Middle School Program

The Cambridge Prep Experience

Grades: 8 – 9

Peterhouse, University of Cambridge

Program Overview

Peterhouse College was founded in 1284, making it Cambridge's oldest college, and is the setting for the Cambridge Prep Experience that offers all the discovery and learning of the Cambridge Tradition program to students in grades 8 and 9.

Students choose one course per session from options that include Medical Science, Business, Psychology, Espionage, and Law. The classes are taught by university professors and creative professionals and are designed to use Cambridge as a teaching tool, so that the students discover the city and the university as they discover the topic.

Costs & Payment

One-week session

$5,995

Session one: July 9 – July 22, 2022
Session two: July 23 – August 5, 2022

$5,995

Combined summer sessions

$10,395

July 9 – August 5, 2022

$10,395

Paris connection

$1,445

August 5 – August 9

At the end of the program, students can choose to add on the Paris Connection and spend 4 days exploring the French capital before heading home.

$1,445

Tuition Information: Costs include accommodation, classroom instruction, workshops, field trips, two daily meals, and all program-organized activities. We also offer a select number of scholarships based on financial need. For full details, see our Tuition page.

Request Information

Apply Now

A Day in the Life

Communal breakfast
Major classes on topics ranging from Robotics to Espionage meet in classrooms, labs, studios, or out in Cambridge
Students can choose to have lunch at any local restaurants or sandwich shops in town
Students attend their Minor classes in the afternoon or head out on group field trips to London and events like the Duxford Air Show
Full group dinner
Evening activities, events, or shows

What's Included

Access to cultural sites and local events

Accommodations

Extracurricular activities, workshops, and event offerings

Continuous support

On-site staff of experienced professionals

Local meals

Full Course List

Advertising

Students assess the power of suggestion, persuasion, and product placement. Using a range of case studies and creative examples across all media, they explore early salesmanship, modern advertising, branding, and the increasing use of new media. Balancing creative skills with business acumen, they engage in branding exercises, interactive sales games, and the design and development of their own advertising campaign.

Materials fee of $50 US per session.

Creative Writing

Students compose fiction and poetry under the guidance of a published writer, with Cambridge’s rich literary history as their inspiration. They explore their own potential by experimenting with new forms and styles of writing. Successful poets and writers give workshops in which students learn about the creative process and the practicalities of publication. Students develop a portfolio of their best writing and collaborate to design, edit, and publish a literary magazine.

Criminology

Through workshops, debates, and visits to police stations and criminal courts, students explore individual and social theories of crime, philosophies of punishment, criminal profiling, incident analysis, and basic forensic science. They consider the causes of crime, the influence of the media upon crime, and issues of race and gender within the context of the British and American criminal justice systems.

Engineering

Environmental Science

As the world teeters on the brink of ecological disaster, students are introduced to the complex sciences behind the headlines. They learn about the different disciplines that combine to make Environmental science possible, notably Atmospheric Science, Chemistry, and Ecology. Working from a range of case studies, they discover how environmental scientists assess and respond to different challenges, and learn about the benefits and disbenefits of the statutory proposals and technological solutions being touted in the public sphere, from carbon offset to electric cars, via lab-grown meat and the prospect of radical lifestyle change for everyone.

Espionage

At the university in which the world's most famous fictional spy, James Bond, studied, this course examines the methods and techniques of the most infamous intelligence services — Mossad, the KGB, the CIA, and MI5. Students address the future of intelligence operations, the challenges of field work, and the ethics of espionage when it comes to international cooperation, competition, and conflict.

Fine Art

Students on this course spend much of their time outside the studio. They sketch medieval towers, capture pastoral landscapes, practice their portrait skills, and discover masterpieces in locations like the Fitzwilliam Museum. Meanwhile they receive formal, professional instruction in sketching and painting in a variety of media. Their best work is exhibited at the end of the program.

Materials fee of $200 US per session.

Global Business

Law

Students discover how the British and American legal systems reflect the values and institutions of their respective societies. They consider precedent-setting cases and delve into various branches of legal practice. Through meetings with lawyers, legal scholars, and human rights advocates, and through visits to working courtrooms, they discover how lawyers turn theory into practice. This course culminates in a formal moot court competition. (Please confirm).

Markets

Students will cover the evolution of commerce and banking from their ancient origins to present-day, including the development of the stock, commodity, and capital markets. Students will also learn how money itself is evolving with the emergence of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. Finally, students will visit branches of the Bank of England and the trading floors in London's Square Mile in order to investigate how money moves and what makes a career in finance.

Medical Science

This hands-on course introduces students to key aspects of medical science and modern medical practice. Combining specialist lectures with experiments and class discussions, students learn the principles of human anatomy and physiology, the pathology and significance of certain diseases, the main challenges that medical science faces today, and are introduced to the wide and growing range of possible careers in medicine.

Myths and Mythology

In a course that mixes history, literature, and anthropology, students delve into the accounts through which different civilizations and societies have explained their origins. They perform comparative studies of these creationary tales, noting their similarities and seeking to understand their differences. Students will then explore cultural resilience — the study of how myths and folklore have survived for millennia by blending with new creationary myths, by evolving, and by finding new forms of expression in art, music, literature, film, and even video games.

Psychology

This course focuses on human behavior and individual development within a social context. Students are introduced to major themes, including stereotyping and prejudice, cross-cultural differences, the dynamics of cooperation and conflict, conformity and persuasion, attraction, and the role of the individual within the crowd. Through case studies and interactive experiments, participants gain an introduction to psychology and learn to analyze their own peer-group dynamics.

