What not to miss at Summer School

While attending LSE Summer School, make the most out of all the incredible opportunities offered. Here are all the things I think you shouldn't miss during your time here.

London

London is a melting pot of history, culture and modernity, so while attending Summer School, keep in mind that there are many incredible attractions and experiences waiting for you in the city. I would recommend a visit to the British Museum, which hosts an extraordinary collection of some of the most famous and significant artefacts from different civilisations across the world. My personal favourite was the Natural History Museum, whose architecture is simply mesmerising and will leave you speechless, in addition to the Charles Darwin sculpture and the minerals and gems collection.

Furthermore, make sure to add in a few parks to your visit. From Hyde Park to Regent’s Park, to the incredible view over London from Primrose Hill (which I recommend you visit during sunset while enjoying a picnic with your friends), and also Greenwich Park, which you can reach by Uber Boat, London’s parks offer a great opportunity to take a break from the city which can definitely get busy at times.

Lastly, I highly recommend late-night walks along the London bridges (especially to end a night out with friends) such as Millennium Bridge (definitely pay a visit if you’re a Harry Potter fan), Southwark Bridge, and obviously Tower Bridge.

Food and drink

Despite what some may say about food in the UK, London’s culinary tradition will leave you speechless, and I’m going to share my favourite places in the city.

To begin with, I really enjoyed going to Covent Garden between lectures (as it is really close to campus). I managed to find the absolute best cookies ever at Ben’s Cookies and incredible Chinese food at Red Farm – if you pay a visit, I highly suggest you try their corn soup!

If you fancy going somewhere fun with your friends to enjoy exquisite food, a fun environment, and great music, you cannot miss out on Sketch. Finally, my absolute favourite restaurant in the entire city, Duck and Rice in Soho, whose name is quite self-explanatory, but if you manage to eat there, I promise you’ll have the best Chinese food in the city.

Also, don’t miss the iconic food markets like Borough Market, where you can choose between various international culinary traditions and fun desserts, such as their famous chocolate covered strawberries.

Lastly, while in the UK, I suggest you embrace the pub culture and visit traditional British pubs. You’ll find they are great places to socialise, meet new friends and do some networking. There are even two pubs on campus! I really enjoyed them as they were the ideal place to watch football matches while spending some quality time with my Summer School friends.

Summer School

Of course, my number 1 suggestion is to make the most of everything on offer at LSE. Actively participate in both the lectures and seminars and share your enthusiasm with your lecturers and classmates. You’ll find the buildings to be a perfect hangout spot with your friends, and the library is ideal for studying. I found myself spending much more time than I imagined on campus, as my friends and I would also hang out at the university in the evenings after studying.

However, LSE Summer School is much more than that, as there are many daily events organised, such as Spark events, which are events created to help you develop different professional skills, or social events, such as parties, day trips and theatre trips. I took part in the Boat Party, Picnic in the Park, and the Welcome and Farewell parties; these are great opportunities to meet people taking different courses to you.

I would stress how important it is to be open minded and try to break out of your comfort zone - LSE is a welcoming environment and so are all the Summer School students, so do not be afraid to make new friends and to introduce yourself to people, as I promise you are going to get long-lasting friendships out of this experience.

Conclusion

To sum up, London and Summer School offer a diverse range of activities suitable for all, and getting to enjoy the city while studying at LSE will guarantee unforgettable experiences and memories.

 

This blog was written by one of our 2024 Student Ambassadors, who are here to share their stories and help you understand the summer school experience at LSE.