Learn & Experience

Why a Multicultural Environment is Good for Young People?

What Does Culture Mean?

According to Oxford Dictionary culture is ‘the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society’ and in addition to that – ‘the attitudes and behaviour characteristic of a particular social group’.

Culture in Early Years

Jennie Lindon describes in her article ‘Cultural diversity in the early years’ that by young children developing a sense of their own identity through their family life they can then learn about other cultures out with the family unit. These experiences away from the family are of great importance and help broaden the understanding of other cultures.

https://www.communityplaythings.co.uk/learning-library/articles/cultural-diversity-in-the-early-years

Learning Languages

Learning a second language is easier for a child as their brains are designed to absorb new information unconsciously.  Check out this TED Talk where Patricia Kuhl explains how babies listen to the sounds around them. 

Multicultural Workplaces

Tim Cook, CEO of apple has been clear that he sees diversity as vital to the future of Apple. In 2013, he used an article in the Wall Street Journal to share his belief that “people are more willing to give of themselves when they feel that they selves are being fully recognised and embraced”. In 2015, he said that diversity “is the future of our company”.

https://www.apple.com/diversity/

What a Multicultural Environment Means to L&E

Learn & Experience have a very clear vision. Creating experiences to bring together young people from around the world while keeping to a simple principle: Happy Children Thrive!  L&E offer experiences for young people which include World Camps, Teen Travel and Open Minds and we have been bringing the world’s youth together since 2009.  We firmly believe that being exposed to people from all over the world and from many different backgrounds at a young age is hugely beneficial.  Each one of our programmes is designed to allow young people to have an amazing experience whilst being surrounded by a diverse group of people.  Want to join one of our programmes click HERE to read what we have in store for 2023!

L&E Parent Talks About the Importance of a Multicultural Program for her Children

Learn & Experience programmes include World Camps, Open Minds and Teen Travel

The Learn and Experience Podcast

Check out our Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play and all the other usual places. We put a spotlight on remarkable young people and explore the world they live in. Subscribe and get your weekly fix of youth related chit chat. 

2022 Programme Launched

It is with great please that we are able to launch our much anticipated 2022 programme.

Programmes Available in UK & Canada

2022 Dates & Prices

YGL Blog 2019

Monday 15th July

The L&E Young Global Leaders programme is a very unique opportunity for young people from around the world to come together to learn and understand what makes good young leaders.  In our small team we have participants from Hong Kong, Spain, Russia, Italy, Sweden, Germany, France and UK.  Now if that isn’t what Young Global Leaders should be all about then I don’t what is!!?

We started on Monday morning with a brief questionnaire about our expectations and what we felt our strengths and weaknesses were.  We then spent quite a bit of time introducing each other and getting to know one another.  My gosh…these young leaders are so incredibly interesting.  Their dreams and ambitions are astounding but with a firm belief and commitment to achieve them.

We then looked at some well known leaders and discussed their attributes…Trump, Merkel, Messi, Sir Alex Ferguson, Mandela and Greta Thunberg.

It was certainly an interesting discussion as you can imagine!

The afternoon session included some camp fire cooking skills that will hopefully come in useful for the Wilderness trip later on in the week…

Tuesday, 16th July

Tuesday brought some problem solving to the table.  It was a team effort but there were certainly some characters that came to the fore with some astute leadership skills…all with different styles mind you.

You may have heard of Edward de Bono!? A Maltese modern day psychologist who came up with an interesting theory about different ways of thinking within a team.

When making a collective decision it’s always good to have members of the team who behave and look at things differently.  It’s called The 6 Thinking Hats.

Six distinct directions are identified and assigned a color. The six directions are:

• Managing Blue – what is the subject? what are we thinking about? what is the goal? Can look at the big picture.
• Information White – considering purely what information is available, what are the facts?
• Emotions Red – intuitive or instinctive gut reactions or statements of emotional feeling (but not any justification).
• Discernment Black – logic applied to identifying reasons to be cautious and conservative. Practical, realistic.
• Optimistic response Yellow – logic applied to identifying benefits, seeking harmony. Sees the brighter, sunny side of situations.
• Creativity Green – statements of provocation and investigation, seeing where a thought goes. Thinks creatively, outside the box.

This was an incredibly rewarding session where the team were given the task of planning a birthday party and designing the Best Summer Camp (pretty tough competition out there I’ve heard!!??)

They were given different “hats” to see if they were able to think differently and also were able to choose the “hat” that they were most comfortable with.

We hope that the skills learnt will be beneficial to them for the rest of their lives.

Wednesday brings a very exciting proposition…The Wilderness Experience.  Plans have been made and now just the expedition itself is there to complete.  We look forward to telling you all about it tomorrow.  Till then….

Click for YGL Photos

North Camp 1 Blog 2019

Sunday, 7th July, 2019

Once the parents had left and the children were checked in, everybody met outside. 

