England

How do I know if my teenager is ready for Teen Travel?

21 March 2023

13 to 17 and everything in-between!

L&E Teen Travel is for 13 to 17 year olds.  However, we all know that there are many different types of 13 to 17 year olds!  This is a trip that we think every teen should experience and we want to make sure they are equipped with all the skills they need to set off on their own (not completely on their own!).  If your child has previously attended camps then this is a good start.  They have spent time away from you being independent and making their own decisions.  As they get older, teenagers will naturally want more independence.  This is a great first step to travelling without their parents but in the care of experts.  Let’s be honest, no one knows your child better than you… but if you need advice or want to talk to one of our experts then you can schedule a call with one of our experts.

Speaking the language

The common language that will be spoken is English so will your teenager be able to communicate effectively in the group?  We try to limit each nationality to ensure we are all speaking English.  Therefore your child may not be with someone who speaks their mother tongue (if not English!).  If your teenager is looking to improve their spoken English then we can think of no better immersive experience!  

What type of skills will they need?

Teen Travel is about learning new things such as budget management and how to organise an itinerary.  Each member will bring their own individual skills that will help the group.  One of the most important things the teens will have to figure out early on in the trip is what they each bring to the table.  Is there an A+ maths student in the group – they can take the lead with the expenses, does someone enjoy writing – they can assist others in writing the daily blog.  No matter what skills each teenager has, they will all have to work together as a group.  Each person’s skillset to make sure they get the most out of the trip.  

What happens if my teen gets upset or homesick?

This trip could potentially be the most exciting and challenging thing your teen has ever done.  Our Travel Mentors are fully aware of this.  They will be monitoring each child throughout the trip to ensure they are happy and getting the most out of the trip.  If any teen is upset for whatever reason the Travel Mentors are there to listen and to help them.  We can safely say that 9 times out of 10 it is simply tiredness that makes someone upset.  This is easily fixed by a good nights sleep or an additional rest day.  The Travel Mentors will manage the itinerary.  If it looks like the teens are travelling too often (changing locations every day) then they will step in before anything is planned and offer some sound advice.  

Want to know more?

We can offer advice to you and your teen.  So please get in touch with us if you have any questions about Teen Travel.  You can schedule a call with one of our experts who can talk you through the trip or email teentravel@learnandexperience.com with any questions you may have.

Teen Travel really is an adventure of a lifetime – take the first step, get in touch!  

L&E receives prestigious Award

1 July 2021

We have been named as Winners of the Go Overseas Community Choice Award 2020…named by the people who matter most — the community (the children and families).

Thank you to all those involved in, what was a very difficult year but one that also had a lot of very special moments. We may not have had camp or travel but we had a lot of fun in other ways…

Highlights:

  • Online Language & Life Skill Courses
  • Virtual Camp
  • L&E Home Launched
  • 24 Hours Campfire across 6 continents
  • 30 Day Challenge for Save the Children
  • New Website
  • Global Teen Chats
  • Online Dance Classes
  • Online Circus Skills
  • Online Guitar Classes
  • New Podcast

Go Overseas wrote: “We’re thrilled to recognize Learn & Experience as one of the best travel organizations in 2020 through this merit-based award, especially after such a difficult year for our industry.”

YGL Blog 2019

17 July 2019

Monday 15th July

The L&E Young Global Leaders programme is a very unique opportunity for young people from around the world to come together to learn and understand what makes good young leaders.  In our small team we have participants from Hong Kong, Spain, Russia, Italy, Sweden, Germany, France and UK.  Now if that isn’t what Young Global Leaders should be all about then I don’t what is!!?

We started on Monday morning with a brief questionnaire about our expectations and what we felt our strengths and weaknesses were.  We then spent quite a bit of time introducing each other and getting to know one another.  My gosh…these young leaders are so incredibly interesting.  Their dreams and ambitions are astounding but with a firm belief and commitment to achieve them.

We then looked at some well known leaders and discussed their attributes…Trump, Merkel, Messi, Sir Alex Ferguson, Mandela and Greta Thunberg.

It was certainly an interesting discussion as you can imagine!

The afternoon session included some camp fire cooking skills that will hopefully come in useful for the Wilderness trip later on in the week…

Tuesday, 16th July

Tuesday brought some problem solving to the table.  It was a team effort but there were certainly some characters that came to the fore with some astute leadership skills…all with different styles mind you.

You may have heard of Edward de Bono!? A Maltese modern day psychologist who came up with an interesting theory about different ways of thinking within a team.

When making a collective decision it’s always good to have members of the team who behave and look at things differently.  It’s called The 6 Thinking Hats.

Six distinct directions are identified and assigned a color. The six directions are:

  • Managing Blue – what is the subject? what are we thinking about? what is the goal? Can look at the big picture.
  • Information White – considering purely what information is available, what are the facts?
  • Emotions Red – intuitive or instinctive gut reactions or statements of emotional feeling (but not any justification).
  • Discernment Black – logic applied to identifying reasons to be cautious and conservative. Practical, realistic.
  • Optimistic response Yellow – logic applied to identifying benefits, seeking harmony. Sees the brighter, sunny side of situations.
  • Creativity Green – statements of provocation and investigation, seeing where a thought goes. Thinks creatively, outside the box.

This was an incredibly rewarding session where the team were given the task of planning a birthday party and designing the Best Summer Camp (pretty tough competition out there I’ve heard!!??)

They were given different “hats” to see if they were able to think differently and also were able to choose the “hat” that they were most comfortable with.

We hope that the skills learnt will be beneficial to them for the rest of their lives.

Wednesday brings a very exciting proposition…The Wilderness Experience.  Plans have been made and now just the expedition itself is there to complete.  We look forward to telling you all about it tomorrow.  Till then….

Click for YGL Photos

Teen Travel UK Tour Blog

27 July 2018

Saturday -Tuesday

We are eleven  people from all around Europe:

Lukas – 15, from Sweden.

Emily – 16, from Holland.

Paul – 16, from Germany.

Serafina – 15, from Germany.

Beatrice – 16, from Germany.

Maria – 16, from Spain.

Marianne – 15, from France.

Gaia – 16, from Italy.

Sam – 15, from England.

Connie – Travel Mentor, England

Julie – Travel Mentor, Scotland

Apart from Sam we all arrived in Manchester airport at various times on Saturday. From there we drove to L&E North camp to plan our trip and get to know each other better. We decided to depart the next day but before we left we all watched the final match for the World Cup and ate at he barbecue with the rest of the camp. After the barbecue big Sam drove us to our first stop in Grassmere where we stayed for one night in a hostel and we all went to the park in the town and we unanimously agreed that we all slept better there than at the camp.

The next day we had breakfast in the self serve kitchen of the hostel and Sam and Lukas made dough balls in the oven. We then took a bus to Brokehole where we went on a treetop trek which ended in a triple zip wire that was 200 meters long! “It was exciting!” – Gaia. Connie had to have her shoe taped onto her foot because it kept almost falling off.

We then took the same bus with a different bus driver who wasn’t as nice to Windermere where we had lunch which was pleasurable. After that we booked the accommodation for Glasgow the night after, furthermore we found a train connection from Kendal to Glasgow that was also affordable for the next day. We then took the bus to Kendal where it then started to rain on our walk to the hostel we were next staying in. After a break we went to Booths to buy food for tonight and the next morning. Sam and Gaia cooked a delicious meal for dinner – pasta with cheese sauce.  Lukas told some ghost stories (not that scary) and we all sat and chatted until bed time. 

Tuesday – Thursday

After a lovely breakfast in Kendal we took the train to Glasgow. It was a long journey and we had to stop and change the train – at the intermediate station Julie had to pretend to be a dog because of a dare!

Since this morning a fun game had started ,where everyone has to “kill” someone else in a specific place and way, two people were already killed.

We arrived at the hostel around 5 o’clock and we ate at Wetherspoon. The evening was full of talks and bonding and we also started to see Shrek

Deaths of the day:

  1. Connie – singing the national anthem on a train, in the morning.
  2. Marianne – smelling something in a shop, in the morning.

Wednesday 18th

The next day started slowly. We woke up at around 10 am and after a good breakfast we took the bus to Glasgow centre. After a short trip to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and the park everybody was allowed to go of in groups of at least and discover Glasgow on their own. Most of us went to a burger and than make a short shopping trip.

Back (in at) the hostel Marianne started making crêpes – Sam as chef in training. We than went to bed “in time” because the next day would start very early.

Deaths of the day:

1)  Paul – reading a book on a playground, at midday

2)  Beatrice – singing the national anthem (german) in the bathroom, at lunchtime

Thursday 19th

To day we had to get up at 6.30 am to get the bus to Loch Ness at 7 am. Because of the early time we didn’t eat breakfast, so we had packed (a lot of) (many) snacks for the bus. The bus trip to loch ness took us about four hours but we had a few stops at beautiful places to make pictures and get a pass from the sitting.

When we arrived at Loch Ness we had two options. We could either go and see the castle and than make a cruise on the Loch or only do the cruise. 

  • Spent the day in Glasgow (shopping, eating, a pigeon poop on Lukas…)
  • Tastes good
  • Take bus (discover scottland)
  • loch ness
  • Take the bus back (strange songs)

Friday…

In the morning we arrived in Edinburgh. Making our way through the streets in the rain, we found a bus to take us to the hostel, not far from the city centre. Sam was in charge of directions and we followed him (cautiously) down several side streets off the main road. Despite a slightly scary looking front door,

we walked through into a travellers paradise; a ping-pong table, PlayStation, comfy sofas and relaxed, friendly staff awaited. The hostel was made up of converted shipping containers, neatly arranged with every amenity. We felt at home right away. 

