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.

Website

www.goabbeyroad.com

Founded

2001

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Incredible people to meet in an incredible place to be

Reviews

I had an amazing time in the Barcelona program!! We spent our mornings in lessons and had free time in the afternoon!! We got to learn Spanish while exploring the city. And we went to all different neighborhoods and cities. I am a picky eater and I appreciated that we went out for dinner nearly every night. We were given lots of options of what to eat, we also were given a grocery budget to buy our own food!! I had a wonderful time on this trip and honestly think everyone should do this!! Sign up!!

What is your advice to future travelers on this program?

This program is so much fun!! I do recommend that you bring your adapters and everything, it was a whole thing to get them. Make sure to be open to new experiences and if you go without a friend like I did it's honestly no big deal. I met such great people and was able to have more fun that way.

Pros

Food flexibility for picky eaters
Lots of day trips
Easy to comprehend lessons

Cons

Lots of responsibility
Getting up a little early
Lessons in summer

Last summer I spent the summer with abbey road in Cadiz. Not only did I grow in Spanish but I also made great friends. I loved how we were not in a classroom all day but instead exploring the city and using our Spanish and real life situations. My host family was so nice and generous. All of the activities were fun, such as a salsa dancing, surfing, and exploring the cathedral. Our day trips were also a fun change of scenery. I loved every minute with my time in Spain and I have so many new friends to share it with.

If you did this all over again, what's one thing you would change?

Stay longer

Pros

Great staff
New friends
Cool activities

Cons

I attended this Abbey Road Program during the Summer of 2019, prior to the pandemic. While in Barcelona, I took photography classes to submit work for a high school exhibit I was curating back home. I made amazing friends on the trip, loved my time in Barcelona, and took photographs that have helped my academic and professional portfolio. The food and culture through Barcelona is vast and this program introduced me to the importance of intercultural competence and awareness. I would recommend this trip to so many high school students as it sets you up for a bright future in other abroad experiences and throughout college.

My decision to go to Italy was the most exciting one yet! From the moment the plane landed every moment instantly became a core memory! My roommates were absolutely incredible and the program did such a good job matching everyone up! Life long friends with memories I will never forget. The program directors did so good at planning things for us to do to keep us busy and immerse us in the Italian culture, as well as listening to us so we enjoyed it just as much. Overall an incredible unforgettable month

What was the most nerve-racking moment and how did you overcome it?

The most nerve racking moment was meeting in the airport with everyone. It was immediately relieved by one of the councilors coming over to meet me and make sure I was ready to go. We were also stuck in the airport so the group immediately started clicking and we all quickly became best friends, it was easy when all of us were new to this together. And that one of the first things we did was get gelato

Pros

Meeting people from all over
Incredible staff, loved them all
Exciting and immersive activities

Cons

Incredibly hot weather
Covid
Constantly needing a nap

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

5.00 •1 review

Abbey Road Programs, a summer study abroad program for American and...

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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.

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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.

Francois Martin

2018 Alum

Hector Muller

2018 Alum

Camille Brooks

2018 Alum

Sivan Weitz

Debbie B.

Jason Y.

Maggie B.

Nicole W.

Isabel H.

Staff Interviews

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

Bram-Kees Trouwborst

Program

Abbey Road High School Modern Europe Program

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.

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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.

Website

Founded

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Community Awards

Alumni Interviews

Annaleise Hendrickson

Why did you choose this program?

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

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

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

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

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

Staff Interviews

Bram-Kees Trouwborst

What is your favorite travel memory?

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

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

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

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

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