The children were drawn in, as if hypnotised, towards the luscious smell of a crackling BBQ. Burgers that would melt in your mouth were complemented by a beautiful green salad. Many of the children had been to the camp before and were hugging and catching up. Many were new and had never been to the camp before, but got involved in the games straight away and were introducing themselves. We always remind the children to look after each other, especially when they’re nervous. BE KIND, BE KIND, BE KIND.

THEN, the games began…

Stuck in the Mud was the most exhausting game. Everybody was sweating and running for water. I am expecting that all of us will be very fit by the end of the week, even the children that pretended to be tagged so that they could hide from running. This was very funny. We also played some new games like “Captain’s Coming” where children pretended to be pirates scrubbing the decks and had to had to get into groups of 2, 3, 4, or 6. British Bulldog was probably the most fun game. The children had to run between a wall of tutors and reach the other side of the field without getting caught. They were very good at this because many children are very very fast, ESPECIALLY Fred. 

After an evening of fun and games, we were rewarded with hot chocolate and marshmallows. YUM. 

Then, the children went to their bedrooms, got ready for bed and started relaxing together. Some of them were doing face masks, some were reading, and some were just laughing together. I really look forward to the rest of the week. 

Click for more photos

Monday, 8th July, 2019

After a night of getting to know each other the kids enjoyed their first breakfast at L&E! There was lots of choice, including good ol’ English crumpets (an English delicacy). 

To get warmed up, we played a big game of dodgeball while listening to fun music. Lots of dance moves were made. 

Then after, the kids could segregate into the Creative, Adventure, and Sport activities. For Creative the kids could make themselves a superhero and do yoga (as taught by the expert Hayley). For Adventure there was den-making! The kids really got into making their stick-dens as homely as possible. One of the dens had a shelf with plants and decorations. Some of the dens had doors… or even toilets! For sport there was ULTIMATE frisbee and rugby. The kids really got stuck into this and were very quick learners. 

Biscuit Time at morning break was very funny. Some of the children (not naming any names) were using very intelligent tactics to get more biscuits than they were allowed, including creating silly diversions. 

In the afternoon, Horse riding started – which was “AWESOME!”. Dexter was as reliant as ever so Valentina was very happy. Blue is a new horse and Carla feels she’ll be able to jump really well.

For the BIG event of the day there were EPIC Ice Breaker Games. A personal highlight was wearing a pair of tights on our heads that was filled with a ball. We then used the hanging ball to knock over cups. We all looked like hilarious anglerfishes (definitely worth a Google by the way). Sam performed an excellent demonstration. 

Afterwards, lots of pictures were taken with volunteers who were wrapped in toilet paper to look like funny mummies. Chubby Bunny was another highlight. This involved children squishing as many marshmallows into their mouth as possible, while saying “chubby bunny”. There was lots of laughing. The record holder of L&E Chubby Bunny squeezed a ridiculous 22 marshmallows in their mouth! However, the funniest faces were pulled in the Chocolate Challenge where volunteers would have to only use their face to move an After Eight Chocolate from their forehead into their mouth. 

The kids have now had their hot chocolate and are in bed, ready for tomorrow!

Click to see more photos

Tuesday, 9th July, 2019

Day two kicked off with a scrumptious combination of eggy bread and baked beans which seemed to go down a treat. That was followed by an intense, yet friendly game of dodgeball which was perfectly accompanied by the soothing voice of Leona Lewis in the background. 

The morning activity of forest art gave the kids the opportunity to get some fresh air and be creative, while the scuba diving allowed the children to try something new. Due to the slightly damp conditions, football was played in the state of the art sports hall facility for our sportier campers. Nobby the chef pulled out all the stops with a lovely chicken curry to round off the morning activities. 

Hockey and camp fire building took place in the afternoon, alongside another thrilling scuba diving session. The kids then enjoyed a panini for the evening meal, before we all gathered round the camp fire for some hearty songs from around the world with some delicious toasted marshmallows. Finally, the day was rounded off with some hot chocolate which ended the evening on a high before bed time.

Click for Day 3 Photos

Wednesday, 10th July, 2019

The sun rose upon the grounds of Aysgarth for the first Wednesday of camp following an overnight rainfall that could only have been summoned by Thor premeditating his upcoming theme night appearance. A uniquely British serving of a platter of various meats and rolls provided the fuel for the high-octane day ahead.

Bucking the age-old L&E dodgeball tradition, we started the morning with a game of musical statues, with shapes being thrown by the campers that frankly defied description. The morning adventure activity was extreme capture the flag, a tactical game which engulfed the campers in physical and mental strategy. In our English lessons the campers were testing their skills of description and communication with various character themed games, before cooperating by following a traditional English recipe and baking a Victoria sponge cake which rumour has it would have earned a Paul Hollywood handshake. Wimbledon fever hit North Yorkshire, as our campers channelled their inner Heather Watson’s and Rafael Nadal’s in a riveting tennis session, whilst the creative stars showed their urban side by producing both indoor and outdoor chalk drawings that would rival Banksy’s finest work.

