In high school, summers are a time when you can step away from routine classes and explore what your interests look like in the real world. For students drawn to buildings, spaces, creativity, and problem-solving, architecture and design summer internships in the UK for high school students offer a way to turn that interest into hands-on experience.

You might work on design briefs, experiment with model-making, or get introduced to tools like AutoCAD while understanding how buildings are actually planned and constructed. These experiences can contribute to personal growth, help you refine your interests, and strengthen your college applications.

Envision studying architecture in a city like London, where historic landmarks sit alongside modern glass structures, and every street feels like a case study in design. You could combine studio-based learning with site visits, exploring how urban planning, materials, and sustainability come together in real spaces. Many programs allow you to work with peers from different backgrounds, collaborate on projects, and experience a learning environment that feels closer to university than school.

Why should I do an architecture and design internship in the UK?

The UK offers a compelling environment for studying architecture and design. It brings together centuries of architectural history with contemporary innovation, making it feel like an open classroom. This combination of academic depth, industry presence, and architectural diversity makes the UK an ideal place to explore how design responds to culture, history, and modern urban needs.

No matter which program you choose, you’ll be stepping into an experience that requires curiosity, effort, and creativity. To make the process easier, here’s a list of 15 Architecture and Design Summer Internships in the UK for high school students. They’ve been selected for their academic value, hands-on learning, and overall exposure to the field.

For adjacent opportunities, consider the online architecture program and summer internships in the UK.

15 Architecture and Design Summer Internships in the UK for High School Students

1. RSHP – Work Experience

Location: London, UK (The Leadenhall Building, 122 Leadenhall Street, EC3V 4AB)
Cost/Stipend: None
Dates: One week during July or August
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Students aged 14-18 years; open to international students

RSHP’s work experience programme places you inside one of the UK’s most internationally recognised architecture practices for one week during July or August. Hosted at RSHP’s studio in London’s Leadenhall Building, a skyscraper the practice itself designed, you receive a specific design brief and work through multiple stages of the architectural design process. Your placement culminates in two tangible deliverables: a physical architectural model and a set of coloured sketches.

You develop core design skills, including spatial reasoning, conceptual development, and design communication, through direct engagement with the brief. The experience offers an authentic view of how a globally operating practice, working across more than 15 countries, approaches architecture from concept to resolved output.

Why it stands out: It places you directly inside the studio of the practice behind iconic structures such as the Leadenhall Building and Lloyd’s of London, working through a live design brief that results in a physical model and coloured sketches, concrete portfolio evidence produced within a professional architectural environment.

2. Immerse Education’s Architecture and Design Summer School

Location: University College London, London, UK
Cost/Stipend: Varies; summer school scholarship available through our bursary programme
Dates: 2-week summer cohorts
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions across multiple cohorts
Eligibility: High school students aged 15-18; open to international students

This program is structured around giving you a closer look at how architecture and design function in professional settings across major global cities. You’ll take part in project-based work that reflects real workflows, alongside workshops led by industry professionals. Site visits to offices, studios, and company headquarters help ground your understanding of how design ideas move from concept to execution.

Throughout the program, you’ll also have weekly one-on-one career coaching sessions, where you can refine your academic interests and get feedback on your resume and profile. The experience wraps up with a final presentation of your project to industry experts, offering a chance to practice communicating your ideas clearly. Overall, it’s a compact way to test your interest in architecture within an international, industry-facing environment.

Why it stands out: The program combines global exposure with structured career mentoring, giving you both practical insight into the field and personalised guidance on your future path.

3. Atelier Ten – STEM Work Experience

Location: Shoreditch Office, London, UK
Cost/Stipend: None
Dates: One week in the Spring/Summer
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Year 10, Year 11, Year 12, or Year 13 student; interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Maths; no prior experience needed; not open to international students

In this program, you will spend one week in Atelier Ten’s Shoreditch office learning how engineering and environmental design teams support sustainable buildings. You work with a dedicated supervisor, shadow professionals across disciplines, and receive mentoring from two office team members. The architecture and design value comes through exposure to building services, environmental design, lighting design, and mechanical, electrical, and public health engineering workflows.

