Sunday | Welcome to London

Welcome to our English + International Relations and Politics Pre-University Program. Today, we transfer you from one of London's airports. We will take you to our dorm in the city centre or our Richmond neighbourhood close to the world-famous Thames River. After a short break, we will start exploring both neighbourhoods with our introduction to bus stops, supermarkets, pharmacies and other important local points. This is what you need when you visit a new place. A light welcome meal is served for tonight

Depending on your choice your accommodation will be either provided in English families or in the school's dorm.

Monday's English Activity Programme : Visiting Houses of Parliament and Westminster City

Your lesson starts at 9 am and our program aims to prepare our students for their upcoming university career while improving their communication skills in English. University taste programs extensively offer grammar, related vocabulary, reading, writing, listening and speaking in the context of an academic, career-focused subject. Lessons also focus on study skills and introduce our students to life as a student. Here is today's curriculum: UK Politics Discussion: - Introduction to UK Politics - Democracy and Participation Reading - Political Parties - Electoral Systems Listening: - Voting Behaviour and the Media Lessons finish by 12 pm. After lessons, hot buffet lunch will be offered in our school's refectory.

Today's afternoon exploration program starts with some of London's highlights. The Houses of Parliament, known also as the Palace of Westminster is where the two Houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (the House of Lords and the House of Commons) conduct their sittings. They lie on the north bank of the River Thames in the London borough of the City of Westminster, close by other government buildings in Whitehall. The oldest part of the building is still in existence, Westminster Hall, which dates from 1097. The palace originally served as a royal residence, but no monarch has lived in it since the 16th century. Most of the present Houses of Parliament structure dates from the 19th century when the Palace was rebuilt after it was almost entirely destroyed by a fire in 1834. The architects responsible for rebuilding the Palace was Sir Charles Barry and Augustus Welby Pugin, and the building is an example of the Gothic revival.

Westminster Abbey is a Church, burial ground, coronation site and much more, Westminster Abbey continues to attract visitors over 900 years after its founding. In many respects the architecture is common. There's the traditional cross-shaped floor plan with a nave, north and south transepts and several round side areas. But both its execution and use raise The Collegiate Church of St Peter, Westminster (the official name) to among the highest examples of church construction. Here at Westminster Abbey lie buried kings and poets, scientists and philosophers who have themselves raised humankind to the highest levels. Isaac Newton and James Clerk Maxwell (discoverer of electromagnetic theory, which later lead to radio and TV), Chaucer and Kipling, Dr. Samuel Johnson (creator of the first English dictionary) and many other justly famous names are interred here.

Buckingham Palace is still the official residence of Britain's monarchy, as it has been since Queen Victoria's designation in 1837. Much of the Buckingham Palace was constructed as early as 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham. Buckingham House (as it was then known) was purchased in 1762 by George III, who used it as a private residence. Over the following 75 years the house was expanded to form three wings around a central courtyard. When Queen Victoria discovered Buckingham Palace lacked several 'necessary' rooms - such as a formal ballroom, a nursery, visitor's bedrooms and others - major additions were undertaken, including adding an entire wing to form a quadrangle. Buckingham Palace is the home of the Changing Guard Ceremony in London. The Changing of the Guard has been a tradition for hundreds of years whereby the Household Regiment, the Queen’s Guards at Buckingham Palace, change shift in a fascinating show of pomp and circumstance.

Imagine a park that is surrounded by world-famous landmarks such as Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and Whitehall right in the heart of the city. It is arguably the city's best park in every season. St James’s Park is one of London’s eight Royal Parks and covers an area of nearly 57 acres. Summer, fall, winter and spring, St James's Park gives you great joy with the outstanding beauty of its landscape with animals, nature and the vegetation you can admire. The park’s famous flower beds at the front of Buckingham Palace are a familiar backdrop to pageants including Trooping the Colour, as well as state visits and other ceremonial occasions. Can you believe this? Pelicans have lived in St James’s Park for nearly 400 years. They were originally presented as a gift from the Russian Ambassador to King Charles II. If we go back to 1500's, Tudor times we should mention our big King Henry VIII who was also known for his love of hunting; he regularly used Regent's Park as a hunting ground. St James's Park wasn't quite big enough for his needs, so he put it to use as an area for breeding young deer — once they were old enough, they were shipped off to Hyde Park and Regent's Park to face their fate. Listen to other stories from our APTG qualified blue badge tourist guides.

Being one of the most important political buildings in the world United Kingdom's White House Number 10 continuously hosts the British prime ministers since 1735. The main decisions affecting Britain's destiny in the last 275 years have seriously been taken behind its iconic black door. Today it's not possible to enter the street as a tourist but knowing the idea that an actual prime minister lives and works in the street is a heart beating. Have this experience with us.

