One of the defining features of the ISSFT summer experience is our dual learning model — a carefully designed approach that allows students to combine one academic subject with one elective for the full duration of their stay. Rather than asking students to choose between academic focus or personal interests, dual learning brings both together in a balanced, purposeful way.

This structure is central to what makes the ISSFT experience distinctive — and why students leave with more than just memories.

What Is Dual Learning?

Dual learning means that every student follows two parallel strands:

✔︎ A core academic programme, delivered in a university-style learning environment
✔︎ A specialist elective, chosen from sports, creative, leadership, or enrichment pathways

Both strands run consistently throughout the programme, allowing students to build depth, confidence, and genuine progress — rather than sampling short taster sessions.

Why This Model Is Special

1. It Reflects How Young People Learn Best

Teenagers thrive when learning is varied, meaningful, and connected. Dual learning recognises that academic thinking and practical experience reinforce one another.

Morning academic sessions encourage critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving. Afternoon electives provide space for creativity, collaboration, physical activity, and applied learning. Together, they create a rhythm that keeps students motivated and engaged.

2. Academic Challenge Without Burnout

A purely academic summer can feel intense; a purely activity-based programme can lack intellectual depth. Dual learning avoids both extremes.

By balancing classroom learning with electives, students remain mentally fresh and energised — often achieving stronger outcomes than they would in a single-focus programme.

3. Progress, Not Just Participation

Because students stay with the same academic subject and elective throughout their programme, learning builds naturally over time.

✔︎ Academic classes develop towards presentations, discussions, or projects
✔︎ Electives allow skills to evolve week by week — technique, confidence, and strategy
✔︎ Students see tangible improvement, not just attendance

This continuity gives the summer structure, purpose, and momentum.

4. Confidence Across Different Settings

Dual learning offers multiple environments for success. A student who gains confidence contributing to academic discussions may carry that self-belief into their elective. Likewise, achievement in an elective can unlock confidence back in the classroom.

By succeeding in different contexts, students develop adaptability, resilience, and self-assurance — qualities that matter well beyond the summer.

5. A Clearer Sense of the Future

For many students, summer is a time to explore interests and reflect on future pathways. Dual learning supports this by allowing students to:

✔︎ Experience academic study in a university-style environment
✔︎ Develop personal interests at a meaningful level
✔︎ Understand how academic knowledge and practical skills connect

It’s not about making final decisions — it’s about gaining insight and perspective.

A Model Built on Balance

The dual learning model is more than a timetable choice. It reflects a belief that well-rounded young people learn best when challenged in more than one way.

By combining academic focus with electives, students don’t just attend a summer school — they experience a balanced approach to learning that supports intellectual growth, personal development, and confidence.

That balance is what makes the model distinctive. And it’s why students leave not only having learned more, but feeling more capable, motivated, and ready for what comes next.