No time to relax though; we dropped our bags and went straight into town to explore. We picked up some lunch on-the-go, and made a beeline for the Royal Mile. It was hard to miss the incredible architecture as we wound through the streets; the National Gallery of Scotland and the Castle were particularly impressive. Reaching ‘Camera Obscura’ – a museum of oddities, illusions and mind games – we were were happy to get out of the drizzle. It full of bizarre, interactive activities and we emerged later on, giggling on to the streets. Straight on to a restaurant for food, we then just had time for a quick walk up to Calton Hill for the sunset. It did not take much persuading to get everyone to sleep back at the hostel after such a jam-packed day.

We awoke to a sunny day ~ yes, the sun does shine in Scotland! We all headed to the motorbike and music festival we had booked a few days ago, it was on the same side of the city as us which was good. It was very cool – lots of different styles of motorbikes, we even got to sit on some of them!!  We also had a shot on a theme park ride – Sam has been on so many his facial expression didn’t change at all but all of the girls hair was going round and round and round!  

After we got back to the hostel we collected our bags and headed back into town to try and get some onesies for the bus journey. Unfortunately we couldn’t find any we liked so we bought some blankets and some neck pillows which turned out to be invaluable. We went to a restaurant to get some food and to also make a plan for the next part of our trip. Our big map came in handy – it’s good to have a visual of the UK to see how far away each place is from the other. We all worked very hard to plan the next part of our trip – we were getting very tired which was good as we knew we were about to spend the next 9hours on the overnight bus to London. 

The bus station wasn’t far from the restaurant which was great as we were all quite tired and ready to try and sleep. Although the bus was a little cold we did manage to get some sleep. Next stop – LONDON!!!!!!!

North Camp, Week 3, 2018

23 July 2018

Monday, 23rd July

A little poem written by Harriet (& Paul) to start off Week 3…

Week three began
with crumpets and jam
and a lively game of dodgeball.
Campers old and new
they dodged and they threw
soft balls in the great sports hall.

Much fun was had
playing capture the flag
in adventure this Monday morning.
Sports was lacrosse
origami was boss
and none of the children were yawning.

The afternoon came
football was the game
while our artists got messy with paint.
The adventurers built dens
whilst making new friends
and behaviour was that of a saint.

The afternoon sun
Brought out more fun
With our sumo suits and water slide.
Slipping and sliding
the campers went flying
down the hill they did glide.

Icebreakers began
we thought and we ran
through a range of unusual games.
We tried fancy dress
and did our best to impress
as we learned all new faces and names.

As night time adorned
our campers all yawned
with hot chocolate our nice evening treat.
We looked to tomorrow
with excitement not sorrow
today’s fun we’ll be sure to repeat.

Click for Monday’s Photos

Tuesday, 24th July

Tuesday morning started with a delicious breakfast of eggs on toast and there was a huge buzz for SCUBA, SCUBA! The campers got to test their skills in the pool as the ducked and dived for pool toys and played underwater frisbee.

The rest of the campers warmed up with dodgeball, which got incredibly competitive as the tutors tried to claw back a game, from their numerous defeats this week. This morning the campers had a choice of beachball and netball or friendship bracelets and stop motion videos.

Bench-ball was fierce as the ball whizzed from one end of the court to the next with campers running after it. The two teams fought hard, and enjoyed the competitiveness of the game. After the break they tried their skills at netball and Tutor Bonnie shared her interception skills with the children. It was a great morning for them and they arrived at lunch with red faces, full of energy.

In creative it was a much calmer affair as the children moved whole from one gap in their card to another to create some lovely friendship bracelets and others moulded clay into wonderful characters and creatures.

The English group ventured into Bedale to buy the ingredients for Harriet’s birthday cake. They found the recipe online and had to decipher the instructions to make sure it was fit for their English teacher.

Lunch was curry to refuel before this afternoons activities.

In the afternoon SCUBA continued, with the addition of whittling, miniature gardens and indoor hockey.

Indoor hockey was great fun, first they learnt some skills of passing and after that did a tournament with 3 teams. Ion creative the children scavenged for decorative nature materials to design their own miniature garden and the adventurers spent their afternoon by the campfire whittling pieces of wood into different shapes.

It was campfire this evening and it would have to go down as one of the best in L&E history. There were some incredible singalongs and some individual performances by both staff and students. The all important toasting of marshmallows occurred and then it was time for hot chocolate and bed. With warm tummies and big smiles on their faces, the campers went to bed, excited for what Wednesday will bring.

Click for Tuesdays Photos

Wednesday, 25th July

It’s the middle of the week and our campers have had a fun filled day of activities! We started off the day with a simple breakfast of toast but our campers were ready and rearing to go for the morning activities.

Our sport option was an exciting game of Ultimate Frisbee played on the large cricket green; just as well, considering we had just received our newest purchase of awesome frisbees! The sun was shining and spirits were incredibly high. Unfortunately one of our tutors was a bit TOO excited during ultimate frisbee and managed to injure his ankle when taking an action dive to catch the frisbee…
For those creative creatures amongst us we had a wonderful session of music video making. All of our campers dressed up in our endless array of fancy dress costumes and made up dance routines to George Ezra’s popular song ‘Shotgun’. The clips for this will be displayed in our week recap video during Oscars night on Friday.
The adventure option for today was a firm favourite; canoeing. The campers have the opportunity to travel off-campus to Ellerton park to take part in many fun team building actives on the water as well as the opportunity to canoe in their teams on the beautiful lake in the sun.

Lunch was a great old British summer favourite of burgers and chips, accompanied by a plentiful supply of salads… So not to worry, they are all getting their 5-a-day! After lunch the next set of adventure campers went canoeing, whilst the sporting campers were treated to a lovely session of tennis on the tennis courts at the front of the school; enjoying the sun and even teaching some of our tutors how to play tennis as well as them! The creative campers were feeling musical again after lunch and took part in some karaoke in the theatre. There was an array of singing abilities… but everyone had a great time working in their teams to put on a performance to remember.

After a dinner of pizza, the evening activity was a relaxed movie night in the theatre. Blankets, pillows and even some sweets were brought down and the campers were able to watch a newly released movie ‘Jumangi rebooted’ which was enjoyed by everyone. Some of our tutors might have even enjoyed it more than the campers!

So now everyone is off to bed, excited and ready for tomorrow. The sun is on course to be shining as brightly as today followed by our famous L&E theme night tomorrow evening… stay tuned!

Click for Wednesday’s Photos

Thursday, 26th July

Then morning kicked off with a breakfast of crumpets and toast and cereal to fuel the day of activities. The sports activity for the morning involved the traditional British sport of croquet with a small number of keen and dedicated players. Morning adventure on campus took on the exciting challenge of archery learning basic archery skills and honing these on two targets. At the end of the session commencing a rapid fired competitive round involving tow teams with one shot per member. The delicious task for the creative morning group was the baking of muffins. Specifically these were iced with a time old favourite chocolate.

The off camp adventure option that spanned the day was rock climbing in the old quarry groups taking the challenge of four ropes. These ranging in difficulty from following cracks to grasping onto finger and toe holds to surmount the challenges. Many campers 


The afternoon session sport activities initially began with a intense match of rounders both teams sending it far and fast and far into the outfield. Though one team did have breakaway before the afternoon break. The other option voted unanimously by campers was a free swim session to escaped the oppressive heat of the day. The creative option for the afternoon involved optical illusions drawn on paper and created from cardboard for mind bending effects enjoyed to much delight to the campers.

With Thursday comes theme night and on this night we had a Disney murder mystery. Initially beginning with a fake Oscars with special guests from multiple Disney movies , but the as the introductions came to a close a scream and Mickey the Mouse had been murdered. Each the campers where given the task to commence a investigation into the motives and alibis of the Disney guests. Each of the Disney characters spread across the camp and were interview giving many stories and contradicting evidence and hints while offering campers activities. Bobbing for apples with snow white, pool noodle fights with general Chang and Giraffe stretching with Rafiki. While the rest of the characters where located around campus. The finale culminated in the interrogations and extra evidence presented by Sherlock Holmes. The the murder weapon being poisoned hair spray. Each character was voted against form the campers to who was the murder the prime suspect being Captain Jack Sparrow followed by prince charming. Though through DNA testing the true culprit was found to be Prince Charming himself wanting the Disney throne. Campers seized him as he tried to run and justice was served.

With the mystery solved and hot chocolate drunk all collapsed into bed after a eventful and enjoyable day.

Click for Thursday’s Photos

Friday, 27th July

Fridays at L&E can only mean two things, triathlon and the Oscars!!! Today began with a filling breakfast, which in turn pumped the campers up for their final dodgeball game of the week. To this date, the tutors have not yet managed to win in the classic dodgeball game of ‘tutors vs campers’, but there is still hope for the final week at north camp, fingers crossed!
Water polo proved to be the most popular activity this morning, as almost half the camp opted to play and prove their amazing water polo skills. The campers were dedicated to the game to the extent that they chose to play throughout their break, and in the end, following a tense stand-off of a 20-20 score, the game concluded with a decisive golden goal.
The creative session this morning was extremely successful as the campers drew portraits and in turn embraced their inner ‘Leonardo da Vinci’s’. The activity was enjoyed by all of those who took part, and hopefully we will be seeing some of the campers’ artwork in museums or galleries in the future!
Friday morning also witnessed the apparent arrival of Cupid, as there was love in the air in the English class. The campers took part in ‘Speed Dating’, which proved to be an excellent opportunity for them to get to know their fellow campers, but also to practice their English skills.
The main event of the afternoon was without a doubt the traditional L&E triathlon, where all the campers threw themselves into each activity. They split themselves into teams of three, where each person would either swim, complete the obstacle course or run laps of the field. The campers all completed the triathlon out of breath but with huge smiles on their faces, which is what we like to see!
Ultimately, the night concluded with the highlight of the week – the Oscars!! It was wonderful being able to acknowledge the success of the week as well as how amazing all the campers have been! After the awards ceremony, the campers danced the night away in a disco filled with excellent tunes before enjoying their hot chocolate and going to bed in high spirits.

