The founder of leading holiday camp provider, Academic Camp, has written a free magazine aimed at parents who are looking for opportunities to improve the educational and pastoral experiences of their children outside of their own school and home environments.

The magazine, Reach for Your Future, has been written by Academic Camp founder Helen Lami in response to an increasing demand from parents to widen the experiences of their children and to look outside of their own school provision or the family holiday to provide these.

This came alongside a need to show in greater detail what high-quality school holiday camps can look like for the young people who experience them – for both UK-based young people and also those from overseas.

Helen says the useful information booklet will help parents better understand the long-term value of sending their children on summer camps and highlights the significant difference summer camp experiences can make to a young person’s outlook and prospects.

“The right camp can provide invaluable experiences for the young people who take part in them,” says Helen. “Adventure mixed in with robust academic challenge in a new environment, with people they don’t know in any other part of their life, can have a profound effect on how they see things. It can really open up new perspectives for them.”

Helen is motivated by a drive to support young people to become resilient, determined and confident, so they understand their own potential whilst also grasping the need for hard work and humility. She says it’s an important combination to foster for children to grow into successful adults and one for which an environment such as a good summer camp is ideal.

“They know they are safe and nurtured whilst also having the kinds of opportunities that mean they can test themselves,” she says. “It’s perfect for supporting them to take big steps forward. There was a time when camps were simply about finding something to keep your child entertained during the summer holidays, but they’re about so much more than that now. The right camp can make a real difference to a child’s life chances.”

Helen has been running educationally-focused summer camps for the last 15 years and founded Academic Summer in 2008 when she realised there was a shortage of high-quality summer academic experiences for young people. She has since grown the business to be a global organisation and the firm now provides school holiday camp experiences in the UK and Canada. Now under the name Academic Camp, almost 60 different nationalities came together in the Canadian camp this summer and Helen says she is already really excited about what they have to offer in 2024.

“Parents have the reassurance of knowing that Academic Camp has a first-class reputation and an excellent bill of health with the British Accreditation Council,” says Helen. “Providing superb experiences for the young people who spend time with us — experiences that will broaden their minds and further increase their opportunities — is the driving force behind everything we do. I hope this booklet can be a really useful resource for parents in the pursuit of giving young people as many rich and varied opportunities as possible.”

Subjects in the magazine include how to apply for Oxbridge, comparing A levels with the International Baccalaureate known as the IB Diploma as well as the story behind Helen setting up Academic Camp. Themagazine can be found here:  https://www.academiccamp.org/magazine