Abbey Road High School Summer Immersion Program in Nice, France

My 16-year-old daughter spent a month in Nice and loved every moment of her experience. She had nothing but great things to say about all the planned activities, her French classes, the other kids in the program, and her accommodations. She didn't know a soul before she embarked on this journey, but she made friends quickly. The staff were extremely knowledgeable, helpful, and made us feel confident that our child was in the best of hands. She's returned home a more grateful, cultured, happier version of herself! I have only positive things to say about Abbey Road! It was a life-changing time in our daughter's life and we're so grateful!

My daughter had an amazing experience with Abbey Road in Nice this summer! And, as a parent, I can confidently say that the Abbey Road team is caring, professional, attentive to the students and safety conscious. The team is attentive to the parents as well; they are responsive and keep the lines of communication open at all times. The language immersion, cultural activities, private studio apartment living are just part of the incredible experience and fun. My daughter made wonderful new friends as well! From learning the language interactively by participating in the daily life of Nice, to experiencing the french culture, amazing food and beauty of Nice, this program is exceptional. I highly recommend Abbey Road, Arthur and his team.

I will hold onto the memories I made from this program so dearly. I made so many new friends and the staff was very supportive. I got to explore different areas within the South of France and went on so many adventures! My French language skills definitely improved and exploring the city of Nice was avery growing experience. There was lots of flexibility in terms of being able to have free time and experiencing Nice with the friends you made. In terms of cons, there was no air conditioning in the residence and the Wi-Fi was a bit slow however, all of the amazing memories made up for any small inconveniences. In addition, when interacting with local French people and when we were in class, we spoke mainly French however, outside of this the staff and students spoke English to each other therefore making it not 100% immersive. either way, I still improved tremendously and would highly recommend this experience to any highschoolers who would like to travel and improve their French speaking and comprehension!

My son, Aidan, attended the Abbey Road French language program after 9th grade (summer 2019) and then again after 11th grade (summer 2021), and I can’t say enough positive things about the program. He was required to take French in high school starting in 9th grade and it turned out to be his weakest class. With the intent of improving his worst subject over the summer, he enrolled in the Abbey Road language program. The experience was transformative. Aidan will attend college in the fall with French, Russian, and International Relations as his intended course of study.

Abbey Road did a great job of providing an educational French language experience and well as a fun-filled summer. The classes were undoubtedly effective, and the immersion in the French culture inspired his love of history and foreign affairs. His progress in the language after his first summer was impressive. After his second summer, he skipped a grade level of French. Abbey Road was definitely an educational experience.

The accommodations in the Nice apartments provided a good level of impendence overlayed with adult oversight. The kids need to do their own laundry, are responsible for cleaning the community space, and must manage their time to stay on schedule. Curfew is not negotiable. However, they have several hours of free time a day to explore in small groups. The independent interaction with locals furthered Aidan’s language proficiency.

From a parental perspective, I never felt like Abbey Road “cheaped out.” The kids ate at restaurants, traveled to nearby cities, and enjoyed the beach activities that have made Nice famous. When they went snorkeling, Abbey Road hired a boat. When they returned home from a weekend outing, they traveled in a private van. Furthermore, the blog postings from the staff were detailed and consistent so I always knew what my son was doing. This was important because he was having too much fun to update me directly.

Aidan would say the best aspect of the program was the other kids, and he undoubtedly forged long-term friendships. He keeps in touch with his “French friends” to this day. After his first Nice summer, the kids organized a reunion so they could gather again in New York. After the second summer, the kids did the same thing (although it was cancelled due to Covid). Abbey Road is clearly effective in creating an environment where the kids feel included and are able to bond. When Aidan attends college next fall 3000 miles from home, he will have “French friends” nearby.

Our kids have attended several summer camp programs. By far, Abbey Road is the best.

I went to Nice, France with Abbey Road for a month-long program and had the time of my life. I was fully immersed into the French language with fun language classes in the mornings and cultural immersion in the afternoons, visiting museums and cafes. I met the most amazing people on this trip and saw the most amazing places all along the Cote d'Azur. Weekdays consisted of classes and daily trips to the beach and local cafes. On weekends we explored cities in the French Riviera such as Saint Tropez, Eze, Cannes, and Antibes. This was the best experience of my life so far and I cannot recommend it enough.

I have to say this was a fantastic experience for my son. He loved every minute. In fact, he was only supposed to stay three weeks, but instead he wanted to stay another week (a bargain) because he met fabulous friends, was able to see historic locations, and learn from terrific professors and teachers. He learned more French in four weeks than he had learned in the past several years of classroom instruction. Truly, we were impressed. Well done! I have nothing negative to say about the program at all.

I just had so much fun and feel like I improved my conversational French. The city is so beautiful and the amount of freedom that we had to explore it was so nice (having classes + electives in the morning and then free time until dinner). I really felt like this program prepared me for independent living, and got me excited to travel and learn. I 100% recommend!! Just bring a fan and really good walking shoes. Also not the best WiFi in the youth hostel… but I wasn’t really on my phone in my free time there anyways so it didn’t matter.

My daughter (15) attended the Abbey Road Nice program in July 2019 and had an amazing experience. It was her first trip to Europe and this was certainly a memorable time. We were very pleased with the program's communication, organization, and program offerings from language instruction to numerous fields trips. I will note, not so much a criticism as simply for others to be aware, that the program does offer a fair amount of free "exploration" time without supervision. My 15 year old certainly gained independence and confidence, though at times I felt she may have been a little too free. The language program seems solid and appropriate, but it is no so strict as in forced total immersion with penalties for speaking english.

We were very pleased with the program. I felt it was great value for what was offered.