Click for Friday’s Photos

North Camp, Week 2, 2018

16 July 2018

Monday, 16th July

The children began their first day of week 2 North Camp with a hearty breakfast of delicious British crumpets and toast. Afterwards they partook in the iconic L&E tradition of morning dodgeball, in which a small tournament was established, and the children fought to take their team to the top. The children then chose one of three options for the morning activities, netball, den building, and papier mache balloon making.

Although it did start to rain (in typical English fashion), this didn’t dampen the spirits of our campers one bit, as the den builders raced to construct a shelter and the netballers fled to the sports hall, the activities continued without interruption. Campers partaking in our creative class got stuck into a messy session of papier mache, whilst others got to grips with friendship bracelets, the poor weather posed no obstacle! Those studying English braved the rain and ventured into Bedale for an exciting scavenger hunt

Having refilled our engines, the groups then chose their second activity of the day. Hockey was very popular, however somewhat overshadowed by an excellent scavenger hunt created by Harriet, where the children had to solve a riddle in order to get all the clues to find the hidden prize. The children in creative let their imaginations run wild when creating pompom hairbands and mysterious characters.

After a dinner of fish fingers and chips, the children prepared for arguably one of the best nights of camp (amongst others), icebreakers! The campers were split into teams in order to take on a series of exciting and hilarious icebreakers, which ultimately ended with determined campers yelling ‘chubby bunny’ in an attempt to win the final game. After a great evening, the campers settled down with hot chocolate before bed, concluding the first day of north camp week 2.

Click for Monday Photos

Tuesday, 17th July

With a hearty British classic of bacon ‘sarnies for breakfast, some very energised campers with made their way over to the sport’s hall to commence the morning with an exhilarating game of dodgeball. The tutors verses campers match saw the tutors quickly annihilated, soon realising that winning against 72 campers is quite the challenge! The day opened with scuba diving, which continued throughout the day to ensure that all campers got the chance to snorkel with the infamous Scuba Steve. Those partaking in creative embarked on an incredibly enthusiastic session of karaoke, accompanied by some gorgeous solos and choreographed dances. Those opting for adventure got involved with some archery (a special shout out to Sara who scored a perfect bull’s eye!) which proved very popular. Regardless of some rainy outbursts in the morning, sport continued with a game of five aside football in the sports hall which resulted in sweaty faces all around!

With another stereotypically British meal of beef stew, our campers returned to their afternoon activities. Scuba diving continued, whilst some sunny outbreaks allowed for a fantastic game of tennis for those opting for sport. The creative session ran with a variety of options – continuing papier mache, creating photo frames and ‘ancient’ art pieces fashioned into treasure maps, there was an option for everyone! Activities were concluded with some free time in the pool, exhibiting some fabulous pool-acrobatics and water fights.

Evening activities consisted of a warm up game of catch the flag and a series of competitive team games, prior to our greatly anticipated weekly campfire! Having chanted some of our campfire classics, groups took to the stage to perform, many of which featuring national anthems, whilst others sung solo pieces, seeking reward for some coveted marshmallows. With marshmallows toasted, and hot chocolates finished, our very happy campers go to sleep content and tired after yet another busy day at North Camp, in anticipation for the fun to be had tomorrow.

Click for Tuesday’s Photos

Wednesday, 18th July

As we come to half way through week 2, the new campers have really settled in to life at L&E, tried lots of new activitities and found new friendships. After the jolly singalongs at last night’s campfire the kids woke up bright and full of energy ready to take on another day of fun. Fueled by boiled eggs and toast, dodgeball got everyone working together before splitting off for morning activities.
Creative was outdoor chalk drawings and we added lots of colour to the basketball court and walls. The sport option was rugby and with an enthusiastic bunch of campers, the game was very close. We had a delicious adventure option onsite, making muffins in oranges on the campfire, and as it was so popular we offered it again in the afternoon. The English group also had a chance to bake after discussing food, restaurant role play and exploring menus – their jam tarts were scrumptious!
With canoeing an option in both morning and afternoon lots of campers had the chance to give it a go – some for the first time. We had a slalom course, a couple of games of water polo and even sang head, shoulders, knees and toes while standing and jumping in the canoes. We had a couple of kids falling/jumping out and we all went swimming at the end before heading back for lunch.

Filling up on bangers and mash, salad and fruit the campers then had a little free time before afternoon activity choices. After the horse riders and canoeists set off and the campfire was relit the rest of the camp had a choice between sport and creative. Ultimate frisbee was the sport option with just the right amount of competive spirit to keep it interesting. For creative, the campers were also up and about with a dance session then a yoga class. They were taught a piece of choreogphy, some floor work and had the chance to freestyle and work in pairs. The yoga session left our brains and bodies feeling calm and rested with some giggles when our balances didn’t quite work out. With some free time before dinner, lots of the campers chose to go to the pool to squeeze in a little more fun before a dinner of pasta and garlic bread, with most going for seconds.

After a very physical day, we were happy that movie night gave us a chance to chill out in our pjs. With this week’s theme being Spy Games, our movie of choice was ‘Johnny English’, which the campers thought was hilarious. It was soon time for hot chocolate and a good nights sleep ready for tomorrow’s adventures.

Click for Wednesday’s Photos

Thursday, 19th July

This morning we had breakfast as normal at 8:15 followed by a game of dodgeball between 9 and 10 am, to warm us all up for the days activities. The sport activity for this morning was waterpolo which was held at the swimming pool. A group went out rock climbing as the mornings adventure activity, and the rest of the adventurers played a game of capture the flag and the creative group had a morning of nature art. This concluded the morning activities before lunch.

The afternoon activities consisted of a second group going out rock climbing for the adventure activity, and the rest of the adventure group going out to do some tree climbing. A small group of 8 had an afternoon of football out on he field which was very enjoyable session even though the number of players were limited. The waterslide was a whirlwind ride of opportunity and adventure which was run by a few of the camp tutors while the rest prepared for the evenings theme night.

The theme of this week was ‘Spy Night’ and was a huge evening event which took place at various stations around the school. We had a number of mysterious yet fun and energetic games and activities set up by our L&E staff. Games like, Water balloon target practice, Interrogation room and a small casino where the campers could bet skittles on the games they played. Tonight was a great success for all the staff and campers and there was no better way to end the night with a cup of hot chocolate in the dining hall with the whole group before bed after an exhausting day.

Click for Thursday’s Photos

Friday, 20th July

What a day to finish off the second week of Learn & Experience North camp! It has been an epic week with plentiful laughter and kindness at the abundance.

Can’t be more proud of the group of young people that have attended this week. They have risen above all tasks and taken on activities like absolute professionals.

We started the day with a wholesome cooked breakfast, a select few were picked to go on the outdoor adventure to Brimham where they were able to clamber across rocks and be true outdoor explorers.

While they were away the others were able to let loose in the dodgeball hall. Some for the last time.

Then teams were split, one for creative to create masterpieces of art and crafts! The others were sent out to fiercely battle on the rounders pitch!

Lunch was consumed and the everyone joined in to feast on a rather quality spread of cooked food and salad.

Soon enough, after some free time, we regrouped as a whole to see which group could create the ultimate bin bag extraordinaire outfit. A catwalk was set out and 7 fabulous looking individuals strutted their stuff in their bin bag masterpieces. Finally Albane and Fergus were the winners with their strut and truly creative outfits!

Everyone sat around for what was the final supper for many, afterwards packing their bags and preparing their Oscar outfits!

It was an excellent evening!! Oscars took off with a wham and a bam.
Music – Fergus
Kindest – Theo
Helpful – Nina
Creative – Elise
Happiest – Paul
Sports – Sven
Adventure – Alexandre
Rising star – Karol
Star -David

We had a trio of gymnastics, a piano recital by Zoe, the polish national anthem (lead was Karol, taking a magnificent stand whilst backed by a dozen enthusiastic fellow campers), Zoe-Marie lead a French solo, Fergus and Simon lead a chant!

We finished the evening with a quality montage of the week in photos and videos and a raving disco where the campers were cutting shapes and showing their skills!

Hot chocolate and off they all went to bed with high spirits!

Click for Photos from Friday

Weekend

This weekend the L&E North Camp, happy campers travelled to Whitby. A lovely countryside town where the streets a lined with fish and chips shops and old sweet shops, with ice cream stalls dotted in between. It was a cloudy but warm day and the children roamed the streets enjoying what the town had to offer. Some of them braving to feel the temperature of the sea and others climbing the 199 steps to get a panoramic view of the town.

In the evening the campers settled in with some popcorn to watch The Avengers and then it was hot chocolate and bed.

We had many campers leave us this weekend and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when new found friendships had to say their goodbyes. But, next summer is in the distance and there has already been plans to reunite at L&E 2019.

This evening we welcomed many new campers to the North and there were many smiling faces as they enjoyed their BBQ dinner. The games on the field we very competitive but broke down some of the ice for new friendships to blossom. With a quick hot chocolate before bed, campers are in their beds dreaming of the adventures they will have this week.

Click for Weekend Photos

North Camp, Week 1, 2018

8 July 2018

First Sunday Night, 8th July

With the sun beating down on yet another (surprisingly) gorgeous July day, the commencement of North Camp 2018 could not have started on a sweeter note. As the students bounded into camp, the tutors excitedly awaited their arrival. 

With some strenuous exercise carrying some rather heavy suitcases up the seemingly never-ending four flights of stairs, we were all rewarded with a wonderful barbecue, allowing campers both old and new to catch up and familiarise themselves with their fellow campers.

With the sun continuing to defy the odds and shine down on a happy bunch of campers, appeased and content with full tummies, the famous L&E games began. The evening commenced with a very fast paced game of ‘Splat’, followed by fruit basket, 40/40 and an old classic; British Bulldogs, we all saw a glimmer of the amazing fun to be had for the next four weeks. As a gorgeous sunset drew to a close, the campers slowly left the field and filed into the school for another annual camp debrief, concluding on a chant of our infamous mantra, ‘Be kind, be kind, be kind!’

