was great

i loved my trip to barcelona so so much and i’m so glad i got the opportunity to do it through abbey road!!! The staff were wonderful and i’ll miss them almost as much as the students. Barcelona is such a great city and the places that the staff took us were so cool, i think they did a great job planning activities, dinners, and excursions! The food options were always great and there was a lot of great shopping too. In all, i think the program was amazing and i would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to travel.

Default avatar
Colette
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Abbey Roads - Saint Laurent-du-Var A Life time Memory!

Our 16 year old son attended the Abbey Roads, Saint Laurent-du-Var Homestay French Language program this summer. It was a terrific opportunity for him on various levels. Giving him an opportunity for personal growth through traveling on his own to France, being away from home for a month in France in a safe environment, learning more about the day to day French culture including traveling and exploring the south of France with his group (a definite highlight!), making new friends and of course a primary focus of expanding on his French language skills, Saint Laurent-du-Var was a great program the teachers were very supportive and they worked at making the experience a memorable one for the students. They included some great opportunities for community involvement and where possible adapted to student requests and interests. Overall they had a lot of fun and gained amazing life experiences. Abbey Roads management gets A+ for their attentiveness to address any concerns or requests as best and reasonable as possible. It was definitely a positive life time memory for our son!

Pros
  • Wonderful small town environment, not too touristy
  • Homestay offers additional immersion into French culture and a safe environment
  • Attentive staff that create a safe and fun environment, students seemed to all be very respectful and all got along well
Cons
  • Recreational activities could be reviewed for more balance
  • Homestay introduction should occur earlier
  • French assessment should occur earlier to allow for better class planning depending on skill level

Programs

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Alumni Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with verified alumni.

Why did you choose this program?

I chose Abbey Road programs because I was looking for a residential language immersion program in Nice, France, that was relatively inexpensive and had an emphasis on adult supervision. Abbey Road was a great value program; I liked that we stayed in a residential dorm but spent the weekends exploring the south of France. I liked the French classes and the emphasis on free time as well.

What did your program provider assist you with, and what did you have to organize on your own?

The program did a great job organizing all of the trips and excursions. The staff organized all of our transportation and event tickets when we went on trips. I never had to worry about buying my own train tickets. Almost all of the meals every day were organized by the program. Lunch and dinner were often cooked in the residence. Breakfast was up to the students, but the program supplied the students with a kitchen stocked with food to make breakfast.

What is one piece of advice you'd give to someone going on your program?

If you are looking for a language-intensive program, this might be a little too mild for your taste. My listening and speaking skills improved vastly because of the language immersion, speaking and ordering in French often, and my personal work at tutoring hours and commitment to studying. However, this program has much more focus on culture and personal growth than I was initially expecting.

What does an average day/week look like as a participant of this program?

Classes are from 9 to 12 am, lunch and dinner are scheduled with the program, and trips and excursions happen on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and day trips happen on the weekends.

Electives take place in the afternoon on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Most of the other time in the day is scheduled free time.

Going into your experience abroad, what was your biggest fear, and how did you overcome it? How did your views on the issue change?

My biggest fear was interacting with people. I'm naturally introverted, and I'm one of those people who had trouble ordering my own food and interacting with strangers. Going on this program forced me to dive into unfamiliarity, speak to strangers in my non-native language, and meet tons of new people. I am much better now at interacting with people thanks to this program.

The biggest question I had was: what do the accommodations and facilities look like?

Each student gets a single bedroom and a private bathroom with a closet, mini kitchen (with a sink, stovetop burner, and a mini-fridge), twin bed, desk and chair, and a well-needed fan. The rooms are small and not air-conditioned. There is a communal kitchen that the staff supplies with basic groceries and snacks that are free for all students. I was incredibly happy with the accommodations; I loved having a room to call my own at the end of a long day.

Staff Interviews

These are in-depth Q&A sessions with program leaders.

Bram-Kees Trouwborst

Job Title
Professor Business and Marketing
After having worked 15 years in retail companies, leaders in their sector, Bram-Kees started teaching, passionate about sharing his experiences with students all over the globe. He has studied and worked in a total of 5 countries and therefore has accumulated a large experience on issues as international business, culture and diversity, but also on how to deal with challenges that you face while living abroad.
Bram-Kees (passport Abraham Cornelis) Trouwborst

What is your favorite travel memory?

The first few days in a new setting, and experiencing a new country, its culture and people, are always amazing to me. Being confronted with new languages, people, behaviours, climates, music, flavours... I will never get used to this unique feeling of immersion into something new - a brand new world opening up full of opportunities and challenges.

How have you changed/grown since working for your current company?

Being a professor and consultant in different environments made me a more complete person. Being able to share experiences is so incredibly rich, because you become part of and add value to the growth and learning process of others. It is not totally new to me, though, seen the fact that before I was managing teams, which also requires empathising with your people and making them perform and grow.

What is the best story you've heard from a return student?

Being able to see others grow is the most beautiful thing. To see students become enthusiastic and inspired about the subjects you teach is fantastic. I am feeling privileged when I say that in multiple occasions I have heard back from students telling me they started their own project or company, being inspired in my classes.

If you could go on any program that your company offers, which one would you choose and why?

A change of setting and having the opportunity to learn new things is always a reason to subscribe for any program, I would say. For example, this year I subscribed for a Marketing and Communication Postgraduate study on Gastronomy and Oenology, a beautiful sector that got me intrigued from the first minute of the course.

What makes your company unique? When were you especially proud of your team?

Being part of an organisation that has a clear mission and values and knows how to satisfy the needs of its stakeholders is great. When I work for Abbey Road, I definitely see that they achieve the objective of offering fun programs with huge social and intelectual learnings. Receiving positive feedback from the participants, though, is the most valuable part...

What do you believe to be the biggest factor in being a successful company?

A company should focus on offering a service or product they love while making clients happy with it. Listening to your customer and analysing its environment is key for achieving success with your offerings. If you sell what you love and are able to transmit that, the magic with your client is more likely to happen.