What did your teens do in the long summer between A levels and university? Help needed for a downcast teen!

[WhatDidIComeInThisRoomFor]

Longer post below but the jist is - what did your slightly lonely teenager do in their long holiday if it wasn’t full time work or a group / lads’ vacation?

I would like to help my DS form some sort of plan for his summer between A levels and uni. 3 whole months seems like a luxury and also a lot of time to fill. It goes without saying that he ideally needs to get a job (unhelpfully we will be relocating away from where we live in the summer but not sure of timing yet) but he is also looking for ideas for travel or volunteering or something else.

He has a nice male friend group but they are indecisive and won’t commit to any plans. He’s the only one without a gf and all his mates seem terrified to make a decision without checking in with their gfs. They also want to have holidays with their gfs (most of whom are in different friend groups) and understandably DS doesn’t want to be a gooseberry on a couples holiday.

He’s absolutely not interested in a lads beach, bars, clubbing type holiday. He’s friendly but introverted in that he needs space to himself to recharge in between socialising. He would like to interrail or explore. I’ve had a quick look for organised solo travel but they advertise as 18-35 and that seems like quite an age spread - aimed at young professionals or graduate
ages rather than school leavers really.

Any and all ideas / experiences gratefully received!

I run a charity (food bank). Last summer we had one of these - lovely young guy with time to kill before uni. He joined every shift (3-4 times a week), got involved with everything we could throw at him, learnt absolutely everything about the work we do. He left with a glowing reference and walked in to a paid student job. Not for everyone but clearly it suited him and us.

My kids both did camp america, great experience for them.

Thank you all - so many amazing ideas and routes here to get him started. I really appreciate the input!

I second the Camp America suggestion.

If he wants to do it he needs to get organised fast.

My Dd did Camp America but she was doing a btech which she had to finish half a term early to get there on time.
She went back the next year as well. Would have gone a 3rd time but for covid

Camp.America hires science and tech counselors.

The kids are old enough to be away for a few weeks at the camps, and those interested in the science and tech offerings tend to be pretty geeky.

It's a really good idea for him to use these years to build a CV and to stretch himself, do stuff that's outside his comfort zone.

Having work experience is incredibly important. He will be interviewing against people who have references and varied work experiences when he graduates. He may even find himself interviewing for internships while at university. Candidates with documented work experience have a better chance of being hired.

The best thing would be to get a job and learn a few skills - the basics of cooking, laundry etc if he hasn't already learned these. Maybe a summer school in a non academic subject that interests him - like playing guitar or tennis or coding.

Then as the summer develops, he'll find out who is free last minute to do some inter-railing or to go on a long weekend to Budapest or Berlin. he may have a girlfriend by then, or new friends from where he works. Life changes a lot at that age.

We booked a holiday that both teen DC said they didn't want to go on but we chose self catering with spare bedrooms so when the time came, if they were free, they could change their minds, which they did and we had a lovely time.

Mine cooked at least one meal a week in preparation for uni. I got him a couple of cookbooks for him to select recipes from.

Week long sailing course

eg.
https://www.boss-sail.co.uk/dofe/teenagers-rya-competent-crew-course

https://investin.org/products/the-young-computer-scientist-summer-experience?nbt=nb%3Aadwords%3Ax%3A19722900656%3A%3A&nb_adtype=&nb_kwd=&nb_ti=&nb_mi=&nb_pc=&nb_pi=&nb_ppi=&nb_placement=&nb_li_ms=&nb_lp_ms=&nb_fii=&nb_ap=&nb_mt=&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAABxWps19vNTBsAJT0Ar06NTDfpjzC&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0uicrKqqiwMVaJVQBh3dZSm-EAAYASAAEgJAxvD_BwE

just found this

https://www.techcamp.org.uk

4 weeks of youth hostels across Europe, the rest of the time working 4 days a week (Wednesday through Saturday) and seeing friends and family.

Also did a Teach Yourself To Sew course to learn altering charity shop purchases to fit , which she had a great time with and has saved her a fortune.

Ds will work, he is a lifeguard and also is planning a solo walking trip in France. We expect him to work to save some money for uni. Most of his friends will also work but none seem to want a lads holiday.

I worked 70 hours a week in a care home and went to uni loaded even though minimum wage at the time was only £4.20 an hour. Wish I’d put those earnings into shares and not spent them in Vodka Revolution!

There’s such a variety of things here isn’t there ☺️.

Fabulous!

Mine went interrailing for 3 weeks with a friend - I'd highly recommend something like that as it gave him a load of confidence and independence that he didn't have before. Has your DS got one friend who is reliable and he's close enough to who would consider something like that?

He then spent a lot of the summer doing as many shifts as he could in his part time job to save for uni (after spending a fair bit on his travels).

Worked the festival circuit camping with a mate. It was good life experience and they managed to see lots of bands and save money.

They both worked and took a holiday with their boyfriends

(unhelpfully we will be relocating away from where we live in the summer but not sure of timing yet)

My parents did exactly that and to be honest I found it very hard. First time living away from home and not able to go home to my longstanding friendship group in the vacations. I hated it.

It might be worth having some contingency plans to make sure he can see his old mates when he comes home at Christmas wherever you happen to be living.

Sorry - a bit off topic, but it jumped out at me.

There are lots of volunteers programmes he needs to look
https://helpstay.com/

Worked full-time in cafe/coffee shop roles.

Although one got a job as a verger at the local church.

But definitely worked for money which they saved to help support themselves through university..

Ds went interrailing with friends. It worked well as those who had other commitments could join for just part of the trip.

Sorry to jump on but how did your DC manage to get involved in that? I think my DD would love to do that. Thanks

You can do Work USA / Canada too - or at least you used to be able to go the summer before uni. You need a sponsor / job lined up these days I think - eg hospitality / theme parks etc where they provide accommodation and helps if you can drive. You can work in kitchen at Camp America you dont have to be a counsellor - but there will be non sporty kids so music / science / engineering / art skills etc also wanted. My dc were really lazy and apart from going to a festival and family holiday and a tiny bit of work wasted the time really. It was post covid so jobs were not plentiful. Tutoring may be an option. Have a look at Contiki 18-22 for group holidays. if he is brave he can go interraling by himself and meet people on way. There are facebook sites etc for people to find travel companions. Boys are flaky but sometimes when one person sorts something out others will join.

I still remember the interracial trip I did with one friend nearly 40 years ago. If money not priority try to find something fun which looks good on a cv eg cap America or volunteering.