As the chatter in the rooms slowly softened, the lights dimmed and the hubbub of the school eventually drawing to a close, North Camp 2018 looks to be our best year yet.

Click for First Night photos

Monday, 9th July

This morning started with a hearty breakfast of crumpets and honey which went down a treat and filled the children’s bellies in preparation for their first full day of camp. The warm-up was, the ever popular, dodgeball and as usual the children were victorious!!  The morning activities to choose from were basketball, canoeing and den building and, with the sun high in the sky, the children were keen to get started. 

After a wander through the extensive grounds the den builders found the ideal location for their grand designs.  Not only did they manage to build some amazing structures they also managed to decorate them.  The children showed some awesome teamwork and reminded us that in fact – teamwork makes the dreamwork!  Tim’s insatiable ability to get the basketball from ANYWHERE was quite outstanding but little Miguel was able to swish the ball from left, right and rhubarb.  

The canoeists spent the day on the water both in both the morning afternoon and again, we were lucky with the weather.  There was some falling and jumping in the water at the end as always!

The afternoon’s creative session was decoupage flower pots and tissue flowers to decorate their new rooms, adding lots of colour across camp. We also introduced the campers to this week’s World Cup theme and learned a bit about each other.  Today’s sport continued with an afternoon football tournament, in the penalty shootout Mani was amazing – his tenacity earned him “Person of the Match”.

Monday night means only one thing – ice-breakers!  New records were set in many categories.  Issac has obviously been practicing since last year and crushed the old chubby bunnies record and managed to get 17 marshmallows in his mouth whilst still being coherent.  Harriet (tutor) managed to catch an egg which was a new record for her, unfortunately the egg broke all over her!  We finished icebreakers with the egg drop where each team designs the safest way to drop an egg while keeping it intact……..3 out 8 eggs made it to the bottom! 

With new friendships made, everyone got into PJs for hot chocolate before bed.

Click for Day 1 Photos

Tuesday, 10th July

As the sun rose on the 2nd full day of camp this year, campers woke up bright and early, prepared for another action packed day. Breakfast offered up the treat of some bacon, tomatoes and toast, the perfect fuel for the following dodgeball session. The kids dodged, ducked, dipped and dived through the mornings warm up activity, and left the dodgeball hall raring to go for the plethora of activities on offer for the morning session.

The morning activities were varied, but all proved popular amongst campers. For the English lessons a paper plane making, fact finding mission, all with the focus on the past and future tenses, transitioned into a summer themed singing activity with the focus on adjectives. Our sport enthusiasts tackled the challenge of touch rugby, our adventure campers had the exciting experience of scuba diving in our very own pool with a professional instructor, and the creative group were focusing on making flag and bunting (it’s almost as if there was a big game coming up.

The afternoon activities of campfire preparation, ultimate Frisbee and creating friendship bracelets were short, but immensely popular, as we needed to fit time for our first giant water slide session of the summer. The old favourite L&E waterslide was back, and oh boy was it back with a bang! Who’d have guessed that a hill, tarpaulin, washing up liquid and sumo wrestling could be the ingredients for the perfect summer afternoon?

After a dinner of enchiladas, it was time for the inaugural campfire of 2018. We boochickarooed our way through multiple campfire classics, and were then treated to some magnificent performances from campers and tutors, with a particular shoutout going to Greta for her superb rendition of Shawn Mendes’ ‘Stitches’. Finally, we had the big screen up and the seats in place, it was time for the game, the big one (or warm up for tomorrow), France vs Belgium. A great atmosphere, largely created from having campers from both nationalities, ensured the game was cheered on in a friendly but competitive spirit.

After the match ended we finished with some hot chocolate, and all tired after such a fun filled day, retired to bed, looking forward to continuing with the L&E adventure tomorrow.

Click for Day 2 Photos

Wednesday, 11th July

Today, yet again, we had beautiful weather in sunny Yorkshire. After a a delicious breakfast of fresh bread rolls and toast with cheese and ham we embarked on the morning warm up of dodgeball! The game was very intense and as the balls wizzed and whirled around the sports hall children dove and rolled out of line of fire.

The morning activities were very exciting. The adventure option was canoeing and the children basked in the glorious sunlight as they paddled through the lake. In the spirit of the ‘Word Cup’ they played football on the water, manoeuvring their canoes around some tricky turns to score goals against each other. However, the children spent more time in water capsized rather than in their boat and ended their trip with some dives and flips into the lake. It was so clear that they could see the fishes swimming along the lake floor.

Our sport option, was a game of kickball which is a cross between football, rounders, and baseball. The children rally enjoyed the competitiveness of the game and there were some outstanding sportswomen and men amongst them.

Durning the English lessons the students wrote stories and busting out some awesome acting skills during a game of charades. We are hoping to see more of this in their presentation later in the week.

In the creative activity the kids were painting some graffiti walls, working in groups to create a wall with their names and a picture. A few people also designed their own football kits. In the afternoon the kids did movie making and a dance routine.

In the afternoon the children also had the opportunity to chose a second adventure option of a very exciting scavenger hunt. Clues were dotted round the school and they had to find them, but after each clue there were more items that the group had to carry and/or wear that would make it harder for them to reach the next clue quicker. Out was a very entertaining display of determination and learning, mixed with a lot of fun and laughter.

Sports in the afternoon lead with relay races between the pizzas, the doughnuts, the burgers and the marshmallows. They competed in events such as the egg and spoon race and the three legged race. It is noted that that no harm came to any eggs during the competition.

After a delicious dinner of homemade pizza, the group split up, some people were watching the movie Coco, and others watched the horrendously shocking football match where most of us cried. Although it wasn’t a great day for England and their World Cup dream, at L&E the children have gone to bed with bellies full of hot chocolate and excitement for what the next few days of camp will bring!

Click for Day 3 Photos

Thursday, 12th July

The sunrise brought a overcast and cool morning  revitalising there children as they bounded down  the stairs and started off with an hearty serving of scrambled eggs, beans and toast to fuel a busy day.The morning session proved enjoyable and challenging covering the three zones. The sport option being split into two activities the first being handball. Teams separating themselves into 4 groups in a torment fashion, the competition was fierce  but  the Muchachalataas came out on top. Following this was bench ball a camp favourite where the children had to pass a ball to a team mate on a bench and join them till none where left on the field to win.

The adventure choice for the day was  thrilling rock climbing testing the children’s  nerves and  stamina conducted at Down Holmes quarry. Scaling  walls of varying degrees of challenge coming back to camp exhausted but with a sense of achievement.

The creative section consisted of game creation and owing to the season being the world cup these mainly revolved around football. One of the standouts consisted of a box painted and designed like a field and pompoms used for balls and straws to move it. A simple and enjoyable game that all could play.

The afternoon session matched the intensity and enjoyment of the first with sports involving tennis under the cleared sky. Ordering the children by experience across three fields so all could enjoy and learn as they played. This followed by indoor hockey coming down to a golden goal to break the tie.The creative options has a edible version where the children followed a tutor through the baking and design of biscuits. Following a  simple but direct  recipe the end result being delectable and shared  to their peers delight. Rock climbing proceeding through the day. 

Once dinner consisting of of pasta and rice ended ,they would needs its energy, theme night commenced. In this case the night revolved around the world cup. The children where separated into eight countries painted themselves to their nation and went  trough eight activities organised by tutors. These  consisting of flag naming, Tabletop football and commentating, catch the tears, fan celebrating, balloon keepsiupsies, slow motion dives and relays. All of these collecting red cards to be used at the finale, a penalty shoot out. These cards could be exchanged for extra shots  in the competition beyond the normal number. The air was charged but silent for each shot and explosive in its completion. In the end five teams being joint victor.

The night came to a end with exhausted bodies but smiling faces looking forward to the next day. 

Click for Day 4 Photos

Friday, 13th July

This morning began with many exhausted, yet happy campers, all of whom had spent their previous evening running around enthusiastically during the World Cup theme night. After enjoying a filling breakfast of bacon, toast and fruit, the day kicked off with the usual dodgeball warm up activity, followed by four exciting morning options. The students taking part in English lessons worked hard interviewing and asking their fellow campers and tutors questions such as ‘what is your favourite activity at camp?’ before successfully writing and compiling their own L&E newsletter together.

The other morning activities to choose from were campfire cooking, postcard and friendship bracelet making and rounders/indoor football. The adventure option of campfire cooking was incredibly popular as the campers enthusiastically participated in building the campfire, before making chocolate chip and sultana muffins, encased inside orange skins. The creative use of orange skins was a huge success and provided the muffins with a hint of orange flavour, but despite them being incredibly delicious, the muffins did not hinder the appetite of our campers.

We then enjoyed a delicious lunch of traditional fish and chips, before commencing the main event of the afternoon – the traditional L&E triathlon. The campers were divided into teams of three, with each person taking part in either the swim, run or the obstacle course. Overall the triathlon was a huge success, with prizes awarded to the winners of the bronze, silver and gold categories.

In the end, the night concluded with the famous L&E ‘Oscars’ as many campers were nominated in various categories such as ‘Happiest Camper’, ‘Most Helpful’ and ‘Be Kind, Be Kind, Be Kind’. A huge congratulations to all of the winners and nominees, especially for Aune, the week one winner of the prestigious ‘Star Camper’ award. The night also included special performances from our talented campers, with singing, dancing and gymnastics performances. The disco was definitely a highlight of the week and allowed all of the campers to celebrate the end of a successful first week at L&E 2018.

Click for Day 5 Photos

Weekend

And in the blink of an eye the first week of L&E 2018 was over. The children were sad to see campers depart on Saturday morning but their eyes soon dried as they looked towards the trip to York.

The weather was kind to us as we made our way to one of the most beautiful cities in Yorkshire. The children visited old sweet shops, enjoyed the street performers and had a lovely lunch by the minster. It was lovely to see all the campers chatting and enjoying each others company in the presence of such history and culture.

