14 Business Summer Schools for Year 13 Students

TL;DR

This guide compares business summer schools where you can study strategy, finance, entrepreneurship, and management before starting university. Most run in Oxford, Cambridge, and London, with a few online options too. You’ll find choices suited to Year 13 students, though age limits vary, so check whether a programme accepts students aged 17 or 18. Formats range from Dauphine-PSL’s three-day camp in London to two-week residential courses at Oxford Saïd Business School. Immerse Education’s Academic Insights pathway in Business Management runs for two weeks in Cambridge, Oxford, Singapore, Sydney, and Toronto for students aged 13 to 18.

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Business is one of those subjects that becomes far more interesting once you stop looking at companies from the outside and start asking why they make the decisions they do. Why does one start-up attract investment while another fails? How do companies decide what to charge, where to expand, who to market to, or whether a new idea is financially worth pursuing? 

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Business summer schools give you the chance to explore these questions through case studies, market research, financial analysis, strategy exercises, simulations, and venture-building projects rather than relying on textbooks alone. Depending on the program you choose, you could analyse real companies, build an investment portfolio, develop a business model, test a product idea, work with tools such as Excel, or pitch a strategy to a panel. 

What do business summer schools involve?

For Year 13 students in particular, these programmes can also provide a useful bridge between school and university. Studying on a university campus, learning from academics and industry professionals, working with an international cohort, and tackling more independent assignments can give you a much clearer sense of what higher education actually feels like. Whether you are considering business and management studies, economics, finance, entrepreneurship, or a related degree, the experience can help you test your interests while building practical academic experience before you apply or enrol.

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To help you compare the strongest options, we’ve listed 14 business summer schools for Year 13 students based on their academic depth, practical learning, university exposure, and opportunities to develop relevant business skills.

14 Business Summer Schools for Year 13 Students

1. OSP Scholars: Business & Finance

Location: University of Oxford colleges (facilities hired for the summer), Oxford, England, UK
Cost: £7,499 for 2027, including tuition, accommodation, excursions, and activities
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Cohort limited to 100 scholars across subject pathways
Dates: August 1st to 14th, 2027
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Students aged 14 to 18; open to international students, with scholars from 40+ nationalities

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OSP Scholars’ Business & Finance pathway places you in the roles of both entrepreneur and investor as you examine how businesses create, finance, and sustain value. You learn to size markets, project cash flow, interpret financial ratios, assess growth prospects, and consider ESG factors when evaluating companies. 

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The Investment Portfolio Challenge asks you to research businesses and justify a portfolio based on profitability, risk, ethics, and long-term potential. You then switch perspectives in the Start-Up Challenge, identifying a community problem and developing a commercially and legally viable response. Professional sessions and career-focused activities add further context around banking, entrepreneurship, branding, and commercial decision-making.

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Why it stands out: Few programmes make you evaluate existing companies as an investor and then build a venture as an entrepreneur, giving you experience on both sides of capital allocation.

2. Immerse Education's Business Summer School

Location: Cambridge, Oxford, Singapore, Sydney, and Toronto

Cost/Stipend: Varies; summer school scholarship available through our bursary programme

Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; an average of 7 participants per class

Dates: 2 weeks during the summer

Application Deadline: Multiple cohorts with rolling admissions

Eligibility: Students aged 13-18 (ages vary by location); open to international students

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Immerse Education's Academic Insights pathway in Business Management lets you explore business management and take college-level classes at universities around the world. Throughout the program, you will participate in lectures, hands-on workshops, 1-on-1 tutoring sessions with expert mentors, and gain professional experience.

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You will develop professional skills, explore the key concepts of business like strategic management, marketing, and finance, and attend immersive activities. The program includes an independent study in business management led by expert mentors. By the end of the program, you will receive a certificate of achievement.

Why it stands out: You'll learn from world-class tutors in classes of around seven students, follow a practical case-study curriculum, and live in a real university residence as part of a global community of 20,000+ alumni.

3. Young Founders Lab

Cost: Varies depending on program type. Full financial aid available.
Location: This program is 100% virtual, with live, interactive workshops
Eligibility: The program is currently open to all high school students
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year, including summer, fall, winter, and spring
Application Deadline: Varies according to cohort. You can access the application link here!

