Twelve students from across the United States and one student from Sweden are staying at ACS International School in Portsmouth Road, Cobham, for a fortnight, as part of the school's British Summer Studies Programme (BSSP).

During the two weeks, the students from Houston, Chicago, Boston, Charlotte, Washington, Dallas and Sweden, will visit various sites of cultural and historical interest in London and further afield.

Many of the students have never travelled overseas before and were awarded scholarships to attend the summer school by ACS International Schools and the British American Business Council (BABC), as part of a joint commitment to rewarding academically gifted yet financially disadvantaged students.

The course is designed to help 16 to 18 year-old students from the US and around the globe broaden their understanding of British culture and heritage by visiting such sites as the Tower of London, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, the National War Museum and the Mary Rose at Portsmouth Harbour.

The students will also visit First World War battlefields in France.

Elivra Marquez, 16, from Houston, said: “I heard about the programme from a student who participated last summer. I decided to apply because I know that my parents would not otherwise be able to afford to pay for an opportunity like this.

“BSSP is the first time I will travel to Europe and the first time I travel anywhere by myself, but from ACS Cobham I hope to gain knowledge of British history and also just have fun with a new culture.”

The school has been running the BSSP since 1996 and the this year's programme brings the total number of scholarship winning participants from the United States and the EU to nearly 80.

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