On return to Aysgarth the children were treated with a lovely evening meal and then settled down to watch ‘The Greatest Showman’ on of the staffs favourite movies. The children enjoyed their attempts to sing along to the catchy tunes.

As Sunday arrived there was a obvious build up of energy as the children prepared themselves to welcome new children to camp. They mingled over a few sausages and burgers from the BBQ and then worked together to beat the tutors at some fantastic L&E wide games. After some lovely hot chocolate and our weekly chant of ‘Be Kind, be kind, be kind’ it was time to go up to bed for some sleep. Everyone is very excited for what week 2, 2018 will bring.

South Camp Diary – Week 1 & 2

31 July 2017

Sunday, 30th July

Sunshine, The New Forest and a great group of campers are the best ingredients for an amazing first night at the new L&E South Camp! The children arrived, excited for a new venue, and a new group of friends to be made. They ate a glorious BBQ on the terrace followed by lots of games with the tutors. The campers were undefeated in a game named ‘splat’, much to the tutors frustrations. As the sun set over the old manor house, we all retired to some chocolate cake for Daniel’s birthday and then into our dorms for a good night’s sleep, all excited for what tomorrow will bring!

For more photos from Sunday click here

Monday, 31st July

Well what a way to start the first south camp! The children all arrived last night and we enjoyed games and a yummy BBQ together to get to know each other.

We hit the ground running today with a great session of Dodgeball, the children vs tutor games got very competitive! We then got straight into activities with one group heading out into the school grounds for some outdoor art, another group into the pool for water polo and the third group hopped into the bus and went down to Mudeford Quay to do some crabbing! The fantastic English teachers took their groups for their lessons.

The outdoor art group used natural resources to create pictures, they have turned out really well! The sporting group had great fun in the pool playing water polo, before heading out to play football after biscuit break. The crabbing group, adventured to Mudeford and had a whale of a time catching a total of 13 crabs!

After a great Lasagne lunch and a little bit of free time, the afternoon activities got underway. The activities included; creating stop-motion videos, den building, yoga, tennis, rounders, kick ball and wood weaving. The children really enjoyed these activities and were all socialising well.

After the activities were finished the pool opened and lots of us enjoyed a cool off! We then enjoyed dinner together and the evening was filled with fantastic ice breaker games from communication games to making up dance routines.

The children have bonded well and the camp could not have started on a better note!

For more photos from Monday click here

Tuesday, 1st August

Today’s blog post comes to you in campfire song!

The day started with dodgeball,
What else could it be?
The kids are getting better,
It’s plain to see…
Souki and Shido are Japanese champs,
They hurl the ball faster than a car from a ramp.

We’re having a right laugh at L & E,
Making great friends, you and me.
Many things to do and many places to go
It’s better than North Camp!
I’m telling you so!

After lunch and free-time,
There were towers to climb.
Up them like lizards
Abseiling down fine.
Lacrosse with Ashleigh,
Let’s recap the rules,
We scoop like an ice-cream
And twist like no fools,

We’re having a right laugh at L & E,
Making great friends, you and me.
Many things to do and many places to go
It’s better than North Camp!
I’m telling you so!

A swim to cool off,
Board games in the shade,
Beautiful brownies and fajitas well made,
Songs around the campfire,
Burning marshmallows,
This perfect evening,
Spent among the fellows.

For more photos from Tuesday click here

Wednesday, 2nd August

“My dear rain…As you pour down with all your might,
Will you come to me as my guiding light?
Will you wash my heart?
Will you quench my thirst?”

As Anup B Deen wrote in the poem, the rain can sometimes be a blessing and it certainly didn’t dampen our spirits today!
A group of 17 brave children headed to the Aqua Park and either kayaked or paddle-boarded their way around the huge lake. Great fun was had by all and we are certainly looking forward to returning for the inflatable challenges there tomorrow! Back at the ranch, our English immersion group were in full swing and I am pleased to report great progress (along with a lot of fun) is being made by both groups. The drenched water-sports gang returned to lashings and lashings of hot chocolate and hot showers. Suitably refreshed (and now dry) the Sports Hall was turned into the setting for games and mini challenges. The group skipped, threw and bounced their way into the L&E record books.

After lunch, board-games, badminton, volleyball, origami and dance-choreography were all on the menu. The children had great fun and Shane proved his ability to thrive in the London property market in a very competitive game of Monopoly. Dance rehearsals continued during break-time as the dance crew added the finishing touches to their routine. It was wonderful to hear the children making ‘small-talk’ and really enjoying each other’s company throughout the afternoon. Following a delicious evening meal it was time to contact home before watching the dance show. A couple of stunning solo acts from Elena and Maria who were then joined by Charlotte for a ‘Little Mix’ mash-up; the video proves just how professional and polished the performances were.

Once the popcorn had popped we all settled down to watch, ‘Swallows and Amazons’ in the theatre. Pillows and duvets were strongly encouraged andI had never heard children applauding at the end of a movie before – I guess Jade and Vicky picked well! Finally it was time for hot chocolate and relaxing in the Common room. It spoke volumes about how tired some of the children are as they started to head upstairs to bed before being asked by their tutors.

Sleep-tight L&E South: the sun will come out tomorrow and we have another busy, exciting and enlightening day ahead of us.

For more photos from Wednesday click here

Thursday, 3rd August

After a rainy day on Wednesday everyone was looking forward to the chance to get outside in the sun. Now, we might not have ended up with the completely rain free day Sarah had promised us but that did not stop us and the morning was filled with activities off site.

Those studying English headed into Salisbury to put into practice what they had been learning in lessons. They were split into groups and with the help of an able tutor they had to find their way around the city while completing a scavenger hunt.

The rest of the campers headed out to the New Forest to explore the lovely countryside. They used a GPS device to find Geo Cache orienteering points and had to work as a team to navigate. The campers all reunited after their excursions over a lovely chilli con carne for lunch.

The afternoon was filled with exciting activities; campers showed off their skills on the football pitch and helped to prepare decorations for the theme night ahead of them. Half of the camp headed out for an adventurous afternoon at the water park, jumping and splashing their way around the inflatable obstacle course, lots of fun was had by all!

The day finished with an extravaganza of a theme night. Forres Sandle Manor had the pleasure of welcoming famous World Leaders to dinner, this included Cleopatra, the Queen (x2), Ghandi, Napoleon, Teresa May, and Beyoncé. After being struck down by a natural disaster the campers had to step in and take up the mantle to lead the country. Teams competed in a range of challenges to see who would be strong enough to take the lead, some excelled in grape throwing while others showed their memory skills navigating their way across a minefield game. The night culminated in Team 6 winning the evening’s events and will hopefully be worthy world leaders.

It has been a fantastic day at South Camp, and we have so much more to look forward to!

For more photos from Thursday click here

 

Friday, 4th August

As the final day for some campers approached, we were greeted with some glorious sunshine and tasty waffles and syrup for breakfast. With bellies pleasingly full, the campers headed on down for the final game of dodgeball of the week.

The very excitable campers (and tutors!) set off to the waterpark for their adventure option where they bounced, jumped and spectacularly slipped into the water and off the obstacles including trampolines, stepping stones and swings. It is safe to say that Ashleigh and Rowena need a fair bit more practice before they try again! Our budding musicians got in touch with their inner song writers to create a fabulous song about the four seasons to the theme tune of ‘if you’re happy and you know it’ which went down a treat with the other campers. Our sporting superstars took to the AstroTurf for a hockey session with Vicki and Jade, which saw Hongjie and Josephine stand out from the crowd with their sporting prowess.

A traditional English meal of ‘bangers and mash’ awaited the campers for lunch, which seemed a success as their meals vanished within minutes of arrival! The annual L&E triathlon was postponed due to the lack of bicycles; therefore Sophie and Sammey put their heads together and created a fantastic afternoon which saw the children participate in ‘The Italian Job Relay’. This saw the children split into groups and competing against each other to win more tools and ammunition for the water fight at the end of the afternoon. The children took part in 5 different team events, a ten legged race, a penalty shootout, a Mario-cart timed race, a swimming drag race and ending with eating a biscuit in the fastest time. Hawaiian took the winners medal which resulted in the ‘Pizza’ half of the campers gaining access to water pistols and more water balloons than the ‘Pasta’ team. A quick dip in the pool to warm up after the water fight and a fantastic afternoon of team building, meant that the campers had plenty of time to get themselves ready for the upcoming Oscars evening.

An important part of L&E tradition is to celebrate the achievements and successes that the campers have shown throughout the week and we almost certainly weren’t short of these moments tonight! From Ghassan the camp joker to the kind Beatrice, we had plenty to cheer about. The deserving Moin had the honour of being the recipient of the first ever L&E South camp Star Camper award which is fully deserved and he goes home with some super exciting L&E merchandise to wear!

As the first week of L&E South comes to an end we can look back at some fantastic memories and some wonderful friendships created. We say goodbye to a few campers and hello to a few more on Sunday! But first the campers have a very exciting trip to London tomorrow so are tucked up in bed getting some rest ready for an incredibly busy day!

For more photos from Friday click here

Saturday, 5th August

The campers from L&E South Camp ventured to the big smoke today to explore London and all its glories! They managed to fit a huge amount into the day visiting the Queen at Buckingham Palace, Covent Garden for some shopping and spent some of their pennies in many of the wondrous shops. Campers visited Harrods to window shop, for many international designers, and then spent some time roaming the food hall to see all the wonderful pastries. They had a great time in Hamley’s checking out all the new and top toys for 2017! They also enjoyed the delights of China Town and many Old English Sweet Shops along the way! They picnicked in Hyde Park, enjoying the beautiful flowers blooming and one of the groups managed to get to the Science Museum and were blown away by the natural disasters exhibit. With tired legs, bellies full of ice cream and sweets and smiles on their faces, we left the big city to head back to camp. It was a wonderful day, with lots of new experiences, laughter and most importantly great friends to share it with.

