Live creatively on your gap year
Creative Semester is a gap year experience for students who want the freedom to follow their creative interests, develop greater independence, and share daily life with a community of peers. Through mentorship, creative practice, cultural exploration, and community living, you'll have the time, space, and support to make connections, discover new perspectives, and explore what becomes possible when creativity becomes a way of life.
Find your people
At the heart of Creative Semester is community.
Students live together in our independent gap year houses, sharing living spaces, communal responsibilities and daily life. Some arrive identifying as artists, others simply want to nurture their creative energies.
What unites them is the energy that comes from pursuing their own ideas alongside others doing the same.
Over the course of the semester, students find themselves surrounded by people who inspire them, challenge them, support them, and often remain part of their lives long after the program ends.
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“If you want to get to know yourself as a creative and meet the most wonderful people doing it, Berridge is the spot.”
Learn from working artists
Creative Semester is guided by working artists who have built their lives around creative practice.
Rather than following a traditional classroom model, students learn through mentorship, feedback, personal projects and group collaborations. Faculty act less as instructors and more as guides, helping students develop ideas, find ways forward, fill in skills where needed and gain confidence in their own creative process.
Along the way, students gain insight not only into how creative work is made, but into how artists build meaningful and sustainable lives around the things that matter to them.
"The staff is incredibly kind, caring, knowledgeable, and talented. You will learn lots from these people."
Follow your own path
Each student chooses a primary area of creative practice: Film & Photography, Studio Art, Acting, or Creative Writing.
Think of these less as academic majors and more as creative home bases. They provide a place to anchor yourself while leaving room to explore and experiment.
At times, you might need direct instruction. Perhaps you're experimenting with a new medium, learning a technical skill, or working through a creative challenge. Other times, you might need encouragement to break through a block, push forward, or start again. You may simply need the energy of fellow creatives nearby, or collaborators for a film, performance, exhibition, or photoshoot.
Whatever you are developing, we'll help you find the path forward and build the habits, discipline, and confidence needed to sustain a creative practice over time.
"I really appreciated the level of independence we were given in how we worked and how we lived."
Dates and Details
Program Dates
FALL 2026: Sept 20th - Nov 20th, 2026
SPRING 2027: Feb 22nd - April 25th, 2027
Cohort Size
12-16 students.
Cost
€15,800
What is included: accommodation, excursions, instruction, basic food stocks in your house for breakfast and lunch, dinner 5 nights per week cooked by our in-house chef.
Not included: Airfare to Paris, train to our location in Cherbourg, meals out on trips, supplies for your personal creative projects.
Eligibility
Ages 17-22 of all levels of experience
Language Requirements
None. All our instruction is in English.
College Credit
College credit is available for this program.
Scholarship
Scholarships are available for this program.
Build a creative practice
Creative Semester is built around a collection of core experiences to help you build your creative practice:
Creative Practice Blocks
Dedicated time to pursue personal projects independently and alongside peers within your chosen creative discipline.
Mentorship
Weekly one-to-one conversations with a professional artist who supports your creative and personal development.
Critique Groups
Cross-disciplinary discussions where students share work, exchange ideas, and learn from one another's process.
Community Projects
Collaborative projects that bring students together to create something larger than any one individual could accomplish alone.
Artist Talks
Conversations, readings, and studio visits that offer insight into creative lives, ideas, and practices.
Creative Explorations
Independent-minded excursions to cities, museums, performances, and cultural sites that offer opportunity to gather inspiration and experience new places with your peers.
Explore with purpose
Extended city breaks take students beyond the château and into some of France's most inspiring places. Supported by staff but free to follow their own interests, students experience each city through observation, exploration, and firsthand engagement with local culture.
Caen
Explore the hidden corners of this vibrant and historic university city while enjoying the freedom to discover Normandy alongside new friends.
Rouen
Designated a cultural and gastronomic capital of France, Rouen is a true hidden gem. Spend your days wandering cobbled streets and gathering inspiration from this historic capital, including the magnificent cathedral that inspired Monet’s famous series of paintings.
Paris
Experience one of the world's great creative capitals with the freedom to follow your interests. Spend your days exploring museums, galleries, bookstores, neighborhoods, and cafés while discovering the people, places, and ideas that continue to inspire artists from around the world.
In addition to our city breaks, we'll explore the beauty and history of Normandy with trips to Cherbourg, Bayeux, the D-Day Landing Beaches and Mont Saint-Michel.
Lead with curiosity
Creative Semester is not about being an artist. It is about living life creatively. Students who thrive here are motivated to lead with their curiosity and discover what becomes possible when given the freedom to be the author of their own experience.
You'll fit right in if you:
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Want to spend time with a community of curious, engaged, and creative peers
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Are seeking greater independence and ownership of your life
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Enjoy making things, exploring ideas, and pursuing personal interests
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Learn best through experience rather than traditional classrooms
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Are interested in culture, travel, and meaningful conversation
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Want mentorship from thoughtful adults and creative practitioners
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Are looking for time and space to reflect on what comes next
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Are excited by the idea of living, learning, and creating in France
Make Normandy home
For the semester, Château le Mont Épinguet becomes home.
Students live together in our dedicated gap year houses, two restored cottages located just steps from the château. Shared bedrooms, modern bathrooms, kitchens, laundry facilities, and comfortable communal spaces provide the setting for independent living.
More than simply a place to stay, the houses become a container for friendship and building a life alongside others. Days are shaped by shared meals, evening conversations and the daily rhythms of living together.
Students also contribute to the running of the community, helping prepare meals, care for shared spaces, and take responsibility for daily life. In doing so, they develop practical life skills, greater independence, and a deeper appreciation for what it means to live well with others.