It has been almost a year since pretty much every school on the planet closed its doors to the world’s youth, with homeschooling and online lessons having become the norm. It has been a tough time for everyone involved, teachers, school leaders, parents and guardians but most of all, for the kids.
A year ago, probably every single kid in the world would’ve jumped at the opportunity to have a year off school but now, a year on, things are a lot different. Yes, they’ve missed out on “professional teaching” (sorry parents) but most importantly, they have missed out on simple things that occur naturally in a school environment that one may not necessarily consider important – playing, socialising, being outdoors, face-to-face communication, problem solving and a lot, lot more. A year on and oh how the tables have turned. Every kid that I have spoken to recently is desperate to get back into school. They miss it. Who would’ve thought it?
While we are sure that all parents and guardians have done their utmost best to educate their kids over the past 12 months, and we know it’s been tough to maintain a homeschooling/work life balance, there is one opportunity to help them to catch up on some of the school time that they have missed and allow them to play, socialise, be outdoors, communicate in person, solve problems and more. That is summer school.
Summer school may seem like a very foreign concept to the British parent, after all, the majority of UK based summer schools market themselves as “English language summer schools,” but following a year indoors and out of school, it’s time to change that and not only open our doors to our friends from across the world, but also to our friends on our very own door step. Summer camp in America is such a big part of life, it is not even a question whether kids and teenagers should go, they go, no questions asked, and the benefits to those who attend include building confidence, being active, growing in independence, improving social skills, discovering new talents, developing academic and study skills and a whole lot more. Is it any wonder that basically every child in America goes to summer school? Who wouldn’t want that?
Buckswood Overseas Summer School (BOSS) had a very interesting chat recently with Christopher Green MBE, of the Summer Camps Trust. The Summer Camps Trust is a charity whose mission is, “to enable many more British young people to benefit from well-run residential Summer Camps in the UK.” During our conversation, we discussed how, “research has shown that time spent at Summer Camp has a profound influence on the development of young people and their attitudes to the world around them, as well as being a hugely enjoyable experience,” and that “despite the vast benefits, only 2% of the UK’s children currently take part in Summer Camps every year.” This is why the Summer Camps Trust is important as it mission is to “raise awareness and encourage young people’s participation in summer camps.”
One of our goals here at BOSS has always been to welcome more young British people through our doors. In an average week, we have up to 200 students made up of 40 plus nationalities, students who benefit from all of the amazing things that summer school has to offer and we would really like our very own nation’s youth to also benefit from, and enjoy such experiences.
In a normal year, BOSS is usually here, there and everywhere, sharing our courses with the world but due to the pandemic, this has not been possible (in person). This has finally allowed us the time to put some thought and effort into broadening our offerings in the hope of finally making summer school the norm for kids and teenagers across the UK. While of course, BOSS is still here for our students from across the globe, and we will of course still be offering our English language classes, we have introduced new courses including our Horse Riding Summer Camp, our Football Summer Camp, our Tennis Summer Camp and our summer catch up school including our Key Stage 2 Catch Up Course, our Key Stage 3 Catch Up Course and our Key Stage 4 Catch Up Course.
While it may seem that these courses each offer different things, all students, no matter what course they are on, or where they are from, will join together after lunch for our projects, afternoon and evening activities, excursions as well as living and eating together allowing one big, mind broadening, confidence building, independence growing, fun having, friend making, socialising, team working, life loving family.
In addition, our courses will take place in the heart of the East Sussex countryside on our beautiful campus in Guestling, near Hastings. After a year cooped up indoors, our students will find themselves in the greenest of places, with the freshest of air, in the safest of locations. Free to once more be themselves and do what all people their age should be doing – playing, socialising, being outdoors, communicating face-to-face, problem solving and a lot, lot more.
Remember, school is not just something that happens between September and June. It’s not just about learning how to spell, read and do maths. There is so much more to it than that. So much that kids have missed out on in the last year that a few weeks at Buckswood Overseas Summer School won’t be able to sort out.
As always, please let us know if you have any questions or require any further information.
Buckswood Overseas Summer School (BOSS) is a British Council accredited young learner language school for international students aged 8 to 17. To find out more, please visit www.buckswoodsummerschool.com or contact us here.
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