For more photos from Saturday click here


Sunday, 6th August

It has been a busy day here at L&E with a group of campers off to Oxford for the day and the other ventured to the delights of Fordingbridge where they paddled in the river, explored the village and saw the sweet shops! The weather was very kind to us and there was lots of smiles and excitement over the visiting ducks.

This evening, the many happy South campers welcomed lots of new faces to another fantastic week of L&E! Lots of seasoned campers helped the new children to their dorms and then we enjoyed a glorious BBQ on the terrace. Then the fun began! Many games were played on the field including a very heavily contested game of capture the flag. There were some very impressive manoeuvres from both tutors and pupils to avoid detection in enemy territory.

With hot chocolate warming their bellies they went off to bed and although took a while to quieten down, they are now asleep unaware of the incredible plan the tutors have devised for the week ahead.

For more photos from Sunday click here

Monday, 7th August

Day one, and what a ‘rippa’ of a day it was. From surviving the waters of Fordingbridge, to making sure impacts from heights were going to make crucial members of our team not crack…as the wise Mr Dumpty once said “Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.” Time to get serious though, all the kids were safe throughout the whole day. The morning began with our usual breakfast but a victory was foreseen in the future but what was it to be? Some kids to finally shower? Sammy to keep her clothes dry while swimming? Or none one to trip up the stairs? However, low and behold, the Tutors finally won dodge ball against the kids, not once but twice!

After the great celebrations by the Tutors, the kids then chose to either build mini rafts to race down the river in Fordingbridge, lifesaving skills in the pool or create a dance video. At one point, Will thought he could walk on water during the lifesaving skills session but, needless to say, he ended up quite wet. We are yet to see this dance video but after hearing the stories and hearing the laughter, one can only imagine how great the video will be. Mini raft building was a great success, not one raft sunk and all managed to finish the race.


The day seemed to race away and the ice breaking evening was soon upon us. Get to know bingo was lots of laughs with Amelia taking home the bragging rights with the win. Teams were then formed and eggs needed protecting from falling from great heights. Surprisingly 4 out of the 6 teams managed to protect their egg from the world champion egg thrower Sarah and weren’t they proud of it. By the end of the night, many laughs were shared and new friendships made.

For more photos from Monday click here

 

Tuesday, 8th August

Today the heavens opened but with ham and cheese croissants for breakfast, and 3 out of 4 wins for the kids in dodgeball, L&E wasn’t rained off.

The day began with many exciting activities. In sport, a moist game of tag rugby. Our young adventurers set off on a Bear Grylls hike to the forest to build a log den and out mega-huge creative group of magnet makers, sculpting treasures to stick on the fridge. The English group learned about hobbies with a classic game of pictionary with big man, Will.

Lunch was beef or mushroom and broccoli pie with lots of lovely jelly to get us wobbling onto the next activities. The adventurers bounced off the inflatables, at The New Forest aqua park with a particular shout out to Mr Oliver who fearlessly climbed the iceberg and leaped off without a crumb of fear! Others laughed their way through a benchball session, showing off their mad skills with the tunes booming. Another group of campers headed to the stables to ride some elephants/horses. There was notable improvement from everyone, particularly the beginners doing rising trots on their second day, yeeeehaaaaah!!

Water polo in the pool, fajitas and chocolate brownies for tea then off to the bonfire for some games, songs and marshmallows. A huge variation of performers and languages, learning campfire songs that we will always remember. Everyone’s confidence is building, friendships are becoming stronger, brains are boggling and fun is bellowing throughout our beautiful L&E South camp.

Bring on tomorrow!

For more photos from Tuesday click here

Wednesday, 9th August

After a scrummy breakfast, mid-week of camp commenced with the usual lively game of dodgeball, which never fails to get everyone up and ready for the day (even with the dollop of British rain).
After the warm-up, the English class started a show-stopping morning of screen-play and story-writing. Sequined masks, pink feather boas, flamboyant hats and giant glasses aided the prodigy actors and writers.

The new L&E sport activity of Acro-Yoga proved to be a great hit with the campers. All sorts of shapes and balancing acts were performed by the budding acrobats/yogis with mind-blowing flexibility and strength! Meanwhile, the creative among us had a tie-dye session, where white t-shirts were transformed into multi-coloured spiralled art-work.

Over in the woods, the adventurous were ‘cameoed up’ and preparing for survival. ‘The Island with Shane and Wilson’ (release date Feb 2018) involved the campers using natural tools to make dams, fires and dens; in order to overcome the natural elements.

After a feast of meatballs and pasta for lunch, the afternoon kicked off with a badminton and table tennis extravaganza tournament. The winners were Yu and Shizuku in badminton and Daniel and Adam in table tennis.

In the art room, vibrant paper-mache dragon egg making and face painting captivated the young Picassos.


The adventurous horse riders had another fantastic day where there was great progress with all the riders. The last of the campers went to the water-park for a whirl-wind adventure of kayaking and paddle-boarding.

After an exhausting day, the campers had a relaxing evening curling up in their pyjamas and duvets to the classic movie, “School of Rock”.

For more photos from Wednesday click here

Thursday, 10th August

The midnight oil is burning and another day is done,
The campers awoke to sunshine and another day of fun.
A breakfast of waffles, sausages and spaghetti hoops,
Set the day up although everyone was pooped.
In the dodgeball hall, there was quite the commotion,
Everyone enjoyed the rapid motion.
The climbing wall returned and the monkeys ascended,
While in water polo, the players defended.
Pottery making in the sunshine yielded some wonderful pieces,
And the adventurers took on photo orienteering without their fleeces.
Post-scrummy lunch and off to the beach we went,
A wonderful afternoon in the sunshine we spent.
Sandcastles and swimming, ice cream and grinning,
Heading back to the bus, queue the cliff-top singing.
Back at camp, young padawans got in their stride,
Trying to bring Darth Vader back to the good side.
The evening ended with an aquatic battle on the moor,
Hot chocolate followed, we all hit the floor.

For more photos from Thursday click here

Friday, 11th August

On the penultimate day of camp, it was a very weary start as the campers made their way down the stairs to breakfast. With the breakfast bell ringing, a few more times than normal, campers finally followed the smell of Belgium waffles which wafted from the kitchen. With camper’s bellies full, it was time to dodge, duck and weave in the grand final of the tutors vs campers dodgeball rivalry. The soft ball whizzed around the hall, flying millimetres from campers as they dove out of the way of the tutor’s wrath…well that is how we saw it. The tutors were cowering from the onslaught of dodgeballs being hurled their way. They managed to pick it up in the final game, but in the end, it was another devastating loss.

After our morning warm up the campers went off to their morning activities. The sport group tried their hand at some tennis and hockey, pushing a pulling the hockey ball across the artificial surface whilst a mini Wimbledon game was going on. The creative students painted their clay sculptures in the sunshine appreciating the natural beauty around them. The adventurers tried their hand at some campfire cooking, with some very damp logs! Lunch was a feast of a truly English classic of: sausages, mash and beans!

This afternoon a group of campers went for their last horse riding lesson and had a lovely time galloping around the stables and managed to do some little jumps on their ponies. The rest of the camp participated in the weekly sporting competition. This week it was a mega triathlon, seeing all campers giving it there all in either their individual events or team efforts!

Everything was leading to one of the main events of the week, the Oscars! Supper was filled with chicken nuggets, chips and lots of excitement for the impending awards ceremony. The evening was filled with acro-yoga presentations and an extraordinary music video from the creative crew! Many of our campers were awarded for their talents and kindness, with Novella being awarded out Star Camper of the week!

It has been a fantastic two weeks of South camp and with a slightly heavy heart we say goodbye to the 2017 summer of L&E, which has been filled with many smiles, new friends, experiences and most of all a summer of fun! As the final song ‘Grease lightning’ brought the disco to the end, there were many tears and hugs as the campers said goodnight to the final time. It has been a blast L&E! We can’t wait till next Summer!

For more photos from Friday click here

 

North Camp Diary – Week 4

31 July 2017

Sunday, 30th July

The campers slowly filtered into Aysgarth School this evening from all across the globe, coming from as far as Hong Kong! After enjoying a BBQ the kids said goodbye to their families and got stuck into the evening activities.

The first evening gives us the chance to get to know each other through some fun camp games, which everyone gets involved in. Tonight we began with packman, a camp game that mimics the arcade game as the children follow the designated lines in the sports hall making sure they do not get tagged. We then play a game of Zap, which is a game of fast reflexes and instincts. Following that we played various forms of what is called stuck in the mud in the UK, this tests kids balance, cunning, agility and speed. Following that we played a game of fruit basket, which is another game of concentration and speed, as children sprint around the gym in teams attempting to be the first into their respective fruit baskets. Finally we finished the games off with a classic camp game of 40/40, which is a mix of hide and seek and tag.

As you can probably tell the evening was jammed packed and following the evenings activities we came in for a hot chocolate to relax before getting ready for bed. After giving a small talk, giving the kids an idea of what lies in store this week, we all went up to our different rooms for the evening and got to know each other a little before settling into bed. It has been a great first evening and we’re sure it will be a brilliant week with a brilliant set of campers.

For more photos from Sunday click here

Monday, 31st July

The day started with eggs, the day ended with eggs. Now let us tell you what happened in between…

Our final week’s campers woke up surprisingly early to beautiful sunshine (for ten minutes) and tucked into eggs and soldiers for breakfast. The group then headed down for their dodge ball debut, which they all enjoyed. After wiping the floor with the tutors, the campers then chose their morning activities: the creative kids brought their consequences stories to life with the magic of multimedia, the sportsmen and women amongst us battled the blustery conditions during a morning of tennis, and the adventurers headed off in luxurious Lenny (the Land Rover) to Aysgarth Falls where they wandered alongside the torrent that has become the River Ure since our last excursion. Safe to say they would not be swimming today, but it was an enjoyable outing all the same as the weather held up until we left.

