Studio London

Overview

About this trip

London is the working capital of the global creative industries, and this seven-day itinerary treats students as practitioners rather than spectators. Over the week they paint in the city's only legal graffiti tunnel, design and pull their own screen print in a professional East London studio, work alongside a practising artist in a Tate Modern studio, and go behind the scenes at both the National Theatre and the Harry Potter film sets to see how design work is genuinely made, budgeted and built.

The centrepiece is a portfolio taster day at a University of the Arts London college, where students spend a full day in real studios with UAL staff, work to a set brief, and receive practical guidance on assembling a portfolio for a UK university application. For students considering a creative degree, this single day turns a vague ambition into a concrete plan and a realistic view of the industry.

Around that spine sits a carefully chosen sequence of collections and hidden interiors: the V&A's design and Islamic galleries, the Design Museum, Sir John Soane's Museum, God's Own Junkyard and the Sky Garden. Every student keeps a sketchbook through the week, every workshop produces assessable outcomes for IGCSE and A-Level coursework portfolios, and the trip closes with a West End production watched by a group that has spent seven days learning to read a set, a costume and a lighting state as deliberate design decisions. Suggested for Years 9–13, with groups of 16–40 students, and best suited to the October, February and April half-terms.

The itinerary can be reweighted towards Design & Technology, with a substituted engineering-design workshop, if the department prefers.

Day by day

The itinerary

Trip highlights

Leake Street Tunnel
Tate Modern Studio Session
Shoreditch Street Art Walk
Professional Screen Printing
UAL Portfolio Taster Day
Warner Bros Studio Tour
National Theatre Backstage
Sky Garden Drawing Session

