Summer camps, Colony Holidays and ATE

[jomaguire]

I just want to recommend ATE Superweeks www.ate.org.uk on this thread as well, as a brilliant holiday. My 10 year old daughter can't wait to go for the third year, on her own again. Her friends also go on separate Superweeks - its much more fun to go alone and really good for making friends and confidence building. ATE is an educational trust and it gives fantastic residential training to the monitors. I do think it can be difficult sending your children away to summer camp (the French have been doing it for years), but I know this is a really good organisation, and we combine it with a long family holiday as well.

Its also a good chance for younger siblings to have a bit of attention.

Anyone remember Colony Holidays??

I loved them as a child in the 1970s. Its now turned into ATE and Chris Green is still involved.Have a look at the website.....

Yes-I do! Went on 4 in the 80s- Talybont on Usk twice, somewhere near bath once and a skiing one in Switzerland. Loved them so much and made so many friends. Can't wait to persuade my daughter to go on one.

Actually, Chris Green retired at the end of last year, but ATE is still going strong as I well know. I have four children who have all been on ATE holidays in recent times, and I can thoroughly recommend it. We used to have access to a caravan in Wales, a four hour drive away, and after the two eldest went away for the first time, they came back and entertained the younger two all the way with games and songs they had learned the previous week. Not once did we hear 'Are we nearly there yet?'. The easiest journey we have ever made in a car with all six of us togehter!! ATE take all the electronic stuff away and make kids do good old-fashioned outdoor stuff like tree climbing and den building - absolutely great

I posted this a week ago on another discussion but feel it should go in here too:
ATE Superweeks are most definitely the answer. They manage to cater activity wise for every child from the non-stop-games-fan to those who love art and craft, to the enthusiastic singer (often with little or no skill whatsoever!!) to the budding code-breakers and even those whose real love might be maths! They are active, imaginitive and wholesome holidays where children thrive and are treated as individuals whilst enjoying being part of a group (age related) and of the whole holiday. Accompanied travel is included in the very reasonable price. No tuck shops on site. Too busy having fun.
My dcs have ATEd at least once a year since they were all 9. Oldest 18, has now trained to work on them this summer. The fact that staff have to undergo an intensive, comprehensive and compulsory training course of 7 days minimum speaks volumes for the quality of the organisation. Could go on for pages - easier if you check them out online. Go on, send DCs, encourage them to take a friend each. Have a whole 7 days (including 7 evenings and a whole weekend to yourself - bliss!) It's a win-win situation.

hmmmm

My children left today for their very first ATE superweek. They're on the chocol-ATE AGM.

Just to say, they really enjoyed it and would willingly return next year.

Just had a poke on the website- it looks great.

I think my DS at 14 1/2 will consider himself too old... He gets to go to scout camp though still. :)

Is this still recommended or does anyone have any negative tales to tell stories ?

Can't work out why it is considerably cheaper than PGL.

We would fully recommend! My step daughter (now 12) went on one last year (a friend of ours recommended it who had been sending her 2 boys on superweeks for years) and she loved it so much she has convinced us to let her go again this year! She wanted to go twice....I said maybe next year!!

I was a bit nervous about sending her initially as she struggles to make friends and has been having problems with bullying at school. However she returned positively beaming! She seemed to have no problems fitting in and I really think it helped boost her confidence. It was really lovely to see her smiling again and chatting about her new friends she had made.

From what I gather the difference in price is because PGL offer more 'action' activities such as kayaking, rock climbing, etc. ATE seems to have a more old-fashioned ethos to the activities and do things such as games, den building, story-time, singing, etc. My step-daughter does the 'action' activities at school and I much prefer the idea of her getting the real human interactivity she gets doing the ATE activities....those are certainly my favourite memories as a child!

Thanks 28abcd

From reading the info available on-line I'd come to the same conclusions re the activities offered during the superweeks and the emphasis on friendship etc.

The only thing stopping me using them this year is that they don't take childcare vouchers and we have saved up lots of vouchers to pay for summer holiday childcare. PGL do take the vouchers and we have to use them before a certain date.

I also wish ATE would take childcare vouchers - as it is we have the vouchers so pgl wins even though the ATE ethos would probably be better suited to my DDs.

Any ideas why they don't/can't?

Hello, I wrote from Spain. I have a 16 year old son who loves drama. He wants to study later in London. It seems a good idea for now consider some interpretation in summer school. But you need accommodation, food and someone to take care of him. Does anyone know any camp or acting class for my child to spend a few days of summer? thanks

I'm pretty sure it's because they're a not-for-profit, and being registered to take those sort of voucher schemes can cost quite a bit as I understand (I have a nursery manager friend).
ATE are by far the cheapest provider but it's because all thier staff are volunteers. A double win - easier on the purse, but you're DCs will be looked after by people who actually want to be there!

Oh how I loved the colony holidays! I was lucky enough to go three years on the run, I went to Featherstone Castle in Haltwhistle for the first one, and then ?Hartford Hall Hereford twice. If anyone is considering sending their children on one of these, now known as ATE you will not be disappointed. The activities, games, confidence building and of course new friendships are just wonderful. Incidentally, does anyone remember them as colony holidays in the 1970s? If so where did you go to, I have found Featherstone Castle and will be visiting the area this year, but I cannot find Hartford Hall, I would love to go and have a look at it again.

I LOVED my Colony Holidays. I also went to Featherstone, somewhere in Cornwall, a school near Hereford and Stornoway on Lewis. I remember we all had to go to church there and having to get as far away from the town as possible to play games on a Sunday afternoon as the Outer Hebrides still at that time treated Sundays as a quiet day! It was also an horrific journey. Soooo disappointed when I outgrew them. I loved them so much that I ended up being a monitor and did this throughout my uni years! I suspect I really treated this as an extension of my childhood. I occassionally surprise my kids my launching into a Colony Holiday song (still have my song book!) and even used games when teaching. When I was older I did a PGL - not as much fun, just so much more commercial. Am considering ATE for my one of my girls this summer. Any thoughts?

I would definitely also recommend Global Future Fit: www.globalfuturefit.com for anybody who want their child/teen/young adult to learn more about healthy eating, physical activity, get fit and healthy and have lots of fun at the same time.