Sir Christopher, Cambridge – 16 to 17

Sir Christopher

Ages 16 to 17 | Cambridge | Open July 06th – August 17th 2025

Sir Christopher is a summer camp for students aged 16-17. It combines general English teaching with a full programme of interesting activities and excursions. Sir Christopher has been running for 55 years!

The camp is located in central Cambridge where we use the facilities and residences of Ridley Hall and Newnham College. Newnham College is one of the 31 colleges of Cambridge University and Ridley Hall is affiliated with Cambridge University.

Sir Christopher has a capacity of up to 100 students at any one time. There is a wide range of nationalities and the ratio of staff to students here is high. The average number of students per class is 12 or 13 and the maximum class size is 16.

This is an ideal centre for our 16-17-year-old students looking to enjoy a holiday course with a real taste for Cambridge University life.

What’s included?

20 lessons (15 hours) of English language teaching per week (all levels from beginner to advanced)
Residential accommodation on campus at Ridley Hall and Newnham College
All meals (3 per day)
Activities
1 full-day excursion per week
Transfers to and from London Heathrow or London Stansted on Sundays
24 hour emergency telephone line

2025 Course Dates

July 06 – July 20 (2 weeks)

July 06 – July 27 (3 weeks)

July 06 – August 03 (4 weeks)

July 20 – August 03 (2 weeks)

July 20 – August 10 (3 weeks)

July 20 – August 17 (4 weeks)

July 27 – August 10 (2 weeks)

July 27 – August 17 (3 weeks)

August 03 – August 10 (2 weeks)

August 03 – August 17 (2 weeks)

August 10 – August 17 (1 week)

Check out our Sir Christopher gallery below!

Where is Sir Christopher based?

Map

Address

Ridley Hall College
Cambridge
CB3 9HU

and

Newnham College
Cambridge
CB3 9DF

What is the course centre like?

City-centre campus
Lovely, large picturesque gardens
Lecture hall
Student common rooms
Both traditional and modern dining halls
Outdoor playing fields
5-10 minute walk from the school into Cambridge city centre
Single residential bedrooms on-campus (some twin rooms available on request)

The City of Cambridge

Cambridge is one of the most famous, and most instantly recognised, city names in the world. It has been a centre of learning for 800 years and is the international symbol of academic excellence.

But it is also fun! With 20,000 university students, virtually the only “business” of Cambridge is education and, despite its age, the whole city is designed for young people.

It is the ideal place for the international English language student.

Check out the Sir Christopher gallery below!

What’s included?

Discovery Theme: Cambridge University

This is an opportunity to learn more about the university and traditional Cambridge student life. Your English lessons focus on a combination of communication development and themed topics on Cambridge University’s history and culture. Themed lesson topics include famous Cambridge students, sporting traditions, scientific discoveries, the university’s unique history, and a comparison of Cambridge with other elite universities around the world.

University Discovery activities include guided tours of “hidden” Cambridge, mythbusting – true and false myths about Cambridge, Cambridge University treasure hunt and a Cambridge University selfie challenge.

Although our courses are not endorsed by the University of Cambridge, our summer camp uses University of Cambridge colleges and facilities.

English tuition:

20 lessons (15 hours) per week
Mixed-nationality classes
Online level test before arrival
Course materials
Academic report from your teachers at the end of your stay
Certificate of studies at the end of your stay

Activities programme:

13 sessions of activities per week
Sessions alternate each week between morning or afternoon activities
Wide choice of sports, arts & crafts, cultural and language activities – please see our Activities tab for example activities
Numerous activity choices per daytime session

Excursions:

1 full-day excursion each week, on a Saturday (see Excursions tab for details)

Accommodation and meals:

Residential accommodation at Ridley Hall or Newnham College
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Ridley Hall or Newnham College provided every day
Vegetarian and non-pork option always available
Please inform us if you have special dietary requirements

Airport transfers:

Meeting you at the airport on arrival and bringing you to your accommodation at the Studio centre
Taking you to the airport for departure and checking you into your flight back home
Please see our camps transfers page for further information

Welfare:

Welfare office and staff
Emergency 24-hour telephone number
Residential staff living on site providing 24-hour supervision
High staff to student ratio
First-aid trained staff at every camp

Check out the Sir Christopher gallery below!

Where will you stay?

Residential Accommodation

Students on the Sir Christopher course live in the Ridley Hall or Newnham College residences.

Sir Christopher course residences:

Central accommodation in comfortable and secure college buildings
Studio staff living on-campus, providing 24-hour supervision
Mostly single bedrooms, with some twin bedrooms
Bathrooms and showers – usually shared – sometimes private
All meals included
Free laundry facilities – you must do your own washing, but at no extra cost
A change of bed linen once per week

Sir Christopher residential bedrooms are at Ridley Hall College or next door at Newnham College. Rooms are mostly single bedrooms, with some twin bedrooms. Bathrooms and showers are shared, with some en-suites available at Ridley Hall on request.

Meals:

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided at both residences. There is a wide choice of hot and cold food and a vegetarian option for every meal. Please inform us if you have special dietary requirements. At weekends packed lunches are provided.

