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Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

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Original poster

Do secondary school children go to half term holiday camps?

70 replies

QuintessentialShadows · 18/10/2013 10:23

DS1 is in Y7 at an independent secondary. No information about half term camps. Half term is different to his brother in a state primary, so next week (and today, and the following Monday so 10 days in total)
Most his classmates "are going to Rome"

We only have an overlap of one day, so could possibly go away for the weekend. But I have now 2 weeks at home with children.

What do secondary school kids do during half term?

Are they home alone? Hang with mates?

I work from home, so for me this is very inconvenient.

DS is adjusting/improving all his nerf guns, using saws, sand paper and has asked for a power drill. He is noisy. The new design is so powerful the darn gun shoots 40 meters across the green outside our house.

I am going to be insane by the end of both these half term breaks

OP posts:

Everhopeful · 20/10/2013 12:37

I also feel your pain, Quint, having spent a long time in the same position! One of the problems with working from home is that no one seems to get that you do have to do stuff: it's all considered optional, especially when what you're doing is trying to get your next paid gig. TBH, I don't remember getting much info from primary and wouldn't expect it from secondary.

Whilst I would also expect my DD to keep herself entertained most of the time, I've no fondness for her spending much of her life in front of the box (the inevitable result of this) and prefer her to have something specific to do at least some of the time. Y7s don't need constant watching, but they do need some structure to their day still and, since your ds won't have many of his new friends around, he'd have to look at his old ones - what's the story there? I must admit when saying this that I've often found it hard to explain to parents of some of DD's old friends that I'm not really proposing staying with the kids, that I expect them to entertain each other within reason.

Have you had a look at www.all4kids.co.uk/ ? They're very helpful and will look for you if you're struggling. Like nancy says, most of the offerings are geared to younger ones for very good reason, but if you can identify a specific interest, there are things for older ones. In particular, I've seen drama well-supported, if your ds isn't that sporty.

Everhopeful · 20/10/2013 12:38

Impressed at his prowess with the nerf guns btw!

JenaiMorris · 20/10/2013 12:59

Agree they need structure. Last summer I was plying ds with hard cash (still cheaper than holiday clubs) to get him to leave the bloody house and go into town with his mates. Anything to get him off the xbox. Shit parenting on my part, but then I'm fairly lame in the parenting stakes all round

JenaiMorris · 20/10/2013 13:07

www.1bigdatabase.org.uk/

This is for stuff round our way - is there something similar in That London? There must be, surely.

motherinferior · 20/10/2013 13:23

I will mostly be working from home. Invite other kids over for the day - that keeps them occupied - do reciprocal swap with other parents, and pay obliging teenagers to do stuff with them and to take them to the park (this is more for the 10 year old than the 12 year old but in all honesty I have to work so cannot put up with the loafing in and out of my office alleging boredom).

Original poster

QuintessentialShadows · 20/10/2013 22:52

Thank you all.

Despite the initial "why dont you send your kids to boarding school if you dont want to spend time with them" which I found terribly unnecessary and hurtful, I am glad I posted.

Thank you to all the posters offering sympathy, and ideas what to do. We are sorted now, he will be very wet, he will spend the next two days being rained on, and in/on the river but looking forward to it. Then we get three days together before going on a long weekend hiking. Perfect mix of some interesting activities, chilling time at home doing stuff just with me, and family time for three days over the weekend. Then the following week, I repeat a similar schedule with ds2. lol lol lol. x 3

OP posts:

basildonbond · 21/10/2013 07:43

Glad you're sorted for this half term but for future ones Merton council do loads of stuff for pre-teens/early teens inc water sports so well worth a look and not too far from you I think

My problem with half terms is with my y9 ds2 - aspergers and dyspraxic so most sporty things are out, and cripplingly
shy so anything involving collaborative effort or being sociable is out too. He has friends at school but they are 'school friends' (his mind is v compartmented) and when I've suggested meeting up with them during the holidays he looks at me like I've grown another head ..if left to his own devices he would be on the computer every waking hour

uggmum · 21/10/2013 07:48

My dd is 14 and went on a Camp Beaumont holiday in the summer. She loved it. She did a multi activity holiday.

