High School Summer Programs

United Kingdom

Sustainability & Outdoor Adventure in Great Britain

Adventure, Culture, Leadership Skills, Sustainability

3 Weeks

From London to the countryside: Explore history, culture, and community through the lens of sustainable solutions while building leadership skills. Hop on a train to Totnes, a community known for their regenerative initiatives. Stay on a nature preserve, camp along the river, and rappel down the coast before exploring London town!

Dates

2025: June 26 – July 17, 2025

Ages

14 – 18

Availability

Spaces available

Group size

18 or less

tuition

$9,995

International airfare is not included in tuition. In general, roundtrip airfare (from New York, for example) can run from $1,200 – $1,500.

Program overview

Explore England’s expansive countryside and multicultural cities by train! Along the way, camp on the coast, learn about Great Britain’s sustainability initiatives, and connect with meaningful organizations.

Hop on a train to explore the picturesque English countryside as you travel to historic towns, along the misty coast, and back into London. Canoe on the River Dart, camp along the shore, and trek through Dartmoor.

Begin your leadership journey through this little-known outdoor adventure paradise. Spend evenings camping in the forest, conquer high ropes courses, and rappel the cliffs of the Jurassic coast. Conclude the trip with a week in London, exploring colorful neighborhoods, connecting with meaningful service organizations, and tasting international cuisine.

highlights

Take the train to the off-the-beaten-path town of Totnes, where you’ll delve into their community regeneration and sustainability initiatives.

Master your leadership and outdoor skills through intentional team challenges on a nature reserve – canoe, trek, and rappel cliffs.

Discover London on a week-long journey, curated with purposeful visits to learn about refugees, sustainability, history, culture, and food.

what you'll explore

Please note that itineraries are subject to (and likely to) change. We run unique programs, so our team refines programs each year to create the best possible student experiences.

Week 1

Land in London and hop on a train to Totnes, your first stop on this unique adventure through England. From beautiful rolling hills and old stone buildings of the countryside to dramatic cliffs, you watch the scenery go by until you arrive at the Devon countryside farmhouse. Here, your group takes part in Global Routes orientation, led by your Overseas Educators. You learn more about the journey ahead, the culture and background of your host community, and your peers. During your days, explore Totnes, famed for it’s Transition Movement. They’ve established a model for how communities can move away from fossil fuels to regenerative alternatives. Spend days on the River Dart and the final evenings of this week camping along the riverbed, canoeing through the channels and learning from your hosts about the history and relevance of this area.

Week 2

Take a trip out to Dartmoor National park, where you start putting your lessons from Totnes into action. Traverse the Devon coast and visit the “English Riviera,” Torquay. Then, it’s time to put your leadership skills to the test.

Head to New Forest, a nature reserve between Totnes and London, where you and the group engage in a Rewilding Workshop to develop your leadership and survival skills. Spend evenings sleeping on the reserve in the forest and days conquering team challenges! Raft in a boat of your own design, send arrows flying across the meadows during archery lessons, and tackle a high ropes course. Rappel cliffs on the Jurassic Coast and finetune your individual leadership skills.

Week 3

London calling! Spend the final week in this fast-paced, multicultural city. Travel to charming neighborhoods and off-the-tourist track communities in London. Learn from international changemakers who are tackling issues such as human rights, sustainability, and refugee support. Work alongside leaders addressing challenges with creative solutions and begin to consider how you can bring this back to your own community. Spend a day with a group working to find creative solutions for the unhoused “rough sleeper” communities through creating business ventures to give formerly unhoused people new opportunities. Support a growing sustainable marketplace where creating affordable local food sources is a key principle. Each night, chow down on international cuisine with your group or spend an evening cooking a delicious meal with a refugee family sharing their culture and traditions through food.

From here, you engage with a variety of lessons with London-based experts, dependent on the unique partners Global Routes supports each summer. Find yourself taking a photojournalism course to learn about social change narratives, Shakespeare workshops, Peace and Reconciliation Trainings, or learning about London’s multiculturalism from professors, as examples. As with all Global Routes programs, we also spend time reflecting on what we’ve learned, how we can bring our newfound knowledge back into our home communities, and who we’ve become over the course of three impactful weeks.

are you ready for the adventure?

