Program Reviews

There are so many things to talk about my experience at ORA and specifically, at Balliol College. I have loved every single thing and all my counsellors has been of help to me by clearly and nicely engaging me into activities, laughing together and giving me instructions. I stayed at Balliol College from the 4th of August to the 17th of August to study engineering with Mr Johnny as my teacher. He gave most of the tools needed for me to be a great engineer later on. This includes making my robot in robotics class, teaching me in details about drag force, Bernouli's Principle and etc. The food was delicious and everything was nicely displayed and organized. Acknowledging that I received a scholarship to go to the ORA, it seemed freer and nicer for me to enjoy my time there. I would recommend 100% for anybody that goes to the ORA in the following years to have fun with everyone because every single person there is nice and lovely to meet as well as talk to. My time there was just magnificent and wonderful.

I really loved and enjoyed the two weeks with ORA. I met interesting and wonderful people and made new experiences, which will be helpful in my whole life. The only thing that I could criticize is, that i could not stay at St. Catharines because of me not being 16 but i could do the courses at St.Catharines and had to walk between Claire’s and St.Catharines everyday and I‘ve been told that two days before my departure to the UK. Besides that everything was wonderful !!I loved Cambridge, the city, the people, (also the fudge) and i loved being with all that new people from other countries and cultures all over the world. Furthermore i loved the Counselors. They were always nice and helped whenever you needed help (especially Nathalie and Maddy) Thank You so much ORA and see you next year.

I was really surprised that I got the opportunity to go to ORA.I did the New Perspectives (Math, Chemistry & Physics and Public speaking) course in July -August 2018. It was a great experience that opened my horizons. Thanks to the Oxford Royal Academy for the scholarship.

I had never been to the United Kingdom before, so the whole trip from start to end was a challenge and testing experience especially because it was the first time I was away from home independently attending to myself. I felt it boosted my confidence as opened my eyes in so many ways.

When the friendly staff greeted me, I immediately felt I was home. I started noticing that I was not the only one far far away from home at the campus. When I saw students from various ethnic and cultural backgrounds hanging around there, awestruck by the monumental buildings with huge smiles on their faces, some over joyed, I was assured that I would be fine. In the Chapel, I realized that over the two weeks I would be befriending most of them and eventually became very close to some of them with whom I still keep contact even to date. The rooms – well totally different from what I was used to live in, were quite nice, and having a roommate added to the great experience I had in Oxford.

As I was in grade 8, having just turned 13, felt that I was a bit young for the course because I found some of the material a bit challenging especially in math since the syllabus was for grade 9ers. The only reason I got through with A Grade in math could only be attributed to the support I had from my friends and teachers.

The activities were amazing especially the scavenger hunt, punting and the trip to London were memorable. I think the only thing that got me down were the flu and the cold weather. The coldest it gets in Maldives, where I live is 24°C but the warmest in Oxford was 22°C.

I returned home to find that I had taken a leap in my ability to comprehend what was taught in class and felt that I was a step ahead of my friends at studies. The whole trip was an unforgettable experience and I would gladly love to do it again. Overall this was the best experience of my life and I would definitely recommend it for other students.

I love ORA. In fact, I've been attending ORA for the past three summers: Oxford, UK in 2016 and 2017, and London, UK in 2018. Every time was unique. The weeks spent with ORA were always the highlight of each summer, and were kind of a "pre-university" preparation.
Concerning my personal experience, the first time I attended ORA, at first, I was all nervous and frustrated about how I'm going to make friends and live far from my parents all on my own; but as soon as I arrived to the campus, where safety was a priority, the staff was very welcoming, helpful and friendly, and I connected with many different people. I learned a lot about different cultures and societies. The food wasn't terrible but we were allowed to get our own so it was fine by me. The campus was amazingly beautiful; the dorms in Oxford were mostly twin rooms, where you had to tidy it up and the staff would come and just clean it, whereas in London all the rooms in the dorm were single rooms, and the staff would come tidy it up as well as clean it. The courses were entertaining, new, different than what you take in school, and certainly very helpful. It helped me increased my knowledge and I use the information acquired in these courses very frequently in my every day life. The course went by too fast and everyone wanted it to last more (one more week for most of us).
If you want to spend the best summer, don't hesitate to attend ORA.