Depending on your choice your accommodation will be either provided in English families or in the school's dorm.

Tuesday's English Activity Programme - Visiting St Mary's University (Or similar)

Today's lessons will be scheduled between 9 am and 12 pm and your curriculum will be: UK Government Language: - The constitution - Parliament - Prime Minister and Executive - Relations between Institutions Language: - Grammar (Present tenses/Perfect tenses)

In the afternoon, we'll visit one of London's well-known universities to learn about UK student life, majors, degrees and academic searches. For our students, it will be questions and answers based on an interactive visit.

Depending on your choice your accommodation will be either provided in English families or in the school's dorm.

Wednesday's English Activity Programme - British Museum

Today's lessons will be scheduled between 9 am and 12 pm and your curriculum will be: Global Politics USA Discussion: - The US constitution and federalism - US Congress and Presidency - US Supreme Court and civil rights Language: - Grammar (Conditional sentences)

The British Museum was founded in 1753 and today has approximately eight million objects from ancient history to modern technology giving you a glimpse into ancient cultures and civilisations. The museum is considered one of the most famous museums in the world. A typical tour may begin in Lord Foster's Great Hall. Here you will see ancient scripts on the Rosetta Stone from Egypt, architectural relics from temples and mausoleums in Mesopotamia, Assyria, Greece etc., the huge statues of Pharaoh Rameses the Great, many pieces of the friezes showing the pan-Athenic festival of the ruins of the Parthenon at the Acropolis in Greece and a special hall was constructed so they could be on permanent display to all. More than 80.000 historical artefacts and the total of 7 million objects belonging to every period and every civilization from Early Bronze Age to Roman Empire with various dimensions are also displayed in this culture shrine. You will explore antique money from periods of various empires, structures which date back to the Roman and Greek Civilizations. The process of mummification, Egyptian Gallery, Galleries of Gebelein Man, which has survived today without decaying for 4000 years plus, ancient Greece, Rome, Babylon, Mesopotamia, Assyria, Persia, Celtic, ancient Christianity, Etruscan, Aztec, African, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Greek, Islamic civilizations and many more await your exploration. There even may be a workshop where you will learn a lot about World Culture in this lovely museum.

Depending on your choice your accommodation will be either provided in English families or in the school's dorm.

Thursday's English Activity Programme -

Today's lessons will be scheduled between 9 am and 12 pm and your curriculum will be: Global Politics Global Discussion: - Sovereignty and globalisation - Global governance: political and economic, environmental power and development Language: - Grammar (Future tenses) - Regionalism and the European Union

The Churchill War Rooms is a historic underground complex and museum that housed a British government command centre throughout the Second World War, and the Churchill Museum, a biographical museum exploring the life of British statesman Winston Churchill. Here you will have the chance to discover the secrets hidden beneath the streets of Westminster in the underground nerve centre where Winston Churchill and his inner circle directed the Second World War. Construction of the Cabinet War Rooms became fully functional on 27 August 1939, just a week before Britain declared war on Germany. The War Rooms remained in operation throughout the Second World War, before being abandoned in August 1945 after the surrender of Japan. After the war, the historic value of the Cabinet War Rooms was recognised. Don't miss the opportunity of visiting this WWII shrine once very limited numbers of the public were able to visit by appointment. Get up close to artefacts revealing Churchill’s personal and political journey by Tourope UK's APTG qualified blue badge tourist guides. Churchill Museum simply uncovers the influences and pressures that shaped his life, leadership and legacy.

Depending on your choice your accommodation will be either provided in English families or in the school's dorm.

Friday's English Activity Programme - Shopping in London

Today's lessons will be scheduled between 9 am and 12 pm and your curriculum will be: Debating Language: - Use and understand the language used in debates Listening and Speaking: - Improve debating skills by listening to and learning from others - Learn how to form opinions and justify them - Understand how different types of debate work - Learn about Parliamentary debating

