Great summer programmes for secondary school pupils?

[dutchlinda]

Inspired by another post this week about virtual summer programs, I thought I'd write to ask ANY great (and perhaps, slightly educational?) summer programs for secondary school students these days.

I feel I hear about things others are doing, like Smallpeice Trust described in the other post, but only too late. I thought I'd keep a nice list to think of for my DC in the future, who are very bored of the local camps they go to.

Anything in London is great, but overnight camps are great as well!

I’d split the list by what you want the summer to do: subject stretch, confidence, independence, or just something more interesting than childcare. For secondary-age children, I would ask school departments what they actually rate, then check university outreach, museums, libraries, sports/arts providers and reputable residential schemes. The best programmes are often the ones with a clear purpose, not the shiniest brochure.

I can't and won't recommend Smallpeice. I've posted about our experiences on here before, probably under this username. Please advance search.

Whereas I loved , sorry DC loved, the Royal Institution courses. Lots of choice, practical, supportive to DC with special needs.

Spyder Outreach was amazing for my DD, she took part last year and it was one of the highlights of her summer. They're highly selective, so they're picking the most capable students not just academically but the most interested. They ran 2 online sessions a week for 3 weeks, filled with philosophical conversations, debates, sociology and media classes. I can't reccomend it enough, the teacher was amazing, the other students were respectful and friendly and it cost £150, for essentially the same experience that my DD got taking part in the John Locke Summer School - which is in-person and at Oxford- but she actually preferred Outreach.