Summer Centre Spotlight: Gloucester

This week we’re introducing our new Summer Centre in Gloucester! Surrounded by the spellbinding beauty of the Cotswolds, Gloucester is a small but fascinating Medieval city best known for its Gothic cathedral and picturesque countryside.

Often overlooked are the city’s historical renovated docklands, a window into its industrial past featuring original Victorian warehouses and the new Gloucester Quay, a modern shopping and entertainment district. It was also named the ‘Festival Capital’ of the UK, thanks to the huge number of festivals that draw in thousands each year. From major music festivals to quirky events that celebrate the region’s rich heritage and tradition, Gloucester has the best of both worlds.

Our Gloucester Summer Centre is based in the University of Gloucestershire’s contemporary Oxtalls campus, only a 15-minute walk from the city centre. Students will get a taste of university life in the campus’s stylish accommodation, surrounded by expansive green spaces, ponds, and sports pitches.

Magic and Mysticism

Hold onto your broomsticks, because Gloucester’s whimsical Tudor buildings and famous 11th century cathedral has inspired a multitude of magical movies and literature. Many will recognise the cathedral’s impressive cloisters from the first three Harry Potter movies, where they stand in for the hallowed halls of Hogwarts. The otherworldly charm of Gloucester cathedral doesn’t stop there, though: explore further and you might stumble upon the Cathedral’s secret library or the ‘whispering gallery’, a passage in the shape of a half-polygon that allows the softest whispers to travel across the whole space – just like magic.

Over its lifespan of almost 1000 years, the cathedral has been the site of many firsts: the cloisters feature the first known example of fan vaulting in the UK, named for the way the stone ceiling fans out in intricate patterns. Another iconic attraction is the Great East Window, an extraordinary stained-glass window the size of a tennis court – the biggest in the world when it was installed in the 1350s and still a spectacular sight today.

Did You Know?

• Each year, Gloucester holds the Cooper’s Hill Cheese-Rolling competition, where participants race to catch a runaway wheel of cheese. The wheel is heavy, so the winner must be strong – almost as strong as a slice of double Gloucester!
• Students at The University of Gloucestershire celebrate the city’s connection to The Wizarding World in ‘Dumbledore’s Army’, a society where students gather to drink bootleg butterbeers and attend ‘flying lessons.’
• Do you believe in fairy tales? Decide for yourself in the House of the Tailor of Gloucester, a tailor’s shop-turned-museum tucked away in the shadows of Gloucester cathedral. Once upon a time, the tailor that lived here claimed to have returned to his shop to find that an entire suit, minus one buttonhole, had been completed by fairies. Beatrix Potter, author of the beloved Peter Rabbit series, heard of the real-life fairy-tale and later published her own version of the story, with mice instead of fairies. Nowadays, you can still visit the old house and learn all about the author and her stories, complete with cute coin-operated mice.

The Cotswolds

Gloucester is surrounded by the scenic landscape of the Cotswolds, an ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’ distinguishable by its rolling hills, ancient woodland, and quaint villages of sandy ‘Cotswold stone’. Here you can explore the beauty of Gloucester’s surrounding countryside, such as the nearby Forest of Dean, an area of over 42 square miles bounded by the river Wye.

Fans of Tolkien should seek out Puzzlewood, a dense woodland of twisted trees, moss-covered rocks, and winding ravines. In the Summer, the whole forest is bathed in a warm green glow, and in Winter, the snow-touched branches glisten with ice. Its enchanted atmosphere has stood in for many famous locations: scenes from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Doctor Who, and Merlin were filmed here!

Explore Beyond Gloucester

We believe that cultural immersion and real-life practice are essential parts of language learning. Our Summer Centre in Gloucester is a Silver-only package, meaning students will find plenty of opportunities to practise their English skills outside of the classroom.

As part of our premium package, we offer excursions to London and Oxford. From the hustle and bustle of the UK capital to one of the world’s best universities, students will find limitless inspiration.

Are you interested in our Gloucester Summer Centre? Click here for more information.