Day 1 of 7London
The City as Designed Object
London's only legal graffiti tunnel opens the week, followed by an illuminated river walk reading skyline, bridges and lighting as deliberate design decisions.
- Leake Street tunnelLondon's only legal graffiti space, with artists at work
- Illuminated river walk to Tate ModernSt Paul's across the Millennium Bridge, reading the skyline
- Sketchbook briefing and first pagesSketchbooks issued and filled on the opening evening
Learning focus: Street Art · Urban Design · Observational Drawing · Architecture
Arrival and the city as a designed object
Direct arrival at London Heathrow and private coach transfer to accommodation on the South Bank side of the river, within walking distance of Europe's densest concentration of galleries, theatres and studios. The PCT tour manager who accompanies the full week meets the group on arrival. In the afternoon the week opens underground in Leake Street tunnel, London's only legal graffiti space, where students sketch, photograph and talk to the artists at work, and are briefed that they will return later in the week with paint and permission to leave their own piece. The evening brings an illuminated river walk from St Paul's across the Millennium Bridge to Tate Modern, reading skyline, bridge engineering, lighting and sightlines as design decisions, with sketchbooks issued and the first pages filled.
Day 2 of 7London
Tate, Soane and the Art of Collection
An artist-led studio session inside a converted power station, then a house-museum frozen in 1837, exploring how collections are made and displayed.
- Tate Modern studio sessionPractising artist leads hands-on workshop tailored to specification
- Sir John Soane's MuseumArchitect's house preserved as left in 1837
- Covent Garden drawing hourUnstructured sketching among street performance and market architecture
Learning focus: Fine Art · Curation · Spatial Design · Observational Drawing · Portfolio Development
Tate, Soane and the art of collection
At 10:00am, inside the former power station that is now the world's most-visited modern art gallery, a practising artist leads a hands-on Tate Modern studio session pitched to the group's year and specification, connecting the collection to students' own work and producing material for coursework portfolios. At 2:30pm the group visits Sir John Soane's Museum, preserved by Act of Parliament exactly as the architect left it in 1837, studying its antiquities, casts, fold-out picture planes, mirrors and basement sarcophagus as a lesson in curation, spatial design and the psychology of collecting. The day closes at 5:00pm in Covent Garden with free time and an hour of unstructured drawing among street performance, market architecture and shopfront design.
Day 3 of 7London
Street Art, Print and Neon
A working street artist decodes Shoreditch's walls, then a professional studio turns each student's design into a pulled screen print, ending amid warehouse neon.
- Shoreditch street art walk with a working street artistTechnique, ethics and economics of the open-air gallery
- Screen printing session in a professional print studioDesign, expose, register and pull your own print
- God's Own JunkyardWarehouse of vintage neon, salvaged signage and film props
Learning focus: Street Art · Printmaking · Typography · Colour Theory · Photography
Street art, print and neon
At 10:00am a working street artist leads the group through Shoreditch's open-air gallery, from surviving Banksy pieces to work painted that week, decoding technique, territory, permission, ethics and the economics of the form; students photograph continuously and are set a brief to respond to what they have seen. At 1:30pm, in a professional print studio, each student designs, exposes, registers and pulls their own screen print to take home — a complete design-to-product cycle and a genuine portfolio artefact. At 4:30pm the group visits God's Own Junkyard in Walthamstow, a warehouse packed with vintage neon, salvaged signage and film props: a colour and typography lesson at maximum saturation.
Day 4 of 7London
Art School and the V&A
A full day inside a University of the Arts London college, working to a set brief with UAL staff, then a curated tour of the V&A.
- UAL portfolio taster dayFull day in genuine studios working to a set briefCentral Saint Martins or Chelsea College of Arts, subject to availability
- Portfolio and admissions guidanceBuilding a UK application portfolio, evidencing process and outcome
- Victoria and Albert Museum tourFocus chosen by department, from fashion to Islamic artFocus chosen by accompanying department
Learning focus: Art & Design · Portfolio Development · Higher Education · Design History · Fashion
- College allocation (Central Saint Martins or Chelsea College of Arts) is subject to availability.
Art school and the world's greatest design museum
The centrepiece of the week begins at 10:00am with the UAL portfolio taster day, a full day at a University of the Arts London college — Central Saint Martins or Chelsea College of Arts, subject to availability — working in genuine studios with UAL staff to a set brief, with specific guidance on building a portfolio for a UK university application, evidencing process as well as outcome, and how international applicants should approach admissions. At 3:00pm the group tours the Victoria and Albert Museum with a focus chosen by the accompanying department — fashion, product design, theatre and performance, or the Jameel Gallery of Islamic Middle East art, which resonates particularly for students from the Gulf.
Day 5 of 7Leavesden
How a World Gets Built
A film studio read as a design case study: concept art through set build, props, graphics, costume and creature effects, then a structured evening critique.
- Warner Bros. Studio Tour: The Making of Harry PotterFull-day design study of film production craft
- Drawings-to-build pipeline studyConcept art, set construction, prop-making, graphics, costume, models
- Group critique sessionPresenting sketches and photographs using feedback vocabulary
Learning focus: Set Design · Concept Art · Prop Making · Costume Design · Critique Skills
How a world gets built
A full day from 10:00am at the Warner Bros. Studio Tour: The Making of Harry Potter, approached deliberately as a design study rather than a fan visit. Students examine concept art, set construction, prop-making, graphic design, costume, creature effects and model work, following the drawings-to-build pipeline end to end and seeing the scale of the creative workforce behind a film series. At 5:00pm, back at the accommodation, students present the day's sketches and photographs in a structured group critique, practising the vocabulary of feedback — intention, execution, audience — used in every art school and studio.
Day 6 of 7London
Objects, Backstage and the West End
Everyday objects dissected at the Design Museum, then prop workshops and paint frames at the National Theatre, ending with a West End show read as design.
- Design Museum – Designer Maker User collectionHow everyday objects are conceived, made, marketed and used
- Object-analysis taskCoursework-focused annotation exercise on designed objects
- National Theatre backstage tourProp workshops, scenery docks and a working paint frame
- West End productionMajor show chosen with the school for curriculum fitSelected with the school for age-appropriateness and fit
Learning focus: Product Design · Design Technology · Theatre Design · Careers · Critical Analysis
- The West End production is selected with the school for age-appropriateness and curriculum fit.
Objects, backstage and the West End
At 10:00am the Design Museum's permanent Designer Maker User collection unpacks how everyday objects are conceived, manufactured, marketed and used, alongside the current headline exhibition, with an object-analysis task that translates directly into coursework annotation. At 2:00pm a National Theatre backstage tour takes the group through prop workshops, scenery docks and one of the last working paint frames in Europe, seeing sets built for productions opening within days and meeting careers such as scenic artist, prop maker and production designer. At 7:30pm the week culminates in a major West End production, selected with the school for age-appropriateness and curriculum fit, and now read as a series of deliberate design decisions.
Day 7 of 7London
The City from Above
A final drawing session thirty-five storeys up in the Sky Garden, sketching the week's locations laid out below before the flight home.
- Sky GardenDrawing session in the public garden atop 20 Fenchurch Street
- Sketchbook completion and collectionFinal portfolio work, collected for assessment if desiredIf the school wishes
- Direct flight to DubaiDeparture from London Heathrow
Learning focus: Observational Drawing · Sketchbook Practice · Urban Landscape · Assessment
The city from above
A final morning drawing session in the Sky Garden, the free public garden thirty-five storeys above the City at the top of 20 Fenchurch Street, with most of the week's locations visible below. Sketchbooks are completed and, if the school wishes, collected for assessment. In the afternoon, coach transfer to London Heathrow for the direct service home to Dubai, with portfolios noticeably heavier than they arrived.

Speak to our team

Every itinerary can be tailored to your dates, group size, budget and learning objectives. We come back to you within 24 hours.

Call +971 4 420 6965

Email info@premiumchoicetravel.com

What's included

Everything in the price

✓Return direct flights Dubai to London Heathrow, including checked baggage and group check-in
✓Six nights' central London accommodation in inspected school-group properties
✓Breakfast and dinner daily, with all dietary requirements accommodated
✓Private coach for airport transfers, Warner Bros. Studios and Walthamstow; Oyster-based travel for central London days
✓UAL portfolio taster day, Tate Modern artist workshop, screen-printing workshop and all materials
✓Warner Bros. Studio Tour, Design Museum, V&A guided session and National Theatre backstage tour
✓West End theatre tickets in group seating
✓Sketchbooks and drawing materials for every student, plus a teacher resource pack
✓PCT tour manager throughout, full risk assessment pack, group travel insurance and 24-hour emergency support

Booking terms & conditions

Upon confirmation of the booking, a 25% deposit is non-refundable.
Passport copies of all passengers are required within 10 days of confirming the booking.
Cancellation 90–61 days before departure: 50% of the total cost is charged.
Cancellation 60–31 days before departure: 75% of the total cost is charged.
Cancellation 30–1 day before departure: no refund is given.
Visa refusal or no appointment available: 25% non-refundable from the date of confirmation; 90–61 days 50%, 60–31 days 75%, 30–1 day 100% non-refundable.
If passenger numbers are reduced, rates are subject to revision.

Cultural awareness