Public Health

In this course, students discover the role that health bodies, governments, and pharmaceutical corporations play in monitoring, assessing, and responding to public health challenges. Using case studies, students learn how well or how poorly public health agencies are addressing things like rising cases of diabetes, drug availability, and outbreaks of diseases like AIDS, malaria, Ebola, and, of course, COVID-19. Students will also examine the public health challenges raised by natural disasters and climate change. Students learn about the different career possibilities in the field and the skills required to excel.

Public Speaking

In this course, students hone their verbal, nonverbal, and written communication skills in the service of becoming effective public speakers. Students learn how to prepare and deliver compelling speeches to a large and critical audience. The syllabus covers the core principles of communication, the history of rhetoric, and techniques for overcoming speech anxiety. Students gain a sense of how to structure and organize information, skills of decision-making and leadership, and knowledge of how to present their ideas effectively.

Robotics

Combining theory with practice, students learn about the potential futures of robotics and AI. What roles might robots and AI have in business, defense, entertainment, and healthcare? On the practical side, students gain an understanding of analogue and digital electronics, and of how to manipulate the hardware and software that animate robots. The course culminates with the construction of a robot.

Materials fee of $150 US per session.

Science and the Future

This course addresses cutting-edge issues at the fringes of science. Participants study advances in diverse areas, including atomic and molecular physics, artificial intelligence, astrophysics, genetic engineering, nanotechnology, particle physics, space travel, and stem-cell research. They identify the possible futures that science and technology are creating for humankind, and debate how these will affect our daily lives, our society, and our planet.

Terrorism and Modern Politics

What makes a "terrorist"? What makes one man a freedom fighter and another a criminal? Can terrorism ever succeed? How do governments combat terrorism in the global age? Answers to these questions and more will be covered in this course, drawing on examples that range from the late 19th century anarchists to the rise of ISIS. Students will study the evolution of terror and counter-terror — its justifications, methods, mythology, networks, successes, and failures.

WWII

Students will explore the most recent body of work on the origins, course, and consequences of WWII. Students will go on short field-trips and complete individual research projects to complement their classroom instruction. This course will concentrate on the different theatres of the war, including the home front; the ways in which different people and groups experienced the conflict; how governments sought to maintain morale; and about the work of allied military intelligence at Bletchley Park.

Cultural Enrichment

Every class is designed to use Cambridge as a teaching tool. When not in class, students have access to a full range of activities designed to help them discover local and national culture. They have the option to take tours of sights like King's and Trinity, take part in a variety of sports (including Quidditch!), attend local Shakespeare productions, participate in talent shows, or take field trips to the Duxford Air Show and London.

Residence Info

Accommodation and Rooms

In Cambridge, students live in rooms that are occupied by undergraduates during the year. Students are housed in singles or doubles. Students can request a private bathroom (for a fee), on a first-come, first-served basis.

Facilities

Students have access to common areas within the residences as well as a variety of sporting and educational facilities (gyms, basketball courts, tennis courts, pitches, libraries). Oxbridge provides every program with computers, so students have daily access to email and social media. The program staff maintains message boards and distributes mail every day.

Meals

Students enjoy breakfast and dinner in their residence’s dining halls. Breakfast is primarily continental style with choices such as cereal, yogurt, fruit, toast, coffee, and tea. Several options are available at dinner, including a vegetarian dish and a salad bar. Special dinners are regularly held, and each program ends with a formal banquet. Students are responsible for their own lunch, which can be purchased from a college snack bar or one of the many sandwich shops, small restaurants, patisseries, or bodegas near each residence.

After the Program

Shortly after the program, all students and their parents receive a comprehensive set of grade reports, presenting their course syllabus and highlighting their specific contributions and achievements within their course(s). Most of our alumni later ask for additional copies to include in their college applications.

Immerse yourself in some of the world’s greatest cultural centers

Browse Programs

Request Information

Apply Now

What People Are Saying About Oxbridge Academic Programs

This was by far the most informative-while-being-interactive class I’ve ever had, and it made learning easier and more fun. Oxbridge made a huge impact on me by increasing my confidence and uncovering my strong interest in global business that I now hope to pursue.

Avery

Oxbridge Student

Thanks to the Cambridge Tradition experience, my daughter is much more mature, has a better knowledge of how to live abroad without her family, and she’s better prepared for university! Her time at Oxbridge reaffirmed that she wants to study architecture and now she has all the skills to reach her goals.

Ana Maria

Cambridge Tradition Parent

Our daughter had a wonderful experience, and she found the Psychology and Genetics courses engaging and useful. She learned new things, made friends, and had 4 amazing weeks! Many thanks to your entire team for making this possible!

Oxbridge Parent

Our daughter loved the Oxford Prep program. She enjoyed her Major, made nice friends, and really began to feel more independent and confident while exploring beautiful Oxford. A great experience through and through and just what we all were hoping for! In fact, she is already talking about participating in the Cambridge program next year.

Daniel

Oxbridge Prep Parent

Just wanted to reach out to thank you for helping to make my daughter’s summer spectacular! She returned on Saturday and has clearly grown from the summer experience. She raves about her time with Dr. Tijn Van Winden and her French teacher.

Sanjeev

Oxbridge in Paris Parent

Thank you for making my son’s experience at Cambridge so memorable! Usually reserved, he talked the whole way home from the airport about what he learned in class, the friends he made, and the museums he visited. My son was initially a bit reluctant to attend a two-week course, but at the end of the second week - he was sad it was ending so quickly!

Cambridge Prep Parent