Basic Information & Location
Abbey College Cambridge is located in the centre of Cambridge. It is a constituent college of the Abbey Davis Laing and Dick (DLD) Group of Colleges, and has two other sister schools in London and Manchester. Its educational offering has changed since 1994, from being designed from A-Level retaking students to now being a GCSE, A-Level and Foundation college for international students.
Academic Development
The college endeavours to develop and maintain an outstanding record of academic success, over 60% of its A-Level students scored A* or A grade for each of the past eleven years, compared to an average of 25% in other UK schools. Every year, over a quarter of A-Level students progressing to the UK’s top five universities. According to the inspection by Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills (OFSTED), the college has been awarded the status of ”Good” in 6 criteria and ”Outstanding” in 1 criterion, out of a total of 7. The college has been described as “tailoring the curriculum to meet the needs of most individual students well”. Notably, the proportion of students achieving the highest grades is significantly above national figures.
The programmes offered are flexible, catering the need for students with different ages and levels. Students aged 13 to 15 can study one year, 18 months or two year GCSE programmes. Students aged 16 to 19 can choose between 18 months and two-year A-Level courses. There is also option for students to study one, two and three terms short course programmes. After the programme, students can choose to continue studies at home or at college. Aged 17 plus students can choose the one year intensive Foundation Programme, by studying five key subjects related modules for each term. Admissions tutors at the UK’s top universities recognise the quality of an Abbey College Cambridge Education, the graduates progress onto some of the members of Russell Group, such as Durham University, King’s College London, the University of Birmingham and the University of York.
The college is specialising in providing outstanding education for international students. It has designed a pre-sessional programme for students to prepare themselves with typical British classroom environment before studying GCSE, A-Level or Foundation Programme, including skill development in areas such as pair work and project work. Throughout the programme, students can participate in educational trips to the local area and around the UK. Programmes can be taught over a period of one, two or three terms, dependent on students’ level of language and academic abilities.
As for A-Level students, the college has designed an advanced programme for those who aim to study at top Universities like Oxbridge. The Pre-Degree Diploma programme enables students get to speak to employers in their field of interest, and visiting real life workplace. Therefore they can develop clear vision of the type of course they want to study. If students are targeting at the ‘top 5’ UK universities, including Oxford and Cambridge, the college is offering additional preparations about Oxbridge applications, entrance examinations, additional qualifications and admission interviews. In recent years, 55 of their graduates have progressed on to study at Oxbridge Colleges and over 60 students have progressed to Medical School. For 2017, 10% of their upper sixth students received offers to study at Oxbridge.
There are some summer programmes for students aged 15 to 21, such as Medicine Summer School and Oxbridge Summer School. In the intensive two weeks, students can benefit from the extensive experience of successful medicine and Oxbridge applicants. They can also receive teaching and guidance focused towards the related application requirements.
Pastoral Care & Boarding
There are various kinds of accommodations offered. For younger students who aged 13 to 16 on arrival, they are suggested to choose the Abbey Boarding House which locates immediately adjacent to the college teaching building. For students aged 16 plus, they can consider the Purbeck House or the Tripos Court which locate near the campus. All accommodations have live-in house parents, offering three meals every day, Wi-Fi and CCTV are on site 24/7. Students can also consider half board accommodation by living in host families, experiencing British family life whilst studying.
Extracurricular & personal development
Apart from academic achievement, the college has more than 50 exciting staff and student led clubs, including programmes focusing on actions, belongings and creativity. There are special programmes like horse riding, martial arts and gardening, which are run based on students demand. The college is offering four awards based on students’ commitment to extra-curricular activities; students’ participation in selected clubs will also contribute to their fil Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE), which is an internationally recognised award that helps one getting into their favourite universities and companies.
