Your parents want you to come to this. Here’s what you’d actually be turning up to.
Seven days in northern Italy with around 40 other 10–17 year olds from the UK and Italy. We teach you a way of studying that genuinely works. Most of the week isn’t studying.
Where you will be staying.
The week takes place in a residence in the hills outside Milan, close to a village. It has a pool, open grounds, shared rooms, and spaces where everyone meets in the evening.
You eat with other students your age. Afternoons are spent outside. After a day or two, the place starts to feel familiar.
Food is cooked there every day. Most of it is Italian. Before the week starts, we ask what you eat, what you do not eat, and anything the kitchen needs to know.
A typical day.
This is roughly how the days are structured. There’s a clear rhythm to the week, but also time to pause and recharge.
One honest thing about the first two days.
The first two days are the most intense. You spend a lot of time learning the 3D Reading method, with breaks in between.
From the third day, you start using the method more on your own schoolwork. There is also more time for activities, being outside, and getting to know the group.
Most students find the first two days the hardest. Around the third day, it usually starts to feel different. You do not have to enjoy everything straight away. You just have to arrive and take part.
The 3D Reading method, briefly.
The method is called Three Dimensional Reading. You use it with your own schoolbooks.
You learn to slow down, notice when your attention drops, and come back to the page without getting stressed. You also learn how your eyes move when you read, how your body sits, and what helps you stay with a text for longer.
It is not speed reading. Most students do become faster, but the main aim is to understand more and feel less lost when studying.
What previous participants said.
Most people on the first day say they didn’t really want to come.
I pushed myself to come and probably been one of the best weeks of my life. Honest, it’s been so good.
I noticed results and I was able to read, you know, 100-200 pages in an hour (…) I’ve had tests and exams where I’ve gotten quite good scores like A Stars and A’s.
I think the experience was superb and I had lots of fun, and since I have come back as staff this time it was even more fun as I learnt new things
It’s really changed my life, literally. Like it made me read books faster and I could understand better what I read.
Things you might be thinking.
Most people do not, at first. The first day or two can feel strange. You are in a new place, with people you do not know, doing something you have not done before.
You do not have to be excited on Monday. You just have to arrive and take part.
You keep your phone. You can use it in your free time and call home every day.
During study sessions and meditation, phones are put away. They are not taken from you. Most students use them less as the week goes on, because there is more happening around them.
Most people will not know anyone on the first day. You will meet other students your age, mostly from the UK and Italy.
The first conversations can feel awkward. That is normal. After a few days, people usually know who they sit with at meals, who they walk with, and who they spend time with in the evening.
No. The method is there to help with the parts of study that often feel difficult: reading slowly enough to understand, staying with the page, and knowing what to do when your attention drops.
Some students come with dyslexia, ADHD or anxiety around schoolwork. Some just feel tired of studying. Before you come, the team speaks with your parents to check whether the week is right for you.
That is fine too. The week is not only for people who are struggling.
Some students come because they want to study with less stress, read more clearly, or have more time left for the things they care about outside school.
No one is going to shout at you about believing in yourself.
You will be asked to try the method, take part in the week, and notice what changes when you work in a different way. The confidence part usually comes from doing it, not from being told to feel confident.
No. There are no grades, exams, homework, uniforms, punishments, detentions, or tests. It’s something entirely different. It’s not designed to replace school — it simply works in a way that looks nothing like it.
Who you’ll meet.
The week is led by a team of coaches. They’re not teachers. They don’t act like teachers. The two you’ll spend the most time with on the UK editions are Mattia and Giacomo.
Mattia, 21
Mattia has been using the reading method since he was six — his dad invented it. He’s the youngest of the coaches and the one most people end up describing as the funniest. He runs a lot of the sessions on the UK weeks and is usually the person you’ll go to first.
Giacomo, 30
Giacomo is a psychologist. He’s also the closest thing the team has to a walking encyclopedia — ask him about chess, football, philosophy, and you’ll have a long conversation. He works with people who have dyslexia, ADHD or focus difficulties, and he runs the chess strategy sessions during the week.
You’ll also see Anna, who runs some of the reading method sessions and works closely with anyone who needs extra one-to-one support during the week — she’s based in Italy and is always around. Sharon is one of the senior instructors and travels between Italy and Spain, so you might meet her on your week or you might not. Valentina runs CYL Academy day to day — she’s 20, which makes her the youngest person we’ve come across heading an organisation like this, and she’s behind a lot of how the UK weeks are put together. The method itself was created by Filippo Rossi, who founded the academy and developed Three-Dimensional Reading over the last 25 years. He’s around during some of the international weeks.
The practical bits.
How you get there.
A flight from London Gatwick to Milan is included in the package. You travel with the Change Your Life staff who pick you up at the airport on Monday morning and drop you back to your parents on Sunday evening. Same staff both ways.
How long.
Six nights, seven days. Monday to Sunday.
Where you’ll be.
A residential building called Il Borgo del Monte Antico, in Varzi, about two hours south of Milan. Hills, village, pool, garden.
Who else will be there.
Around 40 people your age, from the UK and Italy.
Clothes and bag.
No uniform. Wear what you normally wear. Bring something slightly nicer for one evening during the week. Checked luggage included, up to 23kg.
Phone.
It’s yours, you keep it and use it whenever you like. (See above.)
Got a question?
Mattia is one of the coaches and he’s also the person who answers questions from people thinking about coming. He’s 21, he’s been doing this since he was a teenager, and he’ll reply to you directly. No script, no sales call, just a message back.
Message Mattia on WhatsApp →