You complete a technical design task that uses creativity to address built-environment performance rather than a generic classroom exercise. The program is best suited to students exploring sustainable architecture-adjacent design, because Atelier Ten works with architects, engineers, owners, and other stakeholders on high-performing buildings.

Why it stands out: It gives you structured, in-office exposure to sustainability-focused design work through supervision, shadowing, mentoring, and a technical design task.

4. Morgan Sindall Construction – Work Experience in the East

Location: Cambridge, Ipswich, Norwich, and Chelmsford, UK
Cost/Stipend: None
Dates: Five-day sessions beginning June 29th or July 6th, depending on location
Application Deadline: Rolling registration based on available capacity
Eligibility: Students in Years 10-13; residents of the East of England; not open to international students

This five-day placement is one of the more practical architecture and design summer internships in the UK for high school students, giving you insight into both the design and construction sides of the built environment. Working alongside industry professionals, you will navigate a real-world project lifecycle through practical tasks centred on designing, planning, and costing a sustainable building. You will visit an active construction site to see how blueprints translate into physical structures, observing the workflows that bring architectural concepts to life.

Throughout the week, you will engage with forward-thinking industry approaches by tackling low-carbon design challenges and exploring modern construction technology. You will collaborate in a team to develop a comprehensive project solution, culminating in a formal presentation of your design to management.

Why it stands out: It bridges the gap between architectural theory and construction reality by integrating active site visits, low-carbon design challenges, and practical design planning alongside practising professionals.

5. Scott Brownrigg – Work Experience Programme

Location: London and Guildford, UK
Cost/Stipend: None
Dates: London: February 23-27, May 18-22, June 29th – July 3rd, July 27-31 | Guildford: May 26-29; June 22-26; July 20-24
Application Deadline: February 13th
Eligibility: UK-based students in Years 10-13; not open to international students

This short work experience programme offers a focused introduction to how architectural projects are developed within a professional studio. Over the course of a week, you’ll move through key stages of the design process, from interpreting a brief and conducting research to developing concepts and presenting ideas. The structure mirrors a simplified version of real project workflows, helping you understand how architects approach problem-solving in practice.

You’ll work alongside other students from different schools, which adds a collaborative element and gives you space to exchange ideas. The program is particularly attentive to widening participation, encouraging applications from students who may not typically have access to architecture-focused opportunities. 

Why it stands out: It focuses on accessibility while still offering a realistic snapshot of architectural workflows within a professional studio setting.

6. Skill Up Workshops & Youth Forum – Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)

Location: Multiple locations across the UK
Cost/Stipend: None
Dates: Workshops run throughout the year (typically 1-5 days during school holidays)
Application Deadline: Rolling (Youth Forum deadline: 8th May)
Eligibility: Students ages 15-18; open to international students

RIBA’s Skill Up workshops are designed as short, practical sessions where you can explore core architectural skills without a long-term commitment. You’ll work on tasks like responding to design briefs, improving your portfolio, and developing drawing techniques using both traditional and digital tools. Many workshops are inspired by RIBA’s exhibitions and collections, encouraging you to think critically about architecture while experimenting with creative approaches. Sessions are led by architects and artist-educators, and you’ll collaborate with peers while receiving feedback on your work.

Alongside workshops, the Youth Forum offers a longer-term opportunity to engage more deeply—meeting regularly to contribute ideas, evaluate programs, and take part in additional creative activities. Together, these experiences give you both hands-on exposure and a chance to understand how architectural education and outreach programs are shaped.

Why it stands out: It combines flexible, short-term skill-building workshops with a longer-term forum where you can actively shape architecture programs and engage with the field beyond just learning.

7. Walters & Cohen Architects – Summer Work Experience

Location: London, United Kingdom
Cost/Stipend: None
Dates: August 4-8
Application Deadline: Typically, May
Eligibility: Students in Years 11-13 (UK secondary school)

This is one of the more structured architecture and design summer internships in the UK for high school students, beginning with a visit to the Walters & Cohen office in Kentish Town to meet your mentors and receive a design brief, followed by an architectural walking tour of King’s Cross and Granary Square. You work remotely in small groups of four, each guided by a dedicated architect mentor through daily Teams check-ins, developing a pavilion design in response to a specific site and client brief.

