For the fourth edition I was asked to write about my experience working for Embassy Summer last year over the summer break and I thought I would share it with you!
Embassy Summer
When the summer break from university comes
around, all you can think about is the festivals you want to go to, travelling
and general relaxation of the mind. Free from deadlines, dissertations and
exams. The problem that usually rears its ugly head is the pure fact that you
are absolutely skint, with a maxed out overdraft. Finding a job for the summer
is hard work, so around this time last year I thought to myself what on earth
am I going to do? After surfing the Internet, I came across a company called
‘Embassy Summer’, an organisation that sets up English teaching summer camps in
four different countries! They have 34 centres in 20 cities worldwide so the
choice of where to apply for was vast. The concept of ‘Embassy Summer’ is that
a group of foreign students travel to one of these centres and have half a day
of formal English teaching and the rest of day of activities. ‘Embassy Summer’
bases itself in universities across these countries so there is always a
‘campus feel’ to it. I was based in Bristol at UWE and although I commuted from
home, you have the option to stay on campus which most of the employees did.
Which means you can apply for anywhere you fancy! Great for if you’re not keen
on moving back in with the parents and losing that beautiful freedom. There are
lots of job roles you can apply for within the camp: if you’re doing a teaching
degree or have a TEFL qualification you could apply for a teaching role, or
there are management opportunities as well. The role that I was lucky enough to
obtain was as an ‘Activity Leader’, and this is the role I would one hundred
percent recommend! The job means that you do 42 hours a week and you lead the
activities that the young people take part in, for example: football, rugby,
badminton, netball, rounders, arts and crafts and many more. The evening
consists of optional activities including: discos, film screenings, arts and
crafts and my favourite- karaoke. Also on a Tuesday and a Thursday you will do
half-day trips, I was based in Bristol, so a half-day trip consisted of trips
to Cheddar Gorge or Bath. Then on a Saturday you lead a full day trip, which
could be Cardiff, London, Oxford and many other cities. I was often sent here
to Cardiff as I was considered ‘a local’, which was great as I actually saw
inside the Castle for the first time in my three years of living here! The
young people are lovely, and so eager to learn. Not like British young people
at all! The countries that they came from ranged from China, France, Italy,
Spain and Poland. Another perk of the job was that most of the other activity
leaders are students too! You get to meet like-minded people that are up for a
laugh and make the experience even more worthwhile, cheeky drinks at the on
campus bar happened very frequently when the students were tucked up! The pay
is £235 per week for 18-20 year olds and £291.36 for over 21. There is a
deduction of £30 per week is made for accommodation and food for the
residential staff.
Overall my experience of Embassy Summer was
unforgettable, I earned a decent amount of money, explored parts of the UK that
I never had, made some great mates and got a brilliant notch on my CV. If you
haven’t thought about what you’re doing this summer, why not go for it?
