Children’s holiday clubs for thrill-seekers

Hands up who wants more excitement this summer?  We took the traditional children’s holiday club and ripped off the boundaries, tipped in some street dance, added a bucket full of tennis balls, and created a whole new summer holiday experience.  It’s called Holiday Academy!

Our children’s holiday clubs are fun multiplied by 99.  They are made from a diverse and exciting blend of activities – from tennis and kayaking to street dance, contemporary art, and singing lessons.  Read on to find out more about our recipe for a fabulous summer…

Children’s holiday clubs can be same.

If you’re scrolling the web looking for something different for your kids, then press pause!  Holiday Academy was founded by professional opera-singer Ruth, which set the bar for exceptionally talented coaches and teachers from all areas of the syllabus.  She now works with professional football coaches, actors, and world-class choreographers to deliver an impressive schedule of amazing experiences for your kids. 

Summer camps in London

Holiday Academy is based near Camden in NW1, London.  We’re ideally located for kayaking on the canal (with Pirate Castle), building dens on Hampstead Heath, and taking trips to sketch pictures at the Tate Modern.  It’s a brilliant setting to give your kids an unconventional summer-camp education.

Living in London means that lots of kids spend too much time indoors.  We work to change that.  Our Forest School runs alongside Holiday Academy – it’s on every single day of the school holidays.  Whatever the weather, our Forest School leaders set off from HQ in London and take the kids on a lifetime’s worth of adventure.  With den-building, firestarting, whittling and campfire snacks on the agenda, the kids will find a new love for the outdoors – it was probably in their bones all along. 

Our summer camp may be situated in England, but we encourage our Forest Schoolers to adopt a can-do attitude.  With appropriate clothes and footwear, they can enjoy lots of outdoor fun in every kind of weather.  Our Forest School leaders take a giant tarpaulin for shelter during rain.  So there’s nothing to stop you from booking four weeks of Forest School: it’s a perfect antidote to our high-tech, goal-oriented culture.

Wraparound care from summer clubs near you

Holiday Academy runs a daily schedule from 10am-4pm, with additional hours available from 8.30-6pm.  Our summer clubs are perfect for working parents – with the peace of mind that your kids are getting really valuable experiences. 

We strive to provide a broad, exciting experience that kids can’t get at school, offering different activities and special people.  From world-class choreographer Monica Dhinn to an outstanding range of singing and drama coaches, the experts at Holiday Academy gives your kids something really valuable.  Here are some of the activities that make up a daily timetable at our summer club:

• Art: Laura X Carle visits to run original art workshops. Nothing is out of bounds – from building characters to making a giant machine, her work is wild and imaginative, and the kids get a massive surge of creativity from it.
• Music and Singing: Vocal coaches like Lisa Panther, who helps the kids to write their own compositions, come in to run some of the most fun workshops in our day. We sometimes feature violin or percussion and other musical sessions – ask what’s on!
• Sport: Our coaches plan lots of physical activities to suit all the children, from age 3 upwards. We usually include a sport session before lunch and sometimes another in the afternoon – with optional football sessions at 4pm.
• Drama: Emma Stanford leads an engaging drama programme at Holiday Academy.  She’s great at encouraging all the kids to participate in their own ways.
• Yoga: A recent addition – Anita Looby comes in to run wonderfully peaceful and positive yoga workshops.  It’s a skill that can be a real asset to the kids if it’s started early.
• Kayaking: A Holiday Academy favourite! We walk groups down to Pirate Castle on the canalside.  This community project offers kayaking for kids from beginners up.  Kids often love it so much that they want to go back.  Check with us when kayaking days will be available, because they book up quickly.

Booking summer clubs near you

You can book your Holiday Academy holiday clubs online.  There’s the classic, diverse Holiday Academy (based on our premises) and our dedicated Forest School (which meets here and sets off for a park).  If you’re looking for a specific activity, get in touch and let us know.  We often feature street dance, and sometimes run football sessions or drama summer clubs – depending on the group and their interests. We will publish our line-up on the website a few weeks in advance of the summer holidays.  But if you’d like to book something special then contact us for first news on this.