How to enroll

Take the first step here

Learn more about enrolling in a summer program below.

The Application Process

1. Submit your Application

If you’re ready to learn more about a meaningful summer program, fill out our obligation-free application to get started.

2. Optional Informational Call

Once you’ve submitted your application, you’ll be offered the option to book an informational call with our team. If you’re ready to commit, move forward to finalize enrollment!

3. FINALIZE ENROLLMENT

Ready to sign up and save your spot? Finalize enrollment by submitting your deposit and beginning the pre-departure journey!

FAQ

Do I need a passport? What should I pack? Where are the program preparation details?

Once we receive your application and reserve a space for you in the program, we provide you access to a password-protected webpage designed specifically for your program. There, we post information about passports and visas, detailed packing lists, all necessary travel information, information about your leaders, and much more! We’re also always on hand to answer any questions you might have.

Who is eligible for a Global Routes summer program?

Global Routes accepts students 14-18 from all over the world! Right-fit participants are those looking for something more community-driven than a teen-tour and more culturally engaging than strictly outdoor education programs. Global Routes participants return as more confident, directed, self-aware, and adventurous global citizens with a better understanding of the unique contributions they offer their communities and the world.

What is expected of me as part of a small group? Are there student policies I should be aware of?

We expect you to have a positive attitude, demonstrate patience and flexibility in the face of the inherent challenges of group living in a foreign country, be sensitive to the cultures and customs of your host community, contribute to a positive group experience, and abide by the student contract you sign on the application. No previous construction, teaching, or foreign language experience is necessary.

The student policies for Global Routes High School programs are:

Being flexible, patient, and open-minded in the face of new and challenging situations.
Participating positively and fully in all group meetings and activities, understanding that Global Routes programs are group-based and that, at times, I may be asked to put the group’s needs before my own.
Making my best effort to work and live respectfully with others within and outside the group.
Maintaining group cohesion by not becoming involved in any exclusive behavior, including being part of a clique, getting involved in a romantic relationship, or isolating myself from the group.
Respecting and caring for the property and equipment of Global Routes, my hosts, and my group.
Forgoing the possession and/or consumption of tobacco products, un-prescribed drugs, or alcohol of any kind.
Abiding by all local laws.
Abiding my all safety policies set forth by my leaders and not leaving their supervision without their permission.
Acknowledging that Global Routes reserves the right to dismiss, without program fee refund or issuance of community service hours – and at the expense of the participant.

Where do we stay throughout the program?

Living conditions will vary throughout your program, but they will always be safe and comfortable. During orientation and final travel you stay with your group in family-run guesthouses or small hostels or hotels.

If your program includes a homestay, during the homestay portion of your program, your entire group will stay in one village where you and a partner live in a simple and rustic home, constructed of wood or cement block. When hosted, not all homes will have electricity or indoor plumbing.

In each destination we have in-country staff who identify potential communities and interview and select each host family. Prior to the start of your program, one of your leaders makes an additional pre-trip visit to your community to meet with village leaders, members of the project committee, and all host families.

At other points in the program, we will find ourselves in hotels, hostels, or even camping as the final itinerary indicates.

Can I apply the community-driven service component toward hours for my school or organization?

We present all students with a certificate noting the number of completed service hours. You will complete anywhere between 40 and 100 community service hours, depending on your program. Each school determines whether or not Global Routes service hours meet their requirements. We’re happy to communicate with your school service advisor ahead of time to answer any questions they may have about your service work.

What do you mean by “tech-free” programs?

We believe that limiting technology on a program builds better connections to ourselves, our peers, and our new environments. We appreciate that cell phones can be helpful when meeting your leader or parent on travel days and therefore we permit the use of cell phones for communication on the first and last days of your program ONLY. Cell phone use is not allowed during the entire course of the program Although this can be daunting at first, most students cite the lack of phones as one of their FAVORITE parts of the Global Routes summer program!

Global Routes stays in close contact with each program and receives updates every few days. We are accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to our group leaders for the entire summer, and provide regular updates via email and blog posts to parents, guardians, and mentors back home. Additionally, students will have a few opportunities throughout the program to contact home by mail, email, and phone.