We booked it at the last minute and got 50% off the price. It really was a bargain. It was £269 for 7 days. That included all food, accom and activities.

She loved it so much we have re-booked for next summer already.

Vivacia · 21/10/2013 08:54

So is is quite common for the schools to not suggest anything or offer information when they reach secondary?

The mind boggles.

Ladymuck · 21/10/2013 10:17

Quint, are you sure that ds1 is definitely back at school for the 2nd week? That is unusual, and a 2 week halfterm is far more common.

Original poster

QuintessentialShadows · 21/10/2013 10:31

Ladymuck, his half term dates are 18-28 inclusive - so just 10 days. I have double and triple checked. His other half term and holiday dates follow ds2s primary, except for Christmas, he breaks on the 11th!!

He met an old school friend from primary at the center! They are not in the same group, but at least a face he knows and likes!

I am very happy and eternally grateful to errol for the suggestion. I think both my boys will spend a lot of time there in future!

Personally, dh and I have done a windsurfing course earlier (he has kept it up and is quite good, I stink at it) and I nearly finished my RYA stage one sailing, but then the weather turned so could not complete and then holiday was over. Maybe now the kids are older we can go back to that sort of thing.

OP posts:

ErrolTheDragon · 21/10/2013 16:19

I am very happy and eternally grateful to errol for the suggestion

Quint - I take it you found somewhere via the RYA website? Good! Though you may not thank me if your DSs turn out like my windsurf/sailing obsessed DD ... depends on your toleration for cold water (either in it or standing watching in the rain). Sailing is definitely something that you can get back into alongside kids though!

Original poster

QuintessentialShadows · 21/10/2013 17:58

I need to dig out my old windsurfing boots. I have them somewhere! He had such a great day!

And better, we are sharing transport tomorrow with other old primary friend.

OP posts:

bigTillyMint · 21/10/2013 18:05

Quint, if you are near Dulwich College, they do a club for 5 - 14's and it looks to be on this week.

bigTillyMint · 21/10/2013 18:06

OOps, just seen you have sorted it!

ErrolTheDragon · 21/10/2013 18:11

Fantastic! To quote Ratty:'there is NOTHINGabsolute nothinghalf so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing' (I'll include boards in with that).

When we re-started sailing (and started windsurfing) when DD reached an appropriate age, not only did my wetsuit no longer fit (unsurprising) but neither did my boots!

Original poster

QuintessentialShadows · 21/10/2013 18:12

My boots are size 4! My shoe size after two pregnancies is is more like 5.5.

OP posts:

Original poster

QuintessentialShadows · 21/10/2013 18:17

'there is NOTHINGabsolute nothinghalf so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing'

I agree with that. I spent my childhood on boats. My dad had two.
One he had himself made out of a German aircraft he "acquired". That was ONE mean boat, because the body of the boat was an airplane he could steer it all the way up to the beach. It just cut through the waves, And a normal "fishing yacht".

OP posts:

Want2bSupermum · 21/10/2013 18:19

I see you sorted it out but in the future you might want to consider adventure weekends away. My Dad has up signed up for PGL trips mid week. It wasn't that expensive and we slept away overnight. As a single parent it was a life saver for him.

My family were one of the ones who 'went away for half term'. Truth be told my Dad was working and we were confined to the hotel room doing homework with housekeeping paid to keep an eye on us. For one day we would be sent on a tour and my Dad would have the hotel set up a culture day for us. To others it sounded extremely glam but it was as dull as dishwater while stuck in the hotel room. PGL breaks were so much better.

ErrolTheDragon · 21/10/2013 18:21

Blimey. I'll predict that a few years hence your DS will doing his DIY on boats or boards instead of Nerf guns!

Aren't you glad now that his school didn't provide a list of approved activities?

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