Small camp, real China, real results

I got to know RICH Chinese Summer Camp through Jennifer Sachs of Hyde Education, and I can honestly say it was one of the better recommendations we've received as a family. My daughter had been studying Mandarin for a few years — enough to hold a basic conversation, but not enough to feel confident. We were looking for something that would actually move the needle, not just expose her to the language in a superficial way. RICH turned out to be exactly that.

What set it apart from other programmes we considered was the environment. The Beijing camp is based in the Peking University area, and students live and study on or near one of China's most prestigious university campuses. For a 15-year-old, being surrounded by that academic culture — the architecture, the students, the energy of a real university — made an impression that no classroom back home could replicate. She came back talking about PKU as if she'd actually gone there herself, which I suppose in a way she had.

The classes are genuinely tiny. We're talking two to five students per group, placed by language level rather than age. My daughter ended up in a class with two other students whose Chinese was at a similar stage, and that intimacy made all the difference. There was nowhere to hide, which sounds intimidating, but the teachers were skilled at making it feel safe rather than stressful. By the end of the first week she was already texting me sentences I couldn't read.

What I hadn't fully anticipated was the evening one-on-one tutoring. Every student gets a private session each night, tailored to whatever they're working on — HSK prep, tones, characters, conversation. It sounds intense, and it probably is, but my daughter loved it. She said it was the first time she felt like her specific weaknesses were actually being addressed rather than glossed over in a group lesson.

Beyond the language work, the programme is genuinely immersive. The afternoons are filled with cultural activities — calligraphy, hutong visits, cooking classes — and the excursions are real, not tourist-trap versions. The session also included a multi-day trip to another city, which was a highlight she talked about for weeks afterwards. The students travel and experience China together, which builds a kind of camaraderie you don't get from a two-week classroom course.
The international mix of students was something we valued highly. Our daughter met kids from Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas, all there for the same reason. The shared experience of being slightly out of your comfort zone in a foreign country, while working hard at the same language, creates friendships quickly.

On the logistics side — safety, communication, supervision — I never had a moment of worry. Summer and her team were responsive, organised, and clearly experienced. It felt like a small, carefully run operation rather than a conveyor belt of summer programmes, and that personal quality came through in every interaction.

We'll be sending her back. That's probably the most honest review I can write.