Each afternoon includes structured lectures from W&C staff or guest speakers covering sustainability, university applications, and life as a practising architect. The week culminates with an in-person Friday presentation, where you share your completed design with mentors and the wider team.

Why it stands out: It offers you direct access to a small, award-winning London practice with a consistent track record of annual delivery.

8. Make Architects – Architecture Work Experience via The Creative Dimension Trust

Location: Make Architects, London, UK
Cost/Stipend: None
Dates: July 27-31
Application Deadline: Rolling basis until filled
Eligibility: Aged 16-20 years old; must be a student or alumnus of The Creative Dimension Trust; full attendance required for every day of the placement; not open to international students

At Make Architects’ London studio, you are paired with a dedicated mentor throughout the placement. Your time spans a broad range of hands-on architecture and design activities, including designing, physical model making, computer skills, and CV coaching. The program gives you direct exposure to the workflows and tools used in a professional architectural practice, letting you move between creative design work and digital skills in a real studio environment.

CV coaching provides an additional professional development dimension rarely offered at this stage. The Creative Dimension Trust facilitates the placement as part of its wider mission to support young people from underserved backgrounds in building pathways toward creative careers.

Why it stands out: It offers one of the most intimate and structured school-age work experience placements available at a professional architecture studio in the UK.

9. John Robertson Architects – Work Experience

Location: London and Edinburgh, UK
Cost/Stipend: None
Dates: 1-week placements (Specific dates are flexible and arranged directly with the practice)
Application Deadline: Rolling basis
Eligibility: Year 12 high school students; not open to international students

During this work experience placement at John Robertson Architects, you engage directly with professional teams, gaining practical exposure to the daily operations of a prominent UK design studio. As a high school participant, you learn how the practice approaches sustainable design, retrofit projects, and new build developments across varied architectural contexts.

Your workplace responsibilities include participating in architectural design exercises, practising physical model making, and attending professional site visits. You explore the holistic process of taking a project from initial creative design through delivery and compliance monitoring alongside experienced mentors. This internship provides an authentic understanding of a collaborative architectural practice.

Why it stands out: It offers direct exposure to both architectural design and physical model making within a firm celebrated for its sustainable retrofit and new build projects.

10. DKA Architects Work Experience

Location: Bath, England, UK (DKA Architects studio)
Cost/Stipend: None
Dates: One-week program; specific weekly dates arranged individually with the practice
Application Deadline: No fixed deadline
Eligibility: Year 10 secondary school pupils (approximately age 14-15); motivated towards architecture and considering it as a career; not open to international students

In this experience, you learn about architecture, interior design, and BIM management. Working from a design brief, you develop your own architectural concept, produce technical drawings including elevations and sections to scale, and build a physical scale model of your design.

You gain hands-on exposure to CAD software used by the practice and observe how architects operate across a live, design-led studio. At the end of the week, you formally present your completed project to the wider practice team, mirroring a real professional design review. Past participants have also joined site visits and attended internal studio discussions.

Why it stands out: It places secondary school students in a genuine working architectural studio where they complete a full design project from brief through to formal presentation — providing an end-to-end experience of architectural practice rarely offered at this level.

11. EPR Architects – School Outreach Programme

Location: London, UK
Cost/Stipend: None
Dates: Week-long work experience placements
Application Deadline: Placements are organised directly through established partnerships with local secondary schools, alongside a small number of private applications on a rolling basis
Eligibility: UK high school students, typically in Years 10 and 12; not open to international students

The EPR Architects’ School Outreach Programme is designed to widen access for young people who are under-represented in the profession, including those from low-income backgrounds. In this program, you design a community-led pavilion for a personally meaningful location, then research, sketch, model, refine, and present your concept to mentors and architects.

You also gain exposure to interior design, technical, marketing, and finance teams, showing how architecture practices work beyond design alone. The architecture and design emphasis is strongest in the hands-on pavilion project, studio mentoring, and presentation process.

Why it stands out: It gives school students practical studio exposure through architecture-focused workshops, mentoring, and a design project connected to real community thinking.

