OPTIONAL COURSES for ACADEMIC AND LEADERSHIP PROGRAMMES

Choir practice in a college cloister at Queens’

Scholars may elect to take optional offerings if they wish to experience a very special opportunity to perform in a play or a choir whilst in Cambridge. Rehearsals will be during the afternoon. There will be no evaluations or grades given and no extra fee. Please note that a scholar may only take one of these offerings, and that the PSAT, SAT, ACT Review and AP Calculus AB is also at this time, as is rowing and golf.

Choir
Scholars may sing in a choir, which will focus on developing vocal and performance techniques and will introduce scholars to a range of musical genres. Scholars must be able to read music. The choir will give a performance at the end of the Programme. No extra fee.

Battle of the Bands
Annual competition between bands. Prizes awarded to best band by scholar body. Guitars, drums and electric piano provided by Programme. Bring your own guitar if you wish. No extra fee.

“I was particularly pleased that my daughter, Elisa Ashley, was able to express her creativity in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in conjunction with the excellent academic program.” —EMMA DAVILA CRAWFORD San Juan Capistrano, California

Theatre
Scholars may audition to participate in one of two Shakespearean productions, either as actors or stagehands. There will be performances at the end of the Programme. Also, a musical production has been added, “The Boyfriend.”

This year, for the first time ever, CCP will stage a full-length musical, one of the best loved classics of British musical theatre. The Boyfriend takes us back to carnival time in the year 1926 when the vacuous , boy-crazy young ladies of Mme Dubonnet’s finishing school in the French Riviera have only one thought in their minds, to find a ‘boyfriend’ and then a husband. They speak in frightfully posh accents and come out with lines such as “I’ve got to chat with my chums,” “Isn’t she the limit” and “How divine!” The characters are all larger than life and unforgettable; the lecherous Lord Brockenhurst, the cheeky French maid Hortense, the dishy messenger boy Tony, to say nothing of the ‘perfect young ladies’ and their handsome prospective boyfriends. Even fifty years after it was written, it’s still the most successful, tuneful and witty of the send-up musicals, which ape the style of earlier, lighter-hearted and more disarming days.

We need performers and instrumentalists of all levels and ability to contribute to this fun abut demanding activity. Bring your instruments, dancing shoes, your sense of humour; and start working on those British accents! No extra fee.

AP Calculus AB
An introduction of ten sessions for future AP Calculus AB. An extra fee.

"After taking the Cambridge SAT Review my test score increased 200 points!”
—LAURYN BUCKLEY Westport, Connecticut

PSAT, SAT, ACT Review
Experienced instructors from the USA will guide participating scholars through an intense workshop geared to “conquering” both the SAT and ACT. Additionally, National Merit aspirants preparing for the PSAT will find the workshop beneficial. Scholars will focus on learning specific techniques to strengthen math, grammar, critical reading and writing skills, as well as strategies to enhance the individual’s test-taking ability. Included will be actual, previously administered SAT and ACT tests. A calculator is required. Please note that taking this course precludes taking Choir, Theatre, or Calculus, rowing and golf. An extra fee.

Cambridge Application Workshop
Application to Cambridge must be made in the autumn before a scholar hopes to be admitted. This includes a personal statement and a 15-20 minute interview, which can be conducted by a representative in the States or in Britain. Applying is highly competitive and very good grades are an essential requirement. This six-hour workshop comprises two sessions, strictly limited to 30 scholars, plus a mock interview, conducted by a tutor with admissions experience in the relevant subject. It is designed to provide additional help and practical experience for those scholars who are considering applying to Cambridge. It will be of general use in advising scholars on self-presentation, interview techniques, writing personal statements, and so forth. It will give scholars a valuable informal perspective on the process and will de-mystify a system that many American scholars find bewildering. The first session will advise scholars on how to complete the relevant application forms for University admission. It will cover what University admissions tutors are looking for in terms of both qualifications and extracurricular interests, what will stand out in a scholar’s application, and what would disqualify them for entrance.

The second session will take scholars through the process of application: Who reads their application? How is it assessed? When will they expect to be interviewed? Scholars will be advised on every aspect of the interview, from what to wear to what kind of questions they can expect.
In the third session all scholars will have an individual 10-minute mock interview with a tutor, followed by a discussion of their performance and of the personal statement they will have prepared.