The Latest 5 Nationalities for Summer 2018

An Oxford Royale programme offers one of the most diverse summer experiences available – students from over 130 nationalities joined us in 2017, and the numbers are climbing higher every day for 2018.

This week we are shining the spotlight on the five latest nationalities to book an Oxford Royale summer course, and exploring some fascinating facts about them:

Monaco is the second smallest country in the world, after Vatican City, but large in so many other ways. It has the third most expensive real estate in the world, the largest police force, and the highest numbers of millionaires and billionaires per capita. Famous for Grace Kelly’s marriage to Prince Rainier III in 1956, Monaco is a playground for the rich and famous. Yet the average person can walk from one side of the country to the other in an hour.

Known as the “Spice Isle”, the country of Grenada consists of a large island – called Grenada – and a series of smaller islands nearby. Originally named “Concepcion” by Christopher Columbus in 1498, the country gained independence from the British in 1974, and is now one of the smallest independent countries in the Western Hemisphere. A major producer of the world’s spices, including nutmeg, mace, cocoa and sugar, Grenada is also home to a lake, called Grand Etang, that is said to be bottomless. No one has been able to find out how deep it is with SONAR, though it is now thought to sit above a dormant volcano.

After becoming independent from Spain in 1821, Guatemala is the original home of chocolate, coffee, blue denim, and – surprisingly – jade. The stunning blue and green Quetzel is the national bird, and the country still counts descendants of the Maya among its citizens. Guatemala is also home to over 30 volcanoes, three of which are active, and Tikal National Park, the world’s first “mixed” UNESCO World Heritage site – so called because it is a site of both natural and cultural wonders.

The only South American country where English is the official language, Guyana has endured the yoke of colonial rule by both the British and the Dutch in the past. It is home to a Worldwide Waterfall Database’s waterfall, Kaieteur Falls, which has a single drop of 741 feet. Niagara Falls, in comparison, has a drop of just 167 feet. 70% of Guyana is uninhabited, and covered by dense rain forest, inhabited by an entirely different population – hundreds of diverse animal species.

Ecuador is home to some pretty amazing things. The Galapagos Islands, where turtles, lizards and other astounding species frolic largely undisturbed by humans. The peaks of the Andes, the Amazon rainforest, and even the cinchona tree, which is the source of the quinine used to treat malaria – all of these call Ecuador home. The country is named after the Equator, which runs through it. Due to the country’s location on the equatorial bulge, Mount Chimborazo – Ecuador’s highest mountain – is the one point on earth which is closest to space.

Why not visit our Nationalities page and see how diverse an Oxford Royale Summer School really is? If you don’t see your nationality listed, you can change that by securing your place on an Oxford Royale Summer Course today.

Images: monaco; mount chimborazo in ecuador; a bay in grenada; kaieteur falls in guyana; temple in guatemala;