After filling up at lunchtime, the afternoon activities commenced. Sport was volleyball, which went down a treat, and in the creative session the campers completed the other half of photos of our very own tutors. This afternoon’s adventurers returned to Aysgarth Falls, where they explored another part of the river, in awe of the raging rapids. After some hill rolling races and an ice cream to cool us off, we headed back to the homestead for an evening of icebreaker games.

Campers new and old became friends as they worked together to complete challenging tasks set for them by our tutors. The games flew by as the sun set, and everybody gathered around for the grand finale – the egg drop. Each group’s eggs were secured using the various items provided, and we all watched on as eggs were either scrambled or saved by the campers’ eggcellent inventions. Many were scrambled, but a few were salvaged!

Hot chocolate and bed ended the exciting evening, with all the campers ready and raring for the week ahead.

For more photos from Monday click here

Tuesday, 1st August

The 1st August, a date all L&E North Campers will now remember as Yorkshire Day. Waking up, the campers were treated to a traditional Yorkshire morning of sunshine and croissants… okay, maybe not quite traditional, but still fantastic!

The morning consisted of a variety of exciting activities: the creative bunch made eye-catching dream-catchers, which will ensure your loved ones are sleeping safely and soundly tonight. On the other hand, the children with a little more energy were put through their paces in an intense sports session. The children played Ultimate Frisbee, Handball, Benchball and some high-intensity catching games. As well as this, Tuesday is of course ‘Scuba Day’ which meant our experienced divers got the chance to show off their skills, and new divers got the chance to try something amazing. After a filling lunch of sausages and Yorkshire puddings (not the last you’ll hear about these), the campers got the chance to scuba again. As well as that, the sporting bunch got the chance to showcase their footballing skills, and excitingly, the creative children built their very own paper- airplanes – these weren’t your average paper-airplanes, they were carefully crafted, intricately designed flying machines. Then, it was time for the big event itself: the Yorkshire Olympics. You may be wondering what this is, and you’d be right to do so because it’s something we invented today! 7 events, all of which somehow involved the use of Yorkshire puddings. We had children throwing, catching, kicking, carrying Yorkshire puddings all afternoon, as well as developing their understanding of local phrases. Never before has a Portuguese girl uttered the words, “Ey up r kid!” Come to L&E if you want something new and different!

After a relaxed evening swim and tasty tea, the children headed down to what was to be the final campfire of the year for the North Camp. This meant that the children were singing merrily away, with older campers keen to teach newer campers the songs they’d learnt. The tutors watched in awe, as seemingly shy and quiet children got up to belt out their favourite songs, as everyone laughed and joked around the blazing fire. Instead of marshmallows, the children toasted Yorkshire puddings around the fire and were giggling away at their amusing end to the night. Rest assured though, the children did get their marshmallows in a comforting hot chocolate before bed. The perfect end to the perfect Yorkshire Day.

There once was a camp called L&E
Where children go and make no enemies
Only to make friends and have lots of fun
Where bonds are made and are never undone
Here’s to another day full of vibrant energy

For more photos from Tuesday click here

Wednesday, 2nd August

Yet another blissfully rainy day fell upon L&E, however the children hopped out of bed and got down to breakfast just as normal. After brushing their teeth the traditional dodgeball games were played with courage, honour and massive throwing arms being displayed from both sides. After the dust settled from what was a fearless dodgeball battle the children chose their morning activities.

The creative option was egg protection. The children had to engineer a protective structure or design to make sure an egg could safely land once it was launched into the air by a water balloon cannon. Michael’s egg was the only one to survive the landing. The sports option was quick cricket, with enthusiasm and warm catching hands the children began playing adn some incredible catches were made and countless runs were made. Special mention goes out to Panashe for his two stunning one handed over the head catches.

The activity for those who selected English was pizza making. After the rest of the camp heard that there was a sudden influx of new English students! After a hearty lunch and a little down time the children began their afternoon activities.

The sports option was water polo which came out as one of the more popular options. Water polo in itself is a difficult game, however the children took to it like fish to water. The creative children dabbled in a little Coca Cola and mentor rocket building as well as water rocket building. After launching the water rocket so far that they lost it, they began on their Coca Cola rockets. The adventure option that was run throughout the day was canoeing, the children braved the cold lake in canoes, paddling around having a blast. Once the rain began the canoeing came to a stop and the children jumped off the jetty into the lake.

After a long day of full on fun, adventure and creativity the children watch a movie tonight to wind down. Following the movie is a delightful cup of hot chocolate to set them up for a good night rest.

The day ends with the tutors visiting their dorms and having chat with the children, jokes are made, advice is given and as the tutors leave the room the children fall asleep to get rest for the next day.

For more photos from Wednesday click here

Thursday, 3rd August

The morning arrived with some heavy showers as some of our campers braved the conditions to go rock climbing and despite the cold and wet weather the kids had an exciting time in yorkshire’s stunning natural settings. The others stayed on camp to enjoy some morning Yoga inside swell as some dodgeball.

After dodgeball the morning activities started which included boardgame making, where we tested the kids inventiveness and saw who could designthe best new game. We then tested out the finished products having a great time. In English everyone enjoyed a murder mystery game, where an elaborate plot was created by the teachers that the kids were involved in. After getting in character, which included fancy dress, the kids acted out the scene and enjoyed the process of working out who the murder was. The other children enjoyed a morning of mixed sports in the sportshall which allowed them the chance to try out any games they hadn’t in the week before. We played bench ball, handball and ultimate frisby, all games that focus on teamwork which everyone enjoyed getting involved in.

By lunchtime everyone was ready to enjoy their meal and refuel for the afternoon session. Some campers again went off rock climbing in much friendly weather conditions and had a great time scaling the Yorkshire cliffs as well as abseiling down them. The kids who stayed on camp played badminton and also enjoyed some gymnastics and aerobics sessions. Elsewhere kids were given free reign in the art room to work on some of their previous work as well as working on new paintings, drawings and designing their own bags.

After an afternoon swim everyone came in for dinner and then got ready for this evening theme night. The theme was world leaders and the kids were given the interesting plot of an Alien invasion. With some great outfits from both children and staff getting everyone in the mood, we headed to the school theatre for a world peace conference, however something was not quite right as the leaders of the conference such as Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump and Theresa May, played by out staff, were slowly being taken hostage. The kids soon figured out that Aliens had abducted the leaders and were planning to attack earth. In order to save the day the kids were split into groups and partook in several activities and challenges through which they were given a code that defeated the aliens. It was a great evening with lots of laughter and fun. The kids succeeded in their tasks and the aliens were defeated.

By the time theme night was over and the kids had had some hot chocolate we all got into pyjamas and headed to bed. It was another great day at camp and we look forward to tomorrow, our last day; lets make the most of it!

For more photos from Thursday click here

Friday, 4th August

The final day fell upon L&E, and for the first time this week, the sun shone down upon us all day long. The camp obviously takoook full advantage of this. Breakfast was served then the camp moved on over to dodgeball, where as usual the competition was fierce, skills that had never been seen before were brought out for the final day, trick plays, fake throws, ladies and gentlemen your children had it all.

After the dodgeballs had stopped bouncing the children awaited their morning activities. The sports option was touch rugby, where the children learned the fundamentals to play one of the greatest games on earth, a special mention going out to the warrior that is Lauren who played through a shaky ankle showing true bravery. The creative option was the long awaited science experiment morning. Attracting most of the caldrons attention, the creative activity was a hit, displaying amazing feats of science and chemistry. The adventure option was campfire cooking, (so when your sons or daughters get home ask them to cook you some “fire bread”). The campfire cooking is always a massive success at L&E and today was no different.

  

In the afternoon was the famous L&E Triathlon, where the children competed in a gruelling 3, 5 or 7 lap swim of the pool, an impassable obstacle course and then a run to finish. The competitors showed great dedication to the events with Alice and Andrea changing from the 3 length event to the 7 length event because they wanted to challenge themselves. After completing the triathlon and catching their breath the children then moved over to the water slide. A massive sheet of tarpaulin coated in soap and water sounds like the best final afternoon anyone could ask for. When the tutors said that it was time to get showered and clean after the slide the children had a rebellion and through sheer will power they kept the slide running.

 

After dinner the campers were treated to a surprise ice cream van……the chimes played to the children’s surprise and they all ran out to get a cone! It was then soon time to get dressed up and head the performing arts centre for the Oscars Ceremony. Many performances were shown at the ceremony, Sam, Joe and Holly put on an amazing show with the diablo, Anna and Johanna sang and danced to the famous song ‘Eye of the Tiger’, sending shivers down the spine of the audience members, Kai and Michael would have done Penn and Teller proud with their amazing magic tricks, with an incredible disappearing act performed right before the audience’s eyes, the pair completed their show. Faye performed a song form the movie Moana which touched the soul of everyone who had seen the movie. The gymnastics fans were pleased that our very own camp tutor Will Smith (not to be confused with the super famous actor) and Alice performed a gymnastics routine, the routine had a comedy aspect which was played by Alice pretending that she couldn’t do gymnastics, her poor form made the crowd giggle and Will’s best efforts made the crowd cheer, the perfect mix! A special mention goes out to Sven who won the Star camper award for this week. The tutors couldn’t think of a more deserving winner of the award and were proud to give it to Sven. He has been influential not he sports field, dodgeball court and creative sessions and has displayed all the characteristics of a star camper.

Once the oscars disco died down and the children got dressed into their pyjamas, the drank a warm cup of hot chocolate and move towards their bedrooms. Their tutors have their reflections on the week that has passed and look forward the following year. We look forward to seeing all your fantastic children this following year!

After 4 weeks we’ve reached our last day,
For many weeks longer we wish we could stay,

Camp’s in the North,
Camp’s in the South,
From the highest of hills to the old river mouth,

We’ve covered the land with adventure and sport, not forgetting creative
Whose results we support.

