2026 Year 12 Residential Summer Schools

Applications are now open for Selwyn College’s 2026 summer school programme. The application window will close on Monday 25 May at 9am. We will endeavour to let all applicants know the outcome in early June.

The application form can be found here.

Each of our summer schools is a residential course (one night for Language, History, and Culture; two nights for Biological Natural Sciences and Physical Natural Sciences), with all food and accommodation included free of cost to participants.

Travel bursaries will also be available to students who are a) eligible for Free School Meals; b) from a family with an income of below £40,000; c) estranged from their family; or d) in local authority care.

We are offering the following three subject streams:
 

Biological Natural Sciences (Monday 29th June – Wednesday 1st July)

Are you a biologist who loves to learn about a wide range of biological topics and maybe other branches of science as well? If so, you're a "natural scientist" and the Cambridge natural sciences course could be a good fit for you. In our summer school you can engage with biological topics drawn from the four main biological courses of the first year of the degree (Biodiversity, Evolution and Ecology; Biomedical Sciences; Biomolecules and Cells; Mathematics for Biological Sciences) and the degree specialisations that can lead from them. There will be example lectures and you can try a supervision (small-group teaching). The programme will give you plenty of opportunity to find out whether you'd like to focus on biology from the start of your degree, or whether you might plan to continue with courses you're already doing or could pick up, for example Chemistry, Earth Sciences, or History and Philosophy of Science.

Language, History, and Culture (Wednesday 1st July – Thursday 2nd July)

This year, our Language, History, and Culture summer school will have a particular focus on Russia, Poland, and Ukraine. This does not mean that you have to be taking any specific A-levels or have any prior linguistic expertise, but it does mean that we will prioritise applicants who are able to demonstrate engagement with and/or interest in some aspect of Russian, Polish, or Ukrainian history, culture, or languages in their application.

This is the perfect opportunity for anyone thinking of applying to Cambridge to study History, History and Modern Languages, Modern and Medieval Languages, Linguistics, Linguistics and Modern Languages, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, or Human, Social, and Political Sciences.

At this summer school, there will be taster sessions delivered by academic experts in which you’ll have the chance to find out about new historical periods, read literature, watch films, solve linguistic puzzles, and get an introduction to the study of languages (whether or not you have studied them before). While the specific focus of the content will be on the countries and languages covered by the Slavonic Studies section at Cambridge (https://www.mmll.cam.ac.uk/subjects/slavonic-studies), there’ll be the chance to get broader insights into the style of teaching and learning at Cambridge and a number of different arts and humanities degree courses.

Fluency in foreign languages and an understanding of foreign cultures, as well as analytical and research skills, are all in great demand on the job market, so why not come and see what doors might open for you?

Physical Natural Sciences (Monday 6th July – Wednesday 8th July)

Most Cambridge first-year Natural Sciences (Physical) students are taking the physics and/or chemistry options – they know more-or-less what to expect at university because they attained qualifications in those sciences in the last few years of school. A ‘true’ natural scientist may be more interested in, or might at least wish to gain proficiency in, other areas like materials science and earth sciences.

How can you get hands-on experience in other branches of the physical sciences when there’s no school qualification? Come and attend this summer school: there’ll be demonstration lectures in these areas of science, as well as in the mathematics that underpins the natural sciences, and plenty of opportunity to find out about university-level physics and chemistry as well.

Please note our summer schools are open to UK school students who are currently in Year 12 (England and Wales) / S5 (Scotland) / Year 13 (Northern Ireland) only. We are particularly keen to receive applications from students who:

• attend a maintained sector (state) school
• are likely to be predicted A*AA or above at A-Level (or equivalent qualifications)
• are currently, or have previously been, in care
• have caring responsibilities
• are currently, or have previously been, in receipt of Free School Meals
• are an asylum seeker or have refugee status
• are from any ethnic or regional background that is underrepresented at the University of Cambridge
• live in an IMD decile 1–4 postcode (check your postcode)
• live in a SEISA decile 1–5 postcode (check your postcode)
• would be the first generation in their immediate family to attend university
• have a disability, impairment, medical condition, or specific learning difficulty
• attend a school or college in Selwyn’s link areas, East Berkshire and West Yorkshire