Leading provider of academic summer schools for international students, Oxford Royale Academy (ORA), has today been named as a winner of the Queen’s Award for Enterprise, for the third time in seven years. The Queen’s Award is the highest official accolade for British business, which is granted for exceptional contributions to international trade, innovation or sustainable development. ORA were selected as winners in the international trade category.

“To receive the Queen’s Award three times since 2012 is a tremendous achievement,” said ORA’s Chief Executive and Founder, William Humphreys. “We have been on a very exciting journey since the organisation started 15 years ago, and have welcomed over 20,000 students from more than 160 nations to the United Kingdom to study. I am very proud of the opportunities we offer our students, and the way in which they use these opportunities to succeed in their chosen paths in life. I am also extremely proud of the team at ORA, who work tirelessly to ensure that we deliver an unparalleled cultural and educational experience to every one of our students.”

In order to carve a truly strong and successful path in a highly competitive world, ORA believe that young people now need greater global awareness, more varied cultural experiences, broader global networks, and vitally, personal guidance and direction. And ORA’s summer schools offer exactly this. Students can choose from over 150 courses, all designed to help them gain confidence, experience and a competitive edge. Depending on the course they select, they can experience life in an Oxford University college, visit some of the most heritage-rich locations in the United Kingdom, taste a degree in medicine, build a kit-car or explore AI and blockchain, whilst always working with peers from around the globe.

William continues, “Many young people are capable of exceptional academic, personal and commercial success, but they are simply not aware of opportunities which may be available to them. By offering young people a taste of elite higher education, multi-cultural experiences and innovative subject matter, we can help them to identify their strengths, passions and ambitions. And often, they will grasp new opportunities, which they would never have believed that they could access or achieve. I can personally attest to the value of this approach as we take enormous pride in the success of our students, many of whom have gone on to study at some of the UK’s top universities, such as Oxford and Cambridge Universities and Imperial College, London – and have subsequently made tremendous contributions to British industry and research.”

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ORA also firmly believes that the UK must continue to attract more global talent for the benefit of both foreign and British students – and to ensure that the UK continues to lead the world in fields such as research, technology, education and commerce.  A recent publication of a report by the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group for International Students called for more to be done to encourage international students to study in the UK. This was further endorsed by a recent announcement by International Trade Secretary, Liam Fox and Education Secretary, Damian Hinds, outlining the Government’s ambition to increase the number of international students choosing to complete higher education in the UK by 30%, to 600,000 per annum by 2030.

William says, “We absolutely endorse the findings of the All-Party Parliamentary Group’s report and the ambitions outlined by Liam Fox and Damian Hinds. Incoming international students undoubtedly benefit the UK economically, culturally and socially. By opening the door to more international students, we are excited to be playing a part in ensuring that the UK continues to remain at the forefront of commerce, research and education.”

The Oxbridge experience, together with the breadth of courses and outstanding teaching, has helped ORA to achieve tremendous growth over the past few years, with diverse courses now offered from the heritage-rich British education pinnacles of Cambridge and Oxford, to the US academic powerhouse of Yale. To support this growth, ORA have recently acquired the remarkable Yarnton Manor in Oxford, a 17^th Century manor house estate, once owned by the ancestors of Princess Diana, which now acts as an education centre and the company’s HQ. For a company which has seen such tremendous growth and achieved such recognition, this is surely yet another sign that ORA are only just beginning their next chapter, as they continue to challenge traditional approaches to education,  build international relations and contribute ever-more exceptional talent and experience to the world of international trade & research.