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The Young Founder’s Lab is a start-up boot camp founded and run by Harvard entrepreneurs. In this program, you will work towards building a revenue-generating start-up that addresses a complex problem. You will also have the opportunity to be mentored by established entrepreneurs and professionals from Google, Microsoft, and X.

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Apart from building the start-up itself, you will also participate in interactive classes on business fundamentals and business ideations, workshops and skill-building sessions, case studies, panel discussions, and more. The program is an excellent opportunity to delve into the world of business in high school and have a space to explore multiple theoretical as well as practical frameworks that lead to a successful business. You can check out the brochure for the program here.

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Why it stands out: You work on building a startup with expert mentorship.

4. Oxford Saïd Future Entrepreneurs Summer School

Location: Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, Oxford, England
Cost: £8,995, including all teaching, meals, accommodation, and excursions
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective
Dates: August 1st to 14th, 2027
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Students aged 15 to 18 (up to 18 years and 11 months on August 31st, 2027); minimum B2 English level; open to students of all nationalities

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Oxford Saïd’s Future Entrepreneurs Summer School follows the journey from identifying a worthwhile problem to presenting a venture designed to address it. Students explore opportunity recognition, design thinking, customer discovery, market research, business models, funding, branding, and strategies for growth. 

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Team-based work requires you to test assumptions, investigate whether customers actually need your solution, and adapt your concept in response to evidence. The programme also considers entrepreneurship in areas such as sustainability, inequality, technological disruption, and social impact. By developing a prototype and business model before pitching your venture, you experience entrepreneurship as a process of testing and refinement. Input from founders, investors, mentors, and entrepreneurship specialists adds practical perspectives throughout the project.

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Why it stands out: You repeatedly test and revise one venture from problem discovery through prototype development and pitching, closely mirroring the iterative way early-stage businesses are built.

5. Oxford Saïd Future of Business Summer School

Location: Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, Oxford, England
Cost: £8,995 (2026), including London train or airport transfers within an arrival window, teaching, meals, accommodation, and excursions
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; three-step application with written responses, a call, and a deposit
Dates: Two weeks starting July 19th, 2026; 2027 dates not yet posted
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions; the 2026 cohort is full, and you can register interest for 2027
Eligibility: Students aged 15 to 18 (up to 18 years and 11 months on August 1st); minimum B2 English level; open to students of all nationalities

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The Future of Business Summer School examines how organisations respond when developments in technology, finance, sustainability, and society create new strategic challenges. You explore responsible leadership, innovation, global impact, stakeholder management, future business scenarios, and the growing influence of AI on organisational decisions. Workshops encourage you to identify the evidence behind a recommendation, recognise competing priorities, and consider the consequences of different choices. 

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Leadership activities also develop negotiation, persuasion, communication, and collaborative problem-solving alongside your academic work. In the second week, you pitch an AI-driven strategy proposal to a panel of mentors, bringing several strands of the curriculum together into one strategy you have to defend. Career and higher-education sessions help you connect these themes with potential university subjects and future professional pathways.

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Why it stands out: Rather than treating AI, sustainability, finance, and leadership as separate topics, the programme challenges you to consider how they interact within the same strategic decision.

6. Atlas Summer Courses: Business and Entrepreneurship

Location: University of Cambridge colleges (facilities hired for the summer), Cambridge, England, UK
Cost: From £5,495 for ages 16 to 24 and from £6,995 for ages 13 to 15 (2027), depending on the tier
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Seminars of 8 students or fewer for ages 16 to 17 and up to 10 students for ages 18 to 24
Dates: Two-week courses between June and August 2027
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Separate tracks for ages 13 to 15, 16 to 17, and 18 to 24; international eligibility not specified

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Atlas approaches business by asking what turns an interesting idea into something customers will actually choose and a company can sustain. You examine how organisations identify demand, reach target markets, position products, generate revenue, and respond when an initial strategy proves ineffective. Case studies provide examples of commercial decisions that you can analyse before applying similar reasoning to unfamiliar situations. 

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Classes encourage active discussion, so you are expected to question assumptions, compare perspectives, and explain your conclusions rather than simply absorb information. The teaching can respond to the interests and questions raised by students, meaning you have scope to investigate particular areas of entrepreneurship, marketing, strategy, or growth in greater depth. Research tasks and practical workshops further strengthen your ability to collaborate, debate ideas, and reflect on your decision-making.

