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We want you to meet others and make the most of your time in London and our Social and Cultural Programme provides plenty of opportunities for you to do so!
The UCL Summer School is a fulfilling and rewarding academic experience and one which will require hard work and dedication. However, we also strive to provide you with opportunities to meet others from across the programme, enjoy time away from your studies, and experience the best of London (all in the space of three or six weeks!).
Our Social and Cultural Programme gives you the chance to enjoy the many highlights of London while making lifelong friends and professional contacts.
The programme varies each year and subject to change, but events in 2024 included:
Welcome reception
Students got to know each other with a welcome reception of drinks and nibbles on the first evening of each Summer School session.
Quiz and karaoke nights
Mully’s Bar on the UCL Main Campus became a hub for our students with a number of evening events held here including a British culture quiz, a karaoke night to share their favourite music, and a speed-friending event to help them get to know their fellow Summer School students.
Picnics, walks and sunsets
Our students enjoyed picnics in the park, historical walks along the River Thames and beautiful London sunsets at the iconic Primrose Hill viewpoint with views across central London.
Shakespeare plays
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre on the south bank of the River Thames is the world’s premium destination for watching live Shakespeare plays. An exact reconstruction of the theatre as it existed in 1599, audiences experience theatre as it was enjoyed in Shakespeare’s day. In 2024, students attended performances of two of the Bard’s most famous works, ‘The Taming of the Shrew” and ‘Richard III’.
Boat party
Every year, each Summer School session concludes with a boat party on the River Thames. This year, students boarded the 600-seater Dixie Queen paddle steamer. The Thames tour passed under the iconic Tower Bridge and travelled down to Greenwich, passing London’s historic Docklands and Canary Wharf, before returning.
Weekend day trips
Summer School students had opportunities to visit more of the UK with day trips to Oxford and a joint Bath and Stonehenge visit on the weekends.