BLOOMSBURY SUMMER SCHOOL (BSS)
Since 1995, BSS has aimed to present the finest programme of summer courses on the
history and archaeology of the Ancient World available in the United Kingdom.
In 2008 it offers nine intensive courses on Ancient Egypt and its neighbours in the Near
East. They are designed specifically for enthusiastic
adults and for students studying, or intending soon to study, at university.
LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR
WELCOME TO BLOOMSBURY SUMMER SCHOOL (BSS). This year’s programme is radically different from any other that we have offered. To mention but a few of its novel features, it begins one week later than usual, which we hope will make a wider choice of courses available to school teachers and the parents of those they teach. It offers eight courses and introduces the study of Ancient Greece, as a subject in its own right, to our curriculum. In Flinders Petrie and His Heritage, a course for which we may have to limit enrolment, it pioneers a new, essentially museum-based approach to the teaching of Egyptian Archaeology. And in Tutankhamun, it provides a specialist study of the boy king and the context of his reign, taught predominantly by two of the five Course Directors who are working as guides and lecturers in the current, breathtaking, Exhibition.
We are confident that the 2008 programme will be as exciting and challenging as last year’s, in which over 170 students participated. If you haven’t visited us yet, we urge you to do so. BSS is unlike any other Summer School. It provides an informal and friendly environment, excellent facilities and courses of a very high academic standard. You’ll find full details of these below.
May I conclude with a few words of warning? Most of the places on our courses are taken up very quickly, so if you want to join us, don’t delay or you may lose your chance to do so!
My very best wishes,
CHRISTOPHER COLEMAN
PROGRAMME AND FACILITIES
BSS courses offer the following, unique, combination of features:
- Expert tuition, provided by university lecturers and museum staff
- Privilege-access classes in the Petrie Museum (when relevant)
- Gallery talks in the British Museum (subject to accessibility)
- Excellent facilities, including air-conditioning in most rooms and free refreshments
- Social events designed to help students to enjoy their visit to UCL. These include a buffet lunch in the History Department, an evening reception with wine and soft drinks in the Petrie Museum, and an end-of-course party in the Institute of Archaeology.
- Accommodation (if required) in inexpensive Halls of Residence located virtually on site.
Click here for programme information
LOCATION
UCL is ideally located in the heart of Bloomsbury, within walking distance of many of
London’s best-known museums and galleries, and of the theatres and cinemas of the
West End.
Click here for location information and maps
TRANSPORT
UCL is easily reached by public transport. It is within easy walking distance of three mainline stations (Euston, St. Pancras and King’s Cross), and of underground stations on the Metropolitan, Circle, Northern, Victoria and Piccadilly Lines. There is, however, no car park in, or in the immediate vicinity of, the college.
ACCOMMODATION
Visitors to BSS who wish to book accommodation in Bloomsbury are expected to make their own arrangements. To help them do so, BSS has produced a guide to accommodation. This provides details of three Halls of Residence: Passfield Hall, which overlooks Gordon Square Gardens; Connaught Hall, which overlooks the gardens of Tavistock Square; and College Hall, which stands between the Vanbrugh Theatre and Waterstone’s Bookshop. All three are located within five minutes walk of UCL and hold a provisional block booking for BSS students. The guide also provides details of a range of approved hotels, small ones in Cartwright Gardens, large ones in a variety of locations, and all within easy walking distance of
the college.
Click here to browse our accommodation guide
CATERING
Tea, coffee and cold drinks will be available in the common room, free of charge, virtually all day, every day. For other requirements, students are expected to make use of the inexpensive catering facilities on site, in the Lower Refectory, the Student Union or the foyer of the Bloomsbury Theatre. These purvey everything from sandwiches to hot meals, including breakfast, from about 8.30 a.m. until the early evening. Alternatively, they may take a short walk to Tottenham Court Road, where they will find many sandwich bars, public houses and restaurants awaiting them.
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