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Why it stands out: Its flexible, seminar-style approach gives you significant scope to shape discussions around the business questions that interest you instead of following an entirely fixed sequence of topics.

7. Wharton Global Youth Program: Strategy and International Management (Cambridge, UK)

Location: Cambridge, England, UK
Cost: $9,599; $100 non-refundable application fee; need-based scholarships available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; approximately 80 students from around the world
Dates: July 4th to 17th, 2026; 2027 dates not yet posted
Application Deadline: Not yet posted for 2027; applications open in November
Eligibility: Rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors; open to international applicants

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Wharton’s Strategy and International Management programme centres on how businesses compete, expand, and respond to challenges across international markets. University-level cases introduce real management problems and require you to identify the most important evidence before deciding what a company should do next. Through strategic frameworks, you practise comparing alternative actions, recognising trade-offs, and defending recommendations. 

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Sessions cover topics such as creating value, analysing industries, assessing international expansion, motivating workers, and curating corporate culture. Preparing these cases pushes you to transform detailed analysis into a concise strategy that can withstand questions and criticism. Interactive lectures from Wharton faculty and guest speakers from the UK provide additional insight into how strategic thinking is applied across industries and careers.

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Why it stands out: Its sustained emphasis on formal case analysis gives you early experience with a method widely used in university business education, consulting recruitment, and corporate strategy work.

8. International Summer School for Teens: Global Leadership Summer Course

Location: University of St Andrews, Scotland, or University of Oxford, England, UK
Cost: Varies by campus
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified
Dates: July 25th to August 7th, 2027 (St Andrews); July 4th to 17th or July 18th to 31st, 2027 (Oxford)
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Students aged 13 to 18; open to international students

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The Global Leadership course broadens the study of business by examining how economic, political, legal, cultural, and philosophical forces influence major decisions. You consider how societies allocate resources, how governments and markets interact, and why leaders operating in different environments may approach the same challenge differently. Real-world cases give you opportunities to assess competing interests and recognise that complex policy or leadership questions rarely have simple solutions. 

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Debate activities develop your ability to research an issue, listen carefully to opposing perspectives, and construct an evidence-based response. By moving between economics, politics, law, strategy, and leadership, the programme trains you to examine decisions within the wider systems that shape their consequences. Research, presentations, and written work further develop the communication skills required to explain complex global issues clearly.

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Why it stands out: It is particularly interdisciplinary, showing you how leadership and commercial decisions are shaped by institutions, political choices, cultural differences, and economic conditions.

9. English Study Camps: Future Business Leaders Plus

Location: Lord Wandsworth College, Hook, Hampshire, England, UK
Cost: From £750 per week
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Maximum 16 students per class
Dates: July 11th to August 7th, 2027; book 1 to 4 weeks
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Students aged 12 to 17 with English at CEFR B1+ to C2; open to international students

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Future Business Leaders Plus is a project-based Business English course that introduces entrepreneurship, marketing, finance, leadership, and customer behaviour. Case studies of business success stories help you investigate why particular strategies succeed and whether those approaches would work under different commercial conditions. You also examine branding, positioning, negotiation, and communicating at work, along with how modern customers make decisions. 

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Projects may require you to pitch a start-up, produce an outline business plan, or create a marketing campaign for a defined audience. Moving between different assignments gives you repeated practice approaching business challenges from the perspective of a founder, marketer, team member, and presenter. Collaborative work also develops your ability to negotiate ideas, divide responsibilities, communicate persuasively, and reach decisions as part of a team.

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Why it stands out: Instead of spending the entire course on one venture, you tackle several distinct commercial briefs, exposing you to a wider range of business functions and working styles.