All the while, throughout both morning and afternoon we had a special off-site adventure activity of canoeing, with campers breathing in the full magnificence of the Yorkshire countryside from an unusual waterborne viewpoint.

After a classic burger and salad lunch, the afternoon got underway, and my word what an afternoon it was. Our creative option was a one stop trip to Karoakeville, with a relaxed and familiar sing song session that everybody got really involved in. The on-site adventurers went scavenger hunting, solving a combination of riddles and anagrams to find an avengers themed solution. The basketball participants had the honour of being mentored by a former North Wales champion, and the level of skill shown in the session resembled Dylan Hughes in full flight.

To conclude another action-packed day, campers further embezzled themselves into tomorrows theme night spirit by watching The Avengers. Movie night provided a calm end to the third day of what has been a brilliant start to our 2019 L&E adventure, and post hot chocolate the campers snuggled in bed looking forward to the exciting possibilities ahead tomorrow.

Click for Day 4 Photos

Thursday, 11th July, 2019

The day began with everyone excited to start the 5^th day of camp! After an early night following movie night, we were raring to go for theme night! But before that, all the days exciting activities needed to take place! Morning began with a scrumptious breakfast of scrambled eggs to help fuel the first decision of the day – Bench ball, Water polo and the chance to make some gorgeous chocolate truffles! 

Bench ball was tremendous fun, being the goalie is boring though! You’re not allowed to move and have to stay on the bench! The kids just want to run around! The kids got to test out their baking skills as well, by making chocolate truffles! They ended up being really nice and fluffy, with exciting toppings like coconut and chocolate sprinkles. Water polo was great too, the kids pushed Jack and Connor in the pool, but it was such a success that we decided to do it again in the afternoon! 

The afternoon began with a yummy roast dinner. It gave the kids an opportunity to try some traditional British food. Honestly, it’s the best!! Badminton provided the kids the chance to test out their racket skills, with Emma, who used to compete competitively, providing her excellent expertise. Excitingly, with the sun shining, the opportunity for the first waterslide of camp! It was so so much fun and everyone got really really wet, and a little bit soapy too! Everyone needed a shower after…

As an alternative to Badminton, there was also the first L&E Strictly Come Dancing lesson! This involved Sophie teaching a Cha Cha Cha, Waltz and Samba to some keen dancers, who had loads of sass and style. Paul and Simon were the star pair, having a Cha Cha worthy of a 10/10! 

All throughout the day, Sam was taking people climbing! It’s a bit scary hanging off a rope that high, but it’s incredible fun.

After a dinner of chicken pasta, we got to participate in theme night, all the tutors were dressed as their favourite Avenger – Jack got painted all purple, he was Thanos, the bad guy of the evening. After competing challenges testing our strength, speed and mind, we proved we were better than the Avengers, and got to throw water balloons at Thanos (purple Jack). After this, a big water fight broke out, a silly end to another fantastic day at L&E!

Click for Day 5 Photos

Click for Horse Riding Photos

Friday, 12th July, 2019

Life is not about the amount of breathes you take, it’s the moments that take your breath away, this was the belief the L&E campers had throughout the day. With the end of the week lingering, the anticipation for the L&E Oscars evening was at fever pitch. The only thing holding back the excitement was the fear of missing out on capturing the grand prize of star camper.

Dodgeball in the morning was naturally not met with any boredom even if it was the fifth session of the week, dodgeball enthusiasm shows no sign of decreasing at this rate with these happy campers. An extreme and very safe adventure activity of tree climbing was only ventured by only the very elite campers.  Creating a better Oscars presented by names such as Chris Rock and Jimmy Kimmel is no easy fetch, thankfully our most creative campers were on hand to create an event with more ambiance than a candlelit dinner. France is known for wine, cheese and weird cricket rules; therefore, it was a shock to see the enjoyment and satisfaction from an interesting game of French cricket.

Another week, another chef, but dinner will never be the same without chef Nobby’s famous curry and charming wit. 

In the Afternoon, the campers evolved into Alastair and Johnny Brownlee, when everyone participated in a well scheduled triathlon, even though nobody has heard of the Yorkshire heroes. This tiering event was a perfect assist to the main event of the night, all the camp needed was a dashing host, stepped up Sam Ridgway.

With many awards being handed to the most deserving nominee, the only thing left to do was to hand out the star camper award. Deservedly Morten welcomed the award with open arms, while the audience were animated with raucous applause.

Click for Day 6 Photos

Saturday 13th & Sunday 