P.S: I'm attending ORA once again in London this summer for 4 weeks.

"It was so amazing" this is the only thing I would like to say about doing the introduction to medicine in Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. I made so many great friends from all around the world, and we created unforgettable memories together. Furthermore, teachers in ORA is super nice, and they have teaching strategies or tips that can help us to understand it easily and memorize it. Going to ORA to study is the best experience in my life so far. Doing the medicine course, we learned many high-level knowledges, wrote a research paper, presentation, and did an animal dissection. Besides academes, afternoon activities were super fun, we had many choices of activities, like decorating the cake, sport, homework club, and college application skills. Also on weekend, we had a chance to hang out with friends, to go to Oxford city shopping and spending time chatting with our friends. I really enjoy the time studying in ORA, summer 2018 was the best summer with the best people and the best environment ever.

The summer school of Oxford Royale Academy in Yale was a great experience for me.
We lived in New Haven in the buildings of Yale university. The staff was very supportive and friendly.
Nearly every day, we made trips. For example:
We went to New York, where we visited the Empire State Building, Central Park and several other iconic places.
We also went to the capitol of Connecticut, Hartford.

I did the 2018 Broadening Horizons Course through Oxford Royale Academy from 1st-14th July, and it was one of the best trips of my life! It was amazing to meet people from all across the world- from different cultures and backgrounds- and to share the experience with the numerous friends I made. The lessons were very interesting and the classroom environment was fun and relaxed. Activities such as punting and watching Mamma Mia in London made this trip unforgettable. Furthermore, the amazing ORA counsellors made this trip ten times as exciting, especially the counsellors at Queen's College. They really took care of us and made us feel right at home. By the end of the two weeks, we were all dreading going back home and wished that the trip could go on forever! I would recommend this trip to anyone who is considering applying- you will definitely not regret it.

I loved the experience I had at the summer course.
It allowed me to experience a 'pre-university' life, and it was amazing!
I have never made so many friends in such a short period of time.
I love the campus I stayed in, Lady Margaret Hall, especially the dining hall - it looked like the one from Harry Potter. I also really enjoyed sleeping in the dorms with my friends - and away from my parents for two weeks!
Oxford is such a beautiful place. The scenery and landscape and breathtaking, and the little houses are so pretty. I loved shopping in the streets as well.
This summer was probably the best summer ever, and truly one of the best experiences I've ever had.
Thank you so much Oxford Royal Academy for these memories!

P.S. it would mean the world to me receive this ORA hoody!

Applying to ORA was the best decision I have made so far. ORA showed me the opportunities that I actually have outside Serbia. This experience was life changing! I got to meet so many amazing people from all of the world, with different experiences and knowledge. Everything that I have seen, heard and learnt and everyone I have met while being in ORA helped me realize something about myself and my future career.

An Oxford Royale Academy experience is an once-in-a lifetime, unforgettable and international experience, YES!
Let me tell you why.
All of the courses, the teachers, the truly international students, the afternoon activities (punting, scavenger hunts, quiz nights or even the world cup at my time during summer 2018) were exceptional.
Concerning the courses, the way of teaching using class discussions, group work, even homework, was fascinating and engaging. Nevertheless, I learned, once at Oxford, that courses at ORA aren't all about theoretical work but were also about practice. In both my courses, we did hands-on experiences : iodine clock reaction in Chemistry (which was real fun) and not less than the dissection of a heart in Medical Biology!
I knew most of the things we were going to do at Oxford. But what I didn't know, and couldn't know, was the feeling I was going to get once there: happiness, feeling of achievement and a great will to do more, 2 weeks in a real world of opportunities. But also a little bit of nervousness! Why not ? This is because you want to do good, you want to achieve and frankly everything you do at ORA is rewarding, I myself won the scavenger hunt with my team, got excellent grades (A* in both courses) and even an effort price in Chemistry at graduation. You really do feel great at ORA.
I am far from sugar-coating anything, I would truly recommend ORA experience to anyone who has the chance to do so.