Social and leisure activities

Students socialising

Your social life, and what you do outside of the classroom, is an important part of our English courses. We try to give you the opportunity to practise your English in an informal setting, socialise with other students, make new friends, and settle into university life in the UK.

What we offer

Orientation programme

We have a free orientation programme for all our full-time English language students studying on our campuses. One of our team will meet you meet you on your first day at university.

During the orientation programme, you'll meet the Language Centre team, enrol onto your course, and take a guided tour around the Anglia Ruskin University campus, and Cambridge city centre. We'll show you all the important places that will help you make the most of your time with us, such as the gym, library, computer facilities, sports facilities, religious spaces, cafés, restaurants, shops and areas to relax.

University-wide social activities

All students at ARU Language Centre are full members of the University, so are able to take part in a range of social activities organised by the University and by the Student Union. Some of these events are online, so Online Pre-Sessional English students can meet other University students too!

These are just some of the places where social, leisure and cultural events for students are listed:

Pre-sessional courses

For our Pre-sessional students, we sometimes organise activities after classes. Activities may include bowling, cinema trips, sports afternoons, team quizzes and international food events. We usually open up these events to students from other English courses, too.

End-of-course ceremony

For our Pre-sessional students, we host an end-of-course ceremony in December and September, to celebrate you completing your course.

During the ceremony, you'll receive a certificate for successfully completing your course. You'll usually be addressed by the director of our Language Centre and one of the Faculty Deans, or the director of our International Office; they'll congratulate you on all your hard work and welcome you to your academic programme.

If your English course is not officially assessed, you can still attend a certificate event, to commemorate your time with us. These events may also be attended by senior members of the university.

Special Courses for Groups

We often arrange trips for our group courses. We also arrange one-day excursions every week to popular UK tourist sites. It's a great chance to learn more about British culture and history. The trips may vary from course to course, but often include visits to London, Stratford-upon-Avon and Brighton. We also organise half-day events at local attractions such as Cambridge University Botanical Gardens, local museums, and local festivals.

Some of these trips are also available to our Pre-sessional programmes.

Social activities fees

Most of the social activities are included in your course fee. Sometimes, there may be an additional entrance fee to pay. We will let you know costs in advance if this is the case.