Our Students

At least 40% of our students are from the UK (from both state and independent schools) and the rest are from about 40 different countries. We keep this balance in the best interests of all students, enriching the educational experiences of all and building understanding between cultures.

We pride ourselves on our sense of community and respond thoughtfully to individual differences, valuing student input and encouraging students to play an active leadership role in the College.

The small classes and one-to-one lessons mean that we know our students well and treat all with respect, consideration and fairness. We do not expect our students to have to ‘fit in’ with us. It is our aim to provide a truly personalised education so that all may be happy, fully supported and achieve their fullest potential.

Please click here to watch video profiles of our students.

Phitraphee Prasithirun

Hello, I am Phitraphee Prasithirun or Prima as everyone calls me. I am from Thailand and I am doing my AS levels in Economics, History, Government and Politics, Maths, and GCSE Spanish at CCSS. I find CCSS a good college with kind staff and a comfortable learning environment. I have been granted a scholarship by my government, which chose this college for me, and I think it is a guarantee of that fact that CCSS is a well known institution.

CCSS offer students specialised facilities such as a language lab, science labs and also a wide choice of extra-curricular activities. Activities range from all kinds of sports to debating, global issues forum, music lessons, and even world cooking.  I have such fun participating in all these activities. This not only gives me an opportunity to lean something new, but also it is a great experience and it helps me get to know more people at the college.

In the future, I would like to work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Thailand. To be able to do so, I need to have an all round education, with a very good knowledge of social sciences. CCSS has a great team of teaching staff who not only have a great knowledge of their subjects, but also are very skilful in passing this knowledge to their students and helping them understand their subjects in depth. Moreover, tasks that are given to the students and advice from the teachers are very useful for our future study at university. Our knowledge is not only based on textbooks but is well rounded, and we are very well informed about what is happening in the society and in the world. We are encouraged to learn more about current affairs and the effect they have on to the society.

CCSS is in every sense not only a school with a great academic reputation and a friendly environment but is also a school which prepares you in every way for your future life and career.

My life at CCSS has been brilliant. That’s all I can say.

Emily Brown

After doing a year of sixth form at a comprehensive school I decided I was unhappy with my subject choices and having been at the school for five years I felt I needed a fresh start. After hearing how much my brother loved CCSS through out the year that he went there to upgrade some of his GCSEs, I decided to look there. Once I had my interview and looked around the college, I knew straight away it was the perfect choice for me and I felt I did not need to look elsewhere.

I decided to take on two new subjects, those being Sociology and Religious Studies. I then continued with Geography and Government and Politics but decided to start fresh with these and upgrade my AS levels. I am thoroughly enjoying all my subjects now and I am finding that the smaller class sizes and individual attention are an excellent help in building my confidence and keeping me motivated.

At the end of my two years at CCSS, I hope to go to university to study Sociology and Criminology, my first choice being Edinburgh. With the outstanding teaching and tutorials with each of my subject teachers and form tutor every week I think I will certainly be able to achieve this.

Overall, I have been at CCSS for a term and already feel extremely settled. I have got involved in a wide array of extra curricular activities, which has been good for me as a day student as it has helped me to meet a lot of people. I would certainly recommend CCSS to anyone as it has really helped me to get motivated and become ambitious about what I want in life. It is such a nice environment to be in and I never want to leave!

Kimberley Witkamp

My name is Kimberley Witkamp and I am from the Netherlands however I have been living in Spain for the past six years now. This is my first year at CCSS and currently I am in lower-sixth doing my AS-levels in Business Studies, Psychology, Sociology and Spanish.

I am a boarder at CCSS and I have to say the first few days were hard, leaving home, living in a new country and never having boarded before, but I settled in quite fast. Getting used to boarding/living with a whole bunch of girls did take some getting used to, however now they almost feel like family to me and it is like a second home. We have a lot of fun together and support each other. In the boarding house the house managers are friendly and caring and the catering staff make good food.

CCSS has so many different nationalities meaning you meet so many interesting and diverse people who all come from different backgrounds and have different stories to tell. I like the fact that most students here are 16 or older and there is plenty of choice of friends, the class sizes are small with teachers that not only support you academically but also personally. It is not only a great place for learning but also for extra-curricular activities. At the moment I am in the student council, social committee and I have also started volleyball and climbing.

Before coming to CCSS I was not really sure what I wanted to do or if I even wanted to go to university but now that I am here I feel more motivated and as their slogan says ''pathway to university'' I think I will follow that.  Also I love being in Cambridge, not only is it a student orientated city but has fantastic architecture, great shops and everything is in walking distance. I am so glad I made the decision to come here, I am having a fantastic time.