Time spent at university or college is the core of student life. In fact, it will often be one of the defining periods of someone’s life. As a student, they go out into the world as independent young adults for the first time. They form what may prove to be long-life bonds and friendships. And they get to immerse themselves in the study of a subject that they have a passion for.
But it can also be a time of pressure and stress – a cycle of lectures, essays, exams and tests. These also risk becoming a restrictive routine rather than an immersive educational experience.
This is why so many students find value in attending a retreat. It can be not only a change of scenery but a change of pace. A well-designed retreat can allow students to explore aspects of their subject in greater depth, working and talking alongside tutors and experts. A retreat could be a chance to experience a new aspect or angle on their chosen subject or even pursue something entirely different. A retreat should be a chance to follow and develop interests in a new, encouraging and low-stress environment. They allow students to recharge, meet like-minded people and forge new connections. This the main purpose of a retreat for students.
Eighty years of history
Cumberland Lodge is one of the few institutions where student retreats are our purpose. They are at the heart of what we do, and indeed are the reason for our existence.
As a charitable foundation, Cumberland Lodge dates back to 1947 (the building from which we take our name goes back another three centuries). Backed by members of the royal family and with Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother) as our first patron, the charity was inspired by the work of Amy Buller, who was warden of Cumberland Lodge from 1947 to 1966. She had written the book Darkness over Germany in the 1940s, detailing her experiences visiting Germany during the rise of Nazism and the country’s transformation into a totalitarian state.
Buller was especially disturbed by how Germany’s youth were caught up in the ideology of the Third Reich, and how the country’s educational institutions and many of its teachers and academics abandoned reason and truth in the service of the regime.
Student retreats at Cumberland Lodge
Cumberland Lodge was founded as a place where young people and their teachers could gather to freely explore and discuss ideas. Promoting conversation and exploring matters of ethical leadership which are at the heart of Cumberland Lodge’s purpose. Buller was concerned that ordinary education and degree courses did not give students – those who would be the thinkers, leaders and creators of the future – enough time to explore ethical and social issues in relation to their subjects.
After nearly 80 years, Cumberland Lodge is still a place dedicated to providing exactly that. We build these considerations of ethics and social questions into every retreat we organise and encourage organisers to incorporate them in every event we host.
Our staff can facilitate and lead sessions on ethics and leadership. Topics that could be introduced to retreats for discussion and reflection could include the ethics of free speech, the ethics of technology and AI, how to navigate cultural and social differences in groups, exercises and discussions about different opinions and how to ‘disagree well’ and the nature and future of democracy. These are just suggestions based on common themes that we work with regularly at Cumberland Lodge – we can work with organisers and students to create topics to suit every subject, faculty and organisation.
The perfect place for student retreats
A student retreat is about more than just providing student academic services – it’s about providing a physical and professional environment where students can relax, learn and grow.
Cumberland Lodge is such a place. While our venue may have the familiar academic atmosphere of a university or college and is steeped in a heritage of education, we’re also far removed from the pressures of modern academic life. Our 17th-century Lodge is set in the middle of Windsor Great Park. Lawns and gardens surround our red brick walls covered in climbing plants, and we’re surrounded by the grasslands and woodlands of the Park – thousands of acres of beautiful landscape that ensures a quiet and self-contained time for all.
We have a space for every type and size of retreat and every style of learning. Whether it’s between 50 and 100 people in the largest room of our Mews Conference Centre, smaller rooms accommodating between 30 and six people, historic rooms like the Amy Buller Library or even working outdoors (weather permitting) there is the right space for students and tutors to work together. Our gardens, lawns, and Windsor Great Park’s grounds are available for outdoor discussion sessions, icebreaker tasks, leadership and teambuilding activities. We have our Drawing Room, Sitting Room and other cosy spaces for socialising and relaxing – we find people can learn just as much in informal conversation with each other during a tea and coffee break as they can do during the scheduled sessions on a retreat.
Everything in one place
A retreat should be exactly that, a retreat from the outside world and ordinary life. The sense of focus can be disrupted if you have to leave the venue for meals or overnight accommodation. At Cumberland Lodge, we can provide everything needed for a successful retreat; not just working spaces but overnight accommodation and on-site dining and socialising. We have 58 bedrooms, accommodating up to 95 guests within our historic buildings and three dining rooms, each with a distinct character. Our in-house team of talented chefs produce menus tailored to every visiting group from locally sourced produce.
Cumberland Lodge believes in the power of conversation and connection between people working and talking face to face. While the ideas of ‘digital detox’ and ‘low tech life’ would not have been familiar to Amy Buller and those who created our foundation in the 1940s, these principles can be so valuable to today’s students. While our workspaces are fully equipped for audio-visual presentations and connectivity, we encourage all attendees – students, tutors and lecturers – to put away their phones and laptops and get to know each other, ask questions and discuss ideas.
A unique summer experience
We can host retreats, conferences and events throughout the year, whether that’s for a weekend, a few days, a week or longer. But, naturally, most retreats – both ones organised by Cumberland Lodge and that we host from other organisations – take place in the summer months. Every year we welcome thousands of young people from institutions around the UK, Europe and the rest of the world who attend retreats, conferences and courses with us. Students find these a powerful, stimulating and fun way of spending a summer between university years, or between undergraduate and postgraduate studies. Institutions and departments see that value in their student bodies as well, with many having run or attended Cumberland Lodge student retreats every year for decades.
Your student retreat at Cumberland Lodge
Whether you’re a student or a faculty member, we hope we’ve given you an insight into the value of student retreats and what makes Cumberland Lodge a special place to hold and attend them. Contact our team to find out more about our retreats and to discuss what would make a perfect retreat for you and your students.