Meet other students and your key Summer School contacts

Rhod Fiorini - Head of Programme

Hi! I’m the Head of the Summer School so I oversee all teaching and learning on the programme and have overall responsibility for ensuring your time at UCL is both successful and enjoyable!

I’ve been working here since 2016 when the Summer School launched (with just 99 students in the first year) so it’s been great to watch it grow over the years and meet so many students – looking forward to meeting you too!

Hometown: Bromley (on the border of southeast London and northwest Kent, known mainly for being the hometown of David Bowie)

Likes: Eating (pretty much everything but especially seafood), walking (the dog), watching Bromley FC

Three London recommendations: Summer is the best time of the year to be in London for lots of reasons. Here are a few summer-specific suggestions:

1. Have drink in (or outside) London’s oldest wine bar Gordon’s and then walk across Waterloo bridge at sunset
2. Take a river cruise from Westminster Pier to Kew Gardens
3. Go to a music festival

Favourite place to eat on or near UCL campus: Hare and Tortoise in the Brunswick Centre (all the food is good but I usually go for the roast duck or laksa)

Charlotte Murphy – Senior Student Recruitment and Partnerships Officer 

Hi everyone! I joined the UCL Summer School team in August last year and did my master's at UCL in 2020! I look after our university partners and often attend their study abroad fairs overseas where I might have even met some of you!    

Hometown: Swindon, Wiltshire, a large town very close to the Cotswolds. I now live in Brockley, a laid-back, leafy area in southeast London 

Likes: Pilates, reading, shopping, long walks in the city, Mexican food and sunny weather!

Three London recommendations:

1. Spend the day in Peckham where you can grab a pastry from Toad Bakery, walk around Peckham Rye Park, watch a £6 film at Peckhamplex, go for dinner at Guacamoles and finish your day on the dancefloor at Jumbi 
2. Spend the day in Hackney where you can mooch around Broadway Market, drop by Donlon Books, go for a swim in London Field’s Lido, visit a rooftop sauna and have dinner at Tom’s Pasta  
3. Spend a day in Chiswick where you can visit the Flower Market followed by the Antiques and Vintage Market, grab lunch at the Farmers and Food Market and end your day with a walk along the Thames and a drink at The Bell and Crown  

Favourite place to eat on or near UCL campus: Pastificio Al Dente on Goodge Street for homemade fresh pasta

Meredith Barrett-Kelly - Administrative Assistant

I joined the Summer School Team at the start of this year, after previously working with the UCL Welcome and Estates teams.  

Hometown: Manchester, well worth a visit on the weekend!

Likes: Reading, gardening and volunteering.

Three London recommendations:

1. Kew Gardens - you can easily spend all day here and they often have flower festivals and exhibits on show that you can book tickets for. 

2. Words on the Water - a canal boat turned bookshop with a resident parrot! 

3. Chinatown for their bakeries - my favourite is Kowloon bakery. 

Favourite place to eat on or near UCL campus: 49 Café for their pasta of the day.