12. Ryder Architecture – Work Experience Programme

Location: United Kingdom
Cost/Stipend: None
Dates: Ad-hoc basis with individual studios or as local pilot schemes
Application Deadline: Rolling basis, depending on studio capacity
Eligibility: High school students in Year 10-12; legally eligible to study and participate in the UK; not open to international students

In this program, you engage directly with the architectural profession by shadowing experienced practitioners and participating in daily studio operations. Throughout the work experience, you explore the fundamentals of spatial design, project planning, and the built environment. You observe how architects utilise industry-standard digital modelling tools and design software to bring conceptual sketches to life.

You take part in guided design exercises, learning to translate your creative ideas into structured architectural proposals while receiving professional feedback. This immersion equips you with foundational professional skills and a realistic understanding of a career in architecture.

Why it stands out: It immerses high school students in a live studio environment, offering firsthand exposure to the daily operations and digital workflows of an award-winning architectural practice.

13. DJD Architects – Work Experience

Location: Worcester, England, UK
Cost/Stipend: None
Dates: Flexible (applicants suggest preferred dates when applying)
Application Deadline: Varies annually
Eligibility: Students with a genuine interest in architecture and the built environment; open to international students

In this program, you gain direct exposure to the daily workflow of a working RIBA Chartered architectural practice. The placement centres on a structured design project in which you carry out research, produce hand drawings, build physical models, and develop CAD skills, all with staff support and constructive feedback. You will gain insight into how architects approach briefs across DJD’s project portfolio, which spans housing, conservation, community buildings, and commercial work.

The experience also includes dedicated time to discuss routes into the profession, architectural education pathways, and qualification structures. By the end of the week, you will have practised core design and technical drawing skills used in real studio settings.

Why it stands out: It gives school-age students a genuinely grounded and profession-specific introduction to architectural work rather than a purely observational placement.

14. ADAM Architecture – Work Experience

Location: London, UK
Cost/Stipend: None
Dates: Placements are typically 1 or 2 weeks
Application Deadline: November 30th
Eligibility: School or college student; interested in architecture; suited to students considering architecture or university-course decisions; not open to international students

In this program, you will gain short-term workplace exposure to architecture. You work around architectural practice with office-based tasks, computer-aided drawing, team collaboration, and exposure to live projects. The design emphasis is strong because ADAM Architecture describes the placement as including experience across architectural stages of work and practical construction-site experience.

You also see how a practice focused on classical and traditional architecture, contextual urban design, historic buildings, homes, commercial buildings, and masterplanning operates. The placement is limited and first-come, first-served, so early application matters.

Why it stands out: It gives school students practical architecture-office exposure through CAD, live-project involvement, teamwork, and site experience within a specialist traditional architecture and urban-design practice.

15. Allford Hall Monaghan Morris / AHMM – Architecture Work Experience via The Creative Dimension Trust

Location: London, UK
Cost/Stipend: None
Dates: July 27-31
Application Deadline: May 30th
Eligibility: Students aged 16-20; open to international students

In this program, you gain direct professional experience in a leading architectural practice. As an intern, your workplace responsibilities involve exploring the entire design cycle, from initial concept sketches to spatial planning and structural problem-solving. You engage in practical work by evaluating blueprints, constructing physical scale models, and reviewing computer-aided design workflows alongside seasoned architects.

Through hands-on site analysis and material selection exercises, you develop critical technical skills essential for modern urban development and sustainable building design. Ultimately, this work experience provides a rare window into the collaborative dynamics of a major commercial studio, bridging the gap between classroom theory and professional practice.

Why it stands out: It integrates high school students directly into the daily operations of a prominent commercial architecture firm, offering an immersive introduction to professional design workflows and sustainable building practices.

Your Next Step in Architecture and Design

Choosing architecture is easier when you’ve tested the work, not just imagined it from the outside. That’s what these opportunities offer.

The 15 architecture and design summer internships in UK for high school students in this article show different sides of the field, from studios to sites.

Some help you build portfolio pieces. Others introduce CAD, model-making, sustainability, construction planning, or the pace of a professional design office.

To keep exploring creative and professional pathways, browse our Career Exploration blogs for practical guides on internships, subject choices, and future career routes.