OVERVIEW
Live Creatively on Your Gap Year
Creative Semester is a gap year experience for students who want the freedom to explore their creative interests, try new things and discover what inspires them.
Living alongside a community of peers and guided by working artists, you'll have the time and space to pursue the things that interest you, develop greater independence and discover where your ideas might lead.
Through mentorship, creative practice, cultural exploration and community living, the semester provides enough structure to keep you moving forward while giving you the freedom to shape your own experience.
Make things, meet people, explore new places and discover what becomes possible when creativity becomes a way of life.
COMMUNITY
Find Your People
At the heart of Creative Semester is community.
Students live together in our independent gap year house, 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.
“If you want to get to know yourself as a creative and meet the most wonderful people doing it, Berridge is the spot.”
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CREATIVITY
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."
INDEPENDENCE
Follow Your Own Path
Each student chooses a broad area of creative practice: Visual Art (Painting, Drawing, Ceramics) Visual Storytelling (Film, Acting, Photography) or Creative Writing (Poetry or Fiction)
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
SPRING 2027: Feb 22nd - April 25th, 2027
SPRING 2028: Feb 25th - April 30th, 2028
Cohort Size
12-16 students.
Cost
€15,800
More information on how and when to pay your tuition can be found HERE
What is included: accommodation, meals, excursions, instruction and equipment.
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.
WHAT WILL I DO?
Build a Creative Practice
Some parts of the semester happen together. Others are yours to shape.
Creative Practice Blocks
Designated creative time shaped by a mix of explorations, workshops demonstrations, independent work and collaborations, with plenty of room to experiment, develop ideas and complete personal projects.
Mentorship
Weekly one-to-one conversations with a working artist who gets to know you, your interests and your work, and helps you decide where to go next.
Peer Exchange
Small, cross-disciplinary, peer-to-peer groups where you'll share work in progress, exchange ideas and learn to give and receive thoughtful feedback.
Community Projects
Opportunities to work together on something larger than any one person could accomplish alone, bringing different interests, skills and perspectives into a shared project.
Creative Conversations
Talks, readings and studio visits that introduce you to different creative lives, ideas and ways of working.
WHERE WILL I GO?
Explore With Purpose
Three extended city breaks give you time to explore, find new inspiration and experience France with your peers.
Each city break combines shared experiences with the freedom to make the city your own. Staff provide the framework and support, with plenty of time to wander, pursue your interests and choose how you spend your days.
Caen
Wander through Caen’s medieval heart, explore its castle and markets, discover favorite cafés and shops, and experience the energy of one of Normandy’s great university cities.
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 own interests. Spend your days exploring museums, galleries, bookstores, neighbourhoods and cafés while discovering the people, places and ideas that continue to inspire artists from around the world.
Beyond our city breaks, we'll explore the beauty and history of Normandy with trips to Cherbourg, Bayeux, the D-Day beaches and Mont Saint-Michel.
WHO IS THIS FOR?
Lead With Curiosity
Creative Semester isn't about whether you can call yourself an artist.
It's about approaching 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 live alongside a community of curious, engaged and creative peers
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Are ready for greater independence and ownership of your daily life
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Enjoy making things, exploring ideas and pursuing your own interests
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Learn best through experience rather than traditional classrooms
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Are interested in culture, travel, and meaningful experience
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Want mentorship from thoughtful adults and creative practitioners
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Want time and space to think about what comes next
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Are excited by the idea of living, learning, and creating in France
WHERE WILL I LIVE?
Your Normandy home
For the semester, you’ll share a home and build a life together.
Students live together in our independent gap year house, sharing both a home and responsibility for the daily life of the community. Accommodation is in shared bedrooms, with modern bathrooms, a kitchen, laundry facilities and comfortable communal spaces for cooking, relaxing and spending time together.
Students take an active role in the household, helping prepare meals, care for shared spaces and make decisions about daily life together. Along the way, they develop practical life skills, greater independence and an understanding of what it takes to create a home and community with others.