With trips to bedale
And aysgarth falls,
Masham was a highlight
Exciting for all.

The tutors and children
Smiles on their face
Friday pm the triathlon race,

Another year gone,
And it’s almost September,
But the summer we’ve had, we’ll forever remember.

For more photos from Friday click here

North Camp Diary – Week 3

24 July 2017

Sunday, 23rd July

It wasn’t promising weather for this weekend’s campers, whose planned trip to Whitby looked ominous. But as the camp tutors predicted the sun did grace us at sunny Whitby! It was a wonderful day full of seaside sweet shops, beach cricket and of course a trip to Poundland!

On Sunday, there were several tearful campers and tutors as we said goodbye to last week’s campers. Not long after that the excitement kicked in for our new arrivals. Many of the ‘old hands’ were there to welcome the lovely, bright new faces. New friends were made within minutes and games of pool and ping pong were created as the rain confined us to the main house. Our lovely planned BBQ was relocated indoors and the children enjoyed the burgers and chicken that was on offer. With parents being bid farewell, it was time for the games to begin.

With a quick dash through the downpour to the sports hall, many a game of fruit basket, stuck in the mud and bulrush commenced. The children had a great time getting to know each other and with hot chocolate in their bellies, new friends made it was time for bed. As the whispers quieten down the excitement builds for L&E North camp week 3.

For more photos from Sunday click here

Monday, 24th July

Campers woke up this morning under a grey sky but very keen on enjoying their first day of the week. After having eaten a delicious breakfast, they took the road leading to the sports center for our first session of morning dodgeball. Whilst being very competitive, every one got to throw the ball around and try out new strategies based on the Roman army, using gymnastic mats as shields to counter the balls. This early warm-up ended on a crushing victory of the kids over tutors, who were wildly outnumbered.

Campers then went into their different morning groups. Creative did stop-motion and a bunch of new ideas were found very popular throughout the group. The English class went on a treasure hunt and very much enjoyed learning new words, in the most comical way. In sport, plenty of energy was spent in the sports hall during an incredible indoor football session. The brand new French class was launched today in L&E with 5 children eager to learn a new language. The session was highly engaging and all had a great time.

In the afternoon, the sporty amongst us tried their talents at a session of waterpolo. An intense, but fun effort, as always in sports here at L&E.

In adventure, another exciting treasure hunt was proposed to kids during the 1st half and a nice walk offsite to finish the session evolved.

The creative group started a music video with another great set of costumes for the children. The children when from set to set and had fun creating new scenes.

Dinner was a feast of fish, sausage and salad which was devoured by tutors and campers. It was then time for…”icebreakers” one of the most important nights of L&E. All teams gave their best in the different tasks that they had to do. Several sprints and egg throwing events were on the menu and hot chocolate was offered as a reward. Everyone went to bed, having had a great evening and looking forward to the new day at L&E!

For more photos from Monday click here

Tuesday, 25th July

After beginning the day with a sumptuous breakfast of scrambled eggs on toast, the campers of L&E prepared for the day ahead with the age old morning activity of dodgeball. They ducked, dived, dipped and dodged their way to success, and moved on to a variety of morning activities.

The adventure options today consisted of the all day adventure scuba diving experience, which proved extremely popular amongst campers, as well as extreme fire preparation for tonight’s campfire, and also provided the opportunity to cook a few morning treats. Vegetable based painting was the creative inspiration of the day, making pictures using onions, peppers and also potatoes.

The sporting endeavour this morning was indoor kickball, progressing from the previous dodgeball session to an energy fuelled competitive session were fun was had by all. I’m English the students went on a bear hunt, surveying the school grounds to find an elusive bear, whilst experiencing the versatile facilities aysgarth has to offer. Finally our French students studied and sampled the many aspects of a traditional French breakfast, working on their language skills all the while.

Following a cracker of a curry at lunchtime, the ever reliable British weather decided to give us a glorious afternoon, and henceforth an afternoon of outdoor themed activities commenced. The sport option was a return of the immensely popular touch rugby, where a small tournament engaged between students inclusive of all, no matter of age and rugby playing experience. The creative bunch excelled in tie dying socks, each turning a simple white pair into a psychedelic fashion statement that wouldn’t be out of place on any parisian runway. Due to the fortunate turn in weather, campers got another go on last week’s favourite, the waterslide, slipping and sliding their way to the bottom of our slope in a fun filled hour.

The daily swim was next, followed by a pizza, wedges and vegetables, with all left in the day now being the highly anticipated campfire. Down by the fireside we had many group performances, with camp favourites such as ‘boo-chicka-roo’ going down particularly well. Then some excellent solo performances from the likes of Greta and Siena were followed by campfire games and a toasted marshmallow or two. The day ended with a nice hot chocolate, and then all went to bed.

For more photos from Tuesday click here

Wednesday, 26th July

Sausages and bread, we had for breakfast (say fast in southern accent)
Then to dodgeball, where we had a blast
Whilst some of our brave adventurers
Took to the water to become canoe emperors

In creative, the children took to the hills
Creating papier mâché volcanos, oh such thrills
The sporting option for morning,
Indoor hockey, goals without warning

Some went for a walk
Wilson, the children had to stalk
Then a much-needed lunch
Noodles eaten by all with a munch

Whilst another group set off to canoe
Those left in camp had a quick brew
The shuttle cocks went flying,
Badminton the children were trying

In creative we danced with Hayley
A routine that we must practise daily
After dinner, we had some time to chill
To reflect on the day that was such a thrill

We watched Jungle Book, all snuggled together
Hoping that tomorrow, we’ll have nicer weather
The week is still young and we’re all excited
To continue our journey, all united.

For more photos from Wednesday click here

Thursday, 27th July

We all woke up this morning surprised how quickly the week is going. After a lovely breakfast and some dodgeball to wake everyone up, the excitement of the days events began.

In English classes horror stories were written, acted out and filmed ready for being presented at the Oscars awards tomorrow, along with music videos in French lessons.

In creative, final touches were made to the volcanoes created yesterdasy and they are now ready for erupting. Others used their creative skills to prepare for tonight’s theme night and we made and decorated piñatas.

Meanwhile, others were splashing about in the pool playing volleyball and the adventurers were off monkeying about climbing rock walls. After lunch, the fun exploded as rockets were created and blown off with water to shower everyone. A competitive tournament of indoor benchball and handball ensued and more adventurers went rock climbing.

We all enjoyed a deserved dinner and finally it was time to let the wild fun of the theme night – jungle book, to commence!

Costumes were put together and we all got into character of our favourite jungle animals. We embraced our musical sides with dancing, defeated piñatas, cracked riddles, painted and tested our pack abilities as wolves. In the end we succeeded in defeating sheer Khan and were able to create the firery ‘red flower’.

After all the excitement of the day it was time to wind down with some hot chocolate before heading to bed, where some impressive bedtime stories were told by Tashy, and everyone settled to bed, ready for tomorrow’s fun and games.

For more photos from Thursday click here

Friday, 28th July

After a fantastic and enjoyable Jungle Book theme night it took the campers a little longer to be roused from their beds this morning. However, when they made it downstairs there was a yummy breakfast was waiting for them as were the tutors with smiles on their faces.

Breakfast was soon done and dusted and it was then time for what is usually the fast and furious and fiercely competitive morning dodgeball however this morning there was a twist as also on offer was the more relaxing yoga to re- centre and prepare us ready for the day ahead.

As usual there were lots of different activities on offer this morning to cap off an exciting week. In French the group spent the morning rehearsing for their performance at the oscars which was epic! I think it is safe to say that all the girls have enjoyed learning French and have definitely improved with thanks to our resident French tutor Baptiste – it was lovely to see all of the group personally thank him at the Oscars.
In English this morning the group ventured out in the local town of Bedale with a list of items to find. All impressed and some creative options for some of the things on the list where found. Some campers took it upon themselves when asked to find a old thing to buy a financial times and change the year on it! Most items on the list where ticked off and everyone stayed together which was the most important thing to Sam and Paul! In creative they made the most of Hayley’s creative skills before she leaves us this weekend and made and launched water bottle rockets. They were a great success and shot high into the sky – make sure you check the videos out! One of the other creative options was making jigsaws out of the campers favourite things.

The sportsmen and women amongst the camp had a great morning playing extreme pool games – I am told a lot of splashing happened.

Food was on the agenda in adventure and the campers used the skills they had learnt earlier in the week to build a fire so that they could make bread and cook apples. Apparently they were yummy!

The afternoon saw the weekly L&E triathlon happening. With the shortage of any bikes the bike leg of the triathlon was changed to an obstacle course involving fancy dress and dribbling in and out of cones. The final finish was a scramble up the water slide to the line. The campers could choose to complete it in groups with one person doing each leg or individually and also the level of difficultly. The winning team on the longest course consisted of Simon, Matthew and Sam – special mention must go to Adrien who was close to the team time and he did it on his own.

Once the timers had been stopped and the winners calculated the daily swim commenced alongside with a highly competitive mini football match. Campers also took the time to do some drawing and explode the volcanos they built earlier in the week. Some of the campers also took the opportunity to rehearse in preparation for their performances at the Oscars this evening.

Then came the most anticipated night of camp…… the oscars. The dresses and ties were donned and that wasn’t just the tutors for an evening to celebrate what has been a highly successful week at L&E North. We enjoyed some fabulous performances including Sienna dancing, Fay singing, Hubert’s pub quiz , a dance from Georgi, charlotte, Maria, Sofia, a performance from the French group, a piano performance from Greta as well as all the usual videos and awards to honour all the amazing campers. The winner of the this weeks star camper was Greta, who was a popular choice amongst the campers and staff.

As the week draws to a close the sadness of saying goodbye to staff and campers who are leaving us this week starts but the memories of the times we have had together will last forever. L&E is such a special place and we are all lucky to be a part of it!
#LNENorth #week3 #summercamp #specialplace

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