Exceptional Summer Pre-College Physics Program for Teenagers at Cambridge University Campus

Outside of lessons, we are proud to offer a busy and diverse social programme to help you get the most out of your time in Cambridge. This includes activities such as punting on the River Cam, zorb football and a murder mystery night in the college. There are also two excursions during the programme, one day trip to visit Oxford and its constituent colleges, as well as an optional day out in London, seeing the city’s most famous landmarks as well as some free time for shopping. Those who choose not to travel to London are invited to afternoon tea in Cambridge. Activities and excursions are run by our team of friendly mentors – whose main job is to maximise your enjoyment.

Outside of lessons, we are proud to offer a busy and diverse social programme to help you get the most out of your time in Cambridge. This includes activities such as punting on the River Cam, zorb football and a murder mystery night in the college. There are also two excursions during the programme, one day trip to visit Oxford and its constituent colleges, as well as an optional day out in London, seeing the city’s most famous landmarks as well as some free time for shopping. Those who choose not to travel to London are invited to afternoon tea in Cambridge. Activities and excursions are run by our team of friendly mentors – whose main job is to maximise your enjoyment.

Participants should arrive between 2 pm and 5 pm on the first Sunday of the programme. Our team will be ready and waiting to welcome you, register you, and show you to your accommodation. Please note that your accommodation may not be ready until 3pm. 

If you are arriving at London Heathrow Airport, we are able to offer a shared airport transfer service. This is a chaperoned service departing from London Heathrow Airport Terminal 3 and travelling directly to the colleges in Cambridge/Oxford. Do not worry if you will be arriving to any other Heathrow terminal - our dedicated pastoral team will be there to meet you and escort to Terminal 3 for departure to your college

The transfers depart at 11:00, 14:00 and 17:00 on the Sunday of arrivals. On the final Saturday of the programme, the transfers to London Heathrow Airport depart at 07:00 and 12:00. This will be available to book for a fee per journey after enrolment.

Specific details, such as contact numbers, are shared with participants nearer the time of the programme.

If you are arriving at another airport, or by alternative means, further details about arrivals and departures are shared in your Welcome Pack, sent with your confirmation of enrolment.

To book the shared airport transfer service, which will cost £90.00 each way,

The Physics programme is designed to build upon the knowledge that participants have already gained in a traditional classroom environment and highlight how this can be used to inspire further study at university. Participants are encouraged to explore new material in-depth and to form independent and considered opinions and ideas based on sound research and practical knowledge. By the end of the programme, participants will have a good understanding, not only of university- level content, but also the variety of degree programmes available in subjects related to physics.

Learn directly from expert academics from world-class universities

You will explore novel concepts and share ideas in small groups of like-minded and ambitious peers from around the world. In small class sizes averaging 7 students, you will be guided by expert tutors who have honed their expertise through teaching undergraduate students at world-class universities, including the universities of Cambridge, Oxford, and Harvard. Our rigorous vetting process guarantees that all participants are taught by engaging and supportive educators who are, most of all, enthusiastic about sharing their expertise to ensure our summer school teaching is of the highest quality. It is an unrivalled academic experience.

Boost your confidence and develop key attributes in academic skills workshops

Our workshops are geared towards unlocking participants’ potential, giving them the tools to prepare for the next steps of their education and future goals. Build upon existing study skills to support future university-level learning. These workshops explore a diverse and enriching range of topics – past examples have ranged from ‘Productivity tips’ to ’21st Century Technology Skills’. We’re sure that you’ll learn something completely new. Unlike traditional schools, it allows you to learn beyond the traditional curriculum. This programme is designed for students with at least an upper-intermediate level of English (B2).

Example Modules

Classical Mechanics: The study of classical mechanics is the study of how objects move and is a topic tightly bound to the University of Cambridge via its founding father, Sir Isaac Newton. The skills required for mechanics are found in many areas of physics, and you will extend your knowledge of high school mechanics to include more complex problems relating to kinematics.

**Wave Phenomena: **Propagation of energy or matter is often described either by the kinematic travel of an object or by the evolution of a wave. Whilst the most popular example of a wave, the water wave, might not seem too thrilling to study, the number of physical processes that include waves are innumerous.

Electronic Engineering: Electronic engineering is a wide branch of engineering which applies the general principles of electromagnetism to digital circuits, sensors, actuators, mobile telecommunications, optic fibres etc. Participants will be introduced to basic electronic components and systems, and we will collaborate to briefly describe their working principle in scientific terms.

**Optics: **The study of light as a wave initially turned out to be immensely powerful. It lays the foundation for the production of a wide range of things, ranging from reading glasses to far- space telescopes. In this topic, we remind ourselves of how light travels through mirrors, lenses, and pieces of apparatus built with optical elements.

Electricity and Magnetism: Whilst the study of the movements of objects (from planets to apples) occupied physicists for centuries, the Industrial Revolution and the discovery of electricity led to an era of making the impossible possible.

Thermodynamics and States of Matter: The matter in our universe can consist in different states. Some common examples include the gaseous state, the liquid state, and the solid state.

Atoms-Nuclei and Elementary Particles: The ancient Greeks realised that many things in our universe seems to be governed by some underlying symmetry. Schools of fish tend to adapt symmetrical formations. Many flowers contain rotation symmetries etc. Over the last century researchers have been occupied with exploring what matter is ultimately made from.

Quantum Mechanics: Whilst physicists were happy to work with Newton’s laws of motion when describing the movement of macroscopic objects, it eventually became clear that his formalism could not properly describe the movement of small objects. For example, electrons, which had been considered to move as particles, sometimes behaved as waves. To confuse things even more, light, which had been thought of as a wave, seemed to sometimes behave as particles. This famous wave-particle duality forced the community of physics to develop a new theory to resolve the paradox. This theory was called the theory of quantum mechanics.

Key Facts

• Average class size is 7
• Maximum class size of 10 students
• 1:1 Career Coaching
• Personal support and guidance for success
• Professional development workshops
• Building essential skills for success
• World-class experience

-Shared airport transfer service, which will cost £90.00 each way,