10. Dauphine-PSL Pre-Uni Camps: Economics & Management

Location: Université Paris Dauphine-PSL London campus, London, UK
Cost: £275 (discounts offered to students from partner schools); non-residential
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 40 students per camp
Dates: Autumn 2026: October 27th to 29th; Summer 2027: July 6th to 8
Application Deadline: Not specified; registration is currently open
Eligibility: Year 11, 12, and 13 students, students aged 16 and above, students entering the last two years of the IB or finishing another high school diploma, and gap year students; international eligibility not specified

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Dauphine-PSL’s Economics & Management camp gives you a concentrated introduction to subjects you might later encounter in a university business or economics degree. Academic sessions cover microeconomics, macroeconomics, globalisation, general management, accounting, finance, and marketing, helping you understand how several business disciplines connect. Practical workshops complement this theory with opportunities to work collaboratively and apply new concepts rather than only listening to lectures. 

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You can also develop technical experience with tools such as Excel while strengthening presentation, debating, communication, and teamwork skills. Guidance from lecturers also provides a chance to explore related degree choices and the professional pathways available after studying these fields.

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Why it stands out: Its short, academically focused format lets you sample economics, management, finance, accounting, and practical business tools without committing to a longer residential summer programme.

11. St Clare’s, Oxford: Business and Entrepreneurship

Location: St Clare’s, Oxford, England
Cost: Varies; check the course page for 2027 fees
Acceptance rate/cohort size: 12 students maximum
Dates: 2 weeks starting June 27th, July 11th, or July 25th, 2027
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: Students aged 15 to 17; open to international students

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St Clare’s combines foundational business study with the practical process of developing and presenting a venture of your own. You follow an idea through product development, budgeting, marketing, and launch planning while considering how these different business functions affect one another. Business English sessions run alongside the commercial content, helping you become more precise when discussing ideas, negotiating with others, and delivering professional presentations. Guest speakers and visits to enterprises provide examples of how businesses operate beyond academic models and give you opportunities to engage with people working in the field. 

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Your central project culminates in a complete business plan and pitch, requiring you to turn research, financial thinking, and marketing choices into one coherent proposition. Working with an international group also gives you practice collaborating across different communication styles and perspectives.

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Why it stands out: Business knowledge and professional English develop side by side, making the programme particularly valuable if you want greater confidence communicating commercial ideas in an international setting.

12. Columbia University Pre-College: Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Location: Virtual
Cost: $4,018 per two-week online session (2027) + $80 application fee; financial aid available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Not specified; the 2025 online section capped enrolment at 22 students
Dates: July 12th to 23rd (Session A) and July 26th to August 6th (Session B), 2027
Application Deadline: Early registration deadline February 1st, 2027; general deadline April 1st, 2027
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9 to 12; international students may apply

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Columbia’s Entrepreneurship & Innovation course approaches venture creation as a structured process of research, experimentation, and revision. Participants explore customer discovery, product-market fit, industry analysis, business models, branding, financing, legal considerations, and go-to-market strategy. Short cases and interactive activities introduce business tools before you apply them to a venture developed with your team. 

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As new information and feedback emerge, you revisit your initial assumptions and adjust the model rather than treating your first idea as final. By the end of the course, your concept can develop into concrete materials such as an investor pitch, venture plan, website idea, or crowdfunding-style campaign. The process simultaneously builds skills in negotiation, financial analysis, project management, communication, creative problem-solving, and collaborative leadership.

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Why it stands out: You do not stop at producing a theoretical business plan; the course pushes you towards tangible launch materials while teaching you how founders validate and revise early assumptions.

13. Wharton Global Youth Program: Sports Business Academy

Location: Virtual
Cost: $4,799; scholarships available
Acceptance rate/cohort size: Selective; successful applicants typically have a minimum 3.3 unweighted GPA
Dates: July 5th to 23rd, 2027
Application Deadline: Priority deadline January 27th, 2027; rolling review afterward while space remains
Eligibility: Students graduating from high school in 2028 or 2029; two recommendations required; open to international students

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Wharton’s Sports Business Academy examines professional sport as an industry shaped by finance, media, marketing, regulation, and changing consumer behaviour. You investigate how teams and leagues generate revenue through areas such as broadcasting, sponsorships, licensing, ticketing, and other commercial partnerships. Further sessions explore franchise valuation, player compensation, collective bargaining, revenue sharing, emerging leagues, and the economics behind competitive balance. 

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Case discussions also address issues such as sports gambling, social responsibility, streaming, and how niche sports build viable audiences. For the capstone, your team evaluates an emerging professional league through a SWOT analysis before developing and presenting a strategic recommendation. Faculty teaching, industry examples, and guest perspectives help you connect broader business principles with the distinctive economics of the sports sector.

