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WHY IT MATTERS:
Community Testimonials

Educating youth is not easy, and it requires the unified effort of an entire community to make it happen. Summerbridge has been fortunate to work with a number of schools and organizations to enhance the programs provided to our students. In addition, Summerbridge continues to receive a great deal of support from the greatest supporters of the students - their families. See their words of encouragement below.

SPONSORS & COMMUNITY PARTNERS

By providing tuition-free English education and life skills development, Summerbridge not only better prepares students for their academic future, but also inspires students to believe in their potential and abilities. When students enter our program, they develop skills in three key areas: personal development, academic, and English language skills.

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Summerbridge does magic. They are able to do something that our local school cannot do. In school, our students can easily give up on learning English because there is no authentic environment to speak in English. However, I noticed that the students who attended Summerbridge would come back with not only a new interest in English, but would be much more confident in presenting their ideas in school. I decided to visit Summerbridge and I was shocked. My students who attended at the time were so excited about what they were learning and even spoke to me in English at their own initiative. That has never happened before! I saw that Summerbridge lessons are highly interactive and fun with a lot of student participation within the small class sizes. Most of my students are from underprivileged families, so they do not have extra resources to learn outside of school. Summerbridge really has given a lot to my students!
Jappe Tsang
Teacher
Kwai Chung Methodist College
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Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong is always pleased to receive applicants from students that have attended Summerbridge. Those involved in interviews, including myself notice that Summerbridge students are positively different. They are much more reflective in answering questions, have greater confidence than comparable students and are willing to learn from their mistakes. They understand that learning is a process and are much less focused on the outcome. Clearly Summerbridge’s focus on experiential learning mirrors the UWC educational model.
Arnett Edwards
Principal
Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong
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I’d like to give a big thank you to Summerbridge for giving this opportunity to my students. My students at school struggle quite a lot and are often considered a challenge to motivate. When they first attended Summerbridge, they were very nervous and scared. But, I have witnessed that they have really changed a lot. They are now brave and much more willing to try new things. Most importantly, they have their own dreams now! Thank you to Shirley; thank you to Summerbridge; thank you to all of the sponsors of this program.
Ms. Luk
Teacher
Ko Lui Secondary School
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At Island School we are extremely proud of our long association with Summerbridge, providing the venue as well as supplying many senior students as teachers in the programme. In fact, Summerbridge started at Island School and I am grateful for the privilege of watching its growth over the last quarter of a century. Summerbridge is without doubt the most transformational educational programme that I have seen. It enriches both the learner and the teacher, and the astonishing results are so plain to see. The younger local students return to their schools after Summerbridge with not just much improved English, but a new sense of confidence and a passion for learning which can no longer be satisfied by spoon-feeding. They now take responsibility for their learning! The young teachers gain a great deal from the experience, but perhaps the most valuable of which is the realization that as individuals, they can make a difference – they can change lives! Shouldn’t all schools be like that? Please see it for yourself. Summerbridge is amazing!
Pak Chan
Teacher
Island School
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It’s always been very encouraging and positive to work with the students from Summerbridge. The sponsor engagement event brings a positive perspective for me in terms of awareness and sensibility to the community we live in. The enthusiastic students brought out the smiles for all participants involved and through the event, I was able to gain more awareness of myself and the responsibilities that we all should have to make an impact on society.
Sponsor's Employee
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I have really enjoyed volunteering with Summerbridge as it is a real joy to work with their students and see things from a perspective I don’t get in my day job. Additionally, I always feel so energized and positive after Summerbridge events as the enthusiasm, teamwork, and confidence building nature of the program is downright infectious!
Sponsor's Employee

FAMILY TESTIMONIALS

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While my son was at Summerbridge, besides showing improvement in English and other academic areas, he learned to respect himself, be considerate of others, proactively search for knowledge and set higher goals for himself. These were all things that I wanted him to get and Summerbridge was able to teach him all these within two short summers.
Mrs. So
Mother of a Summerbridge student
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“I am the grandmother of the Summerbridge student. I am from a single-parent family and I receive subsidies to maintain my living. Unfortunately my grandson's parents have passed away. One day, his English teacher introduced him to the Summerbridge Program. We did not really know what Summerbridge was and yet, it was far for him to travel so we did not really think about it. Luckily, I was informed that buses were provided for the students so I allowed him to join. I was a bit worried at the beginning, but then I was relieved after having heard the teachers in Summerbridge were very friendly and he was enjoying it a lot. I was extremely pleased when I saw him making the new student speech on Celebration night. My grandson was a shy boy, but on that evening, I was very proud of him as I saw him giving a speech confidently in English in front of so many guests.”
Mrs. Choi
Grandmother of a Summerbridge student
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Our three children, Yuki, Leina and Shimon are very fortunate that they had opportunities to participate in Summerbridge Hong Kong as high-school aged student teachers. As first time teachers, surviving and succeeding in the program must have been a big challenge for them. By the time they were through with the program, they realized how much the students had taught them. The biggest reward for them was that they had significantly improved their communication skills and developed leadership skills by learning how to connect to the students. When they returned home, we were amazed to see how much they had matured and become more independent during the short period of time they taught in the program. We appreciate Shirley and the rest of the members of the program team for giving them such precious moments in their budding stage, which also made them realize the importance and fulfillment of making contributions to the community. Summerbridge Hong Kong experiences brought them lots of confidence and pride, and we are sure that it will go a long way in their futures.
Mr. and Mrs. Chien
Parents of Summerbidge student teachers
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My first contact with Summerbridge began with my son, Edmund, who joined the summer program in 1994. It was a tremendous challenge for him as the students he had to teach were very shy and spoke very little English. He had to continually think of innovative methods to arouse their interest and encourage active participation. Over that summer, I saw him change into an enthusiastic, dedicated and caring teenager. Edmund loved and believed in the program so much that he returned to teach for another 4 summers. His younger sisters, Cheryl and Karen, were also inspired by him to participate as student teachers in the program.
Mrs. Sally Lee
Mother of Summerbridge student teachers