Parents and carers often ask us how we think their child will get on at our residential camp. “Are they old enough?” “Are they independent enough?” “How many weeks should my child come for?” Our first response is always the same to these questions – it depends very much on the individual child and nobody knows your child better than you do! Of course, we can offer our advice and experience...
Has your child been away from home before?
Summer camps and summer schools are fantastic places and we want our campers to get the most out of their stay with us. There is a first time for everything. We believe that your child’s first time away from home should be in a familiar environment and with familiar faces such as a sleepover with grandparents or school friends or a school residential trip. Let your children have a bit of practice in advance of coming to our camps being away from their nearest and dearest.
How independent are they?
We have an outstanding team of staff at each of our camps. Not only do they run high quality, fun activities, they also look after the pastoral needs of your children. Safety and the safeguarding of everybody on our camps is our number one priority, which means there is a line of what our staff can or cannot do for your children. It is vital that they can independently brush their teeth, wash and dry themselves, change their underwear every day and brush their own hair. We have many campers on site and cannot keep track of every item of clothing your child brings with them. It is essential that you label everything and they take responsibility for bringing all of their clothes home with them.
Top tip: provide your child with a checklist of every item packed before coming to XUK. They can then tick off each item as they pack them to return home. Anything missing can hopefully be found in Lost Property.
Our experience tells us that it is incredibly useful for you to pack with your child before coming to camp. They will know exactly what is going into their bag and will know to how pack their belongings independently before their departure.
How long should they come for?
Things would be very easy if there was a definitive answer to this. Ask yourself these questions:
1. How old is your child? A three week stay is a very long time for a six year old to be away from home with action packed days.
2. Have they been away from home before? Consider how well they got on.
3. What do they want out of their stay? Are you looking for them to get a flavour of British culture, to improve their English or just to have a brilliant stay?
4. Do they have friends or siblings coming with them? Will there be other familiar faces with them?
If you are still unsure whether your child is ready for summer camp, please contact us. We would be delighted to share our experience with you and hope to see your children at XUK soon...