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Why it stands out: It lets you apply serious strategy, finance, and marketing analysis to sport, making it a particularly focused option if you want to understand the industry beyond teams, athletes, and match results.

14. UvA Pre-University Honours Programme: Business Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Location: University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Cost/Stipend: €1,675
Program Dates: Multiple cohorts and structure
Application Deadline: February 15th
Eligibility: For current high school students (must be 16+)

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The Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship program at the University of Amsterdam is designed for high school students across the world to study the fundamentals and dynamics of innovation. You learn the process of crafting, formulating, and implementing a strategy for a company. 

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The course includes theoretical lectures where you discuss the key texts of the business and attend guest lectures from entrepreneurs about startups and incubators in Amsterdam. Throughout the program, you will develop your own start-up idea, study skills, and learning methods required in a college-level education. By the end  of the program, you will present your start-up idea

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Why it stands out: You will develop and present your business idea, develop practical skills, and gain university-level study experience in an international university while learning from Amsterdam's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Frequently asked questions: Business Summer Schools for Year 13 Students

How much does a business summer school cost in the UK?

Business summer schools in the UK can cost anywhere from a few hundred pounds to around £9,000, depending on length and whether accommodation is included. Dauphine-PSL’s three-day non-residential camp in London costs £275. Two-week residential programmes sit at the top end, with Oxford Saïd’s Future Entrepreneurs Summer School at £8,995 including teaching, meals, accommodation, and excursions. Some providers, such as Wharton Global Youth, offer need-based scholarships if cost is a barrier.

Can you attend a business summer school if you are 18?

Yes, but you need to check each programme’s age limit, as several cap entry at 17. Oxford Saïd accepts students up to 18 years and 11 months, and Atlas runs a separate Business and Entrepreneurship track for ages 18 to 24 in Cambridge. Dauphine-PSL’s camp is open to students aged 16 and above, including gap year students. Programmes such as St Clare’s and English Study Camps stop at 17, so they suit you better in the summer before Year 13.

Do business summer schools help with UCAS applications?

Yes, a business summer school can give you specific experiences and projects to discuss in your personal statement and interviews. A final pitch, case analysis, or business proposal shows that you have engaged with the subject beyond the classroom. Immerse Education’s Academic Insights pathway also offers an optional accredited route, where your work is formally assessed so you can earn 8 UCAS points. Before applying, it also helps to check the A-Level requirements for business at the universities you are considering.

Are there online business summer schools for Year 13 students?

Yes, several well-known business programmes run online, so you can join without travelling. Columbia’s two-week online summer sessions run in July and August 2027 at $4,018 per session, and its Entrepreneurship & Innovation course ran in both online sessions in 2026. Wharton’s Sports Business Academy runs online from July 5th to 23rd, 2027, though it is open only to students graduating in 2028 or 2029. For more virtual options, browse these online business programmes for high school students.

Can international students attend business summer schools in the UK?

Yes, many UK business summer schools welcome international students, though some set English language requirements. Oxford Saïd’s programmes are open to all nationalities with at least a B2 level of English. Immerse Education’s Academic Insights pathway in Business Management is open to students aged 13 to 18 from around the world, with an average of 7 participants per class in Cambridge and Oxford.

When should you apply to a business summer school?

You should start applying in the winter before your summer, as many programmes fill early. Wharton’s priority deadline for its 2027 online programmes is January 27th, 2027, and Columbia’s early registration deadline is February 1st, 2027. Oxford Saïd uses rolling admissions, and its Future of Business Summer School was full for 2026. Applying early gives you the best chance at your preferred dates and sessions.

Turn your summer into business career clarity

Pitching a venture, defending a case recommendation, or managing a mock portfolio can show you which business careers actually excite you before university begins.

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Among these business summer schools for Year 13 students, you can choose between a three-day London camp, two-week Oxford programmes, and several flexible online courses.

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Pick the programme that matches the role you are most curious about right now, whether that is founder, investor, strategist, marketer, or finance analyst.

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When you are ready to compare roles in more depth, our Career Exploration blogs break down the paths, skills, and steps behind each business career.