Oxford Street is one of London’s stretching between Tottenham Court Road and Marble Arch. It’s also Oxford Street is one of London’s artery stretching between Tottenham Court Road and Marble Arch. It’s also Europe’s busiest shopping street hosting around half million visitors daily. Today, there are more than 300 shops, cafes, restaurants, language schools, department stores and many more. It’s the heart of daily business, fun, leisure and of course shopping in London. Like everywhere in London, Oxford Street has its history. The street route used to be part of the Via Trinobantina, a Roman route that passes through London between Hampshire and Essex. It was known as the Tyburn Road during the Middle Ages when Tyburn Gallows was also known for its public hangings. It became known as Oxford Road and then Oxford Street in the 18th century and began to change from residential to commercial and retail use by the late 19th century, attracting street traders, confidence tricksters and prostitution. The first department stores in the UK opened in the early 20th century, including Selfridges, John Lewis & Partners and HMV. Unlike nearby shopping streets such as Bond Street, it has retained an element of downmarket trading alongside more prestigious retail stores. The street suffered heavy bombing during World War II, and several longstanding stores including John Lewis were completely destroyed and rebuilt from scratch. Oxford Street, with several chain stores on the street and a number of buildings listed, remains in demand as a retail place amid competition of other shopping malls, including Westfield Stratford City and the Brent Cross Shopping Centre. Because shopping is simply a tradition on this street and especially tourists love this experience during their stay in London.

Welcome to the heart and soul of the fashion industry in the city. Carnaby Street is a pedestrian shopping street in Soho City and its colourful history stemmed from when the street was built in 1682, taking its name from Karnaby House to the first men's boutique, being the epicentre of the Swinging 60s, home to the punks of the 80s and up to today. It is an iconic London area. Between Oxford and Regent Streets, fashion and lifestyle retailers are just located here, including a large quantity of independent fashion shops. In the heart of London's shopping scene, Carnaby Street brings you over 100 foreign and British fashion brands, independent boutiques, one off concepts, trendy beauty emporiums, grooming salons and custom jewellery specialists together. From brand-new flagships and UK firsts to presenting one-off and unique designers, Carnaby's 14 streets are lined up with women's wear, men's clothing, cosmetics and accessories like no other. Not just for shopping of course, more than 60 independent restaurants, bars, cafes and pubs selling cheap à la carte and late-night drinks, even yummy breakfasts bedazzle the tourists and Londoners alike. Now it’s your turn to explore this lovely district with us.

Depending on your choice your accommodation will be either provided in English families or in the school's dorm.

Saturday's English Activity Programme - Windsor Castle & Eton Riverside

Windsor Castle is the largest inhabited castle in the world and the oldest in continuous occupation. Together with Buckingham Palace in London and Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh it is one of the principal official residences of the British monarch. Windsor Castle is located in the Berkshire town of Windsor, in the Thames Valley to the west of London. Queen Elizabeth II spends many weekends of the year at Windsor Castle, using it for both state and private entertaining. Windsor Castle dates back to the time of William the Conqueror. Most of the kings and queens of England have had a direct influence on the construction and evolution of Windsor Castle, which has been their garrison, fortress, home, official palace, and sometimes prison. The castle's history and that of the British monarchy are inextricably linked. Chronologically the history of the castle can be traced through the reigns of the monarchs who have occupied it. When the country has been at peace Windsor Castle has been expanded by the additions of large and grand apartments; when the country has been at war the castle has been more heavily fortified. This pattern has continued to the present day. Queen Elizabeth II decided in 1952 to make Windsor her principal weekend retreat. The private apartments which had not been properly occupied since the era of Queen Mary were renovated and further modernised, and the Queen, Prince Philip and their two children took up residence. This arrangement has continued to the present day. On 20 November 1992 a fire which began in the Queen's private chapel quickly spread. The fire raged for 15 hours until it had destroyed nine of the principal staterooms, and severely damaged over 100 more - in all the larger part of the upper ward. One-fifth of the floor space of the Windsor Castle was damaged - an area of 9,000 square metres. The restoration program took five years to complete, 70% of it funded by the decision to open to the public for the first time the staterooms of Buckingham Palace. The total cost of repairing the damage was £37 million (US $59.2 million). The restoration was undertaken at no additional cost to the British taxpayer. So successful was the Windsor Castle restoration due to the faithfulness to the original plans and decorations, the distinction between old Windsor Castle and new is hard to detect. Explore the most significant jewel of our heritage by Tourope UK's top blue badge guides today.

After Windsor Castle, we will proceed to beautiful Eton. Eton is a smaller town, dominated by Eton College, an old public school that trains many English people, those that become politicians, judges and diplomats. Eton, the famous school for boys, where Princes William and Harry both participated, as well as boys dressed in traditional Black Tails, and Runnymede, signed in 1215 by the Magna Carta. Today, you will enjoy your day at those major Royal highlights in Greater London during your weekend break in London.

Depending on your choice your accommodation will be either provided in English families or in the school's dorm.

Sunday | Transferring to the Airport

Today is the last day in London unless you continue our program. Well, all good things must come to an end. We provide your transfer service back to the airport with a private vehicle. This is the end of our service and we hope to see you in our various programs here in London.