Laundry:

Laundry facilities are available on site. Students are required to do their own clothes laundry. One wash per week may be done free of charge. Bed linen is provided at the residence and will be changed and washed once each week.

Keys:

Students will be given keys to their room and to the entrance to the residences. A small deposit of £20 will be taken when the keys are issued, in case the keys are lost.

Check out the Sir Christopher gallery below!

How do we keep you safe?

We are very conscious of our responsibility to our young students. Our camps offer:

Pleasant and safe surroundings
High quality host schools and colleges
Rules and supervision appropriate to the camp’s age group
First aid trained staff at all camps
A high staff-to-student ratio
At least one Studio Cambridge Welfare Officer at every camp
Live-in Studio Cambridge staff at each centre
24-hour emergency telephone number

We have high levels of staff-to-student supervision at all of our camps. To ensure proper supervision is maintained, students must attend all lessons, compulsory activities, meals and excursions, unless they are unwell. However, there are times at Sir Christopher when students are allowed unsupervised free time.

This camp is designed for mature teenagers- half way between a course for adults and a children’s camp.

Sir Christopher students:

Will have some periods of time each day in Cambridge where they are unsupervised
Are allowed some unsupervised free time whilst on excursions
Have evening activities that are not compulsory
Must be on- campus by 21:30
Have a bedtime of 23:00

Studio staff live in the residence, providing 24-hour care. The staff-to-student ratio is high and staff are never far away if you have any questions or need help.

Evenings

Evening activities are not compulsory on the Sir Christopher camp so students may choose to have free time in the evening after dinner, but all students must be on campus by 21:30 at the latest.

These rules are important for us and returning late is considered serious misconduct.

All our residences are situated in quiet residential areas, so students and staff are asked to respect the privacy of our neighbours and avoid excessive noise in the evenings.

Studio staff also live on site, providing 24-hour care. The staff-to-student ratio is high and they are never far away if you have any questions or need help.

There is a strict no-alcohol rule:

No consumption or possession of alcohol (irrespective of age).

Check out the Sir Christopher gallery below!

What will you do?

Zig-zag timetable

During the busiest weeks of the summer camp some students will have activities in the morning and classes in the afternoon, while others will have morning classes and afternoon activities. This will change from week to week in a “zig-zag” format, so that students having morning classes one week, will have afternoon classes in the next week.

Classes are held from Monday to Friday, with an excursion once a week on Saturdays.

You can download the example timetable here: 2025 Sir Christopher Timetable

A typical day at Sir Christopher might look as follows:

Sir Christopher

Morning lessons:

09:00-10:30

English topic and life skills lessons 1 & 2: “A true friend” – past tenses and speaking practice

11:00-12:30

Cambridge University discovery lessons 3 & 4: Cambridge University traditions

Afternoon activities:

13:30-15:00

Walking tour of Cambridge

Evening activities:

19:30-21:00

Hidden Cambridge selfie challenge

Check out the Sir Christopher gallery below!

What happens outside of lessons?

The following are some of the activities on offer at Sir Christopher:

Cambridge University Discovery

Punting on the River Cam
“Student life” presentation by students
“Hidden Cambridge” selfie challenge
Debating club
Myth-busting quiz
Create your own university society
University treasure hunt
Cambridge University college tour
Cambridge museum visits
Botanic gardens

Sports and creative activities

Badminton
Basketball
Ultimate frisbee
Football
Running club
Film nights
Bingo
Board games
Cake decorating
Charcoal sketching
Bag design
Decoupage
…and lots more!

Check out the Sir Christopher gallery below!

Which parts of England will you get to see?

Sir Christopher includes one full-day excursion per week, on a Saturday.

Warwick Castle

12 July 2025

An impressive mediaeval castle where students can experience 1,000 years of history. Attractions within the castle include jousting and falconry as well as the castle’s impressive interiors, gardens and the opportunity to climb the battlements.

London

19 July 2025

Walking tour of some famous sights of the city with time to take photographs. The tour will include St Paul’s Cathedral, the Millennium Bridge, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, the London Eye, Big Ben, Horse Guards Parade, Trafalgar Square and St James’ Park. In the afternoon students will have time for shopping on Oxford Street.

London

26 July 2025

Students who have not already visited London on this course will walk past some famous sights of the city with time to take photographs. The tour will include St Paul’s Cathedral, the Millennium Bridge, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, the London Eye, Big Ben, Horse Guards Parade, Trafalgar Square and St James’ Park. In the afternoon students will have time for shopping on Oxford Street.
Students who have already visited London once on this course will visit the British Museum and Covent Garden.

Windsor

02 August 2025

Entrance into Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world. It has been the family home of British kings and queens for almost 1,000 years. It is an official residence of His Majesty the King. Souvenir shopping time is included at the end of the day.

London

09 August 2025

Students who have already visited London once on this course will visit the British Museum and Covent Garden.

Students who have already visited London twice on this course will visit the Science Museum, Hyde Park and have the chance to shop in South Kensington (including Harrods).

London

16 August 2025

Students who have already visited London once on this course will visit the British Museum and Covent Garden.

Students who have already visited London twice on this course will visit the Science Museum, Hyde Park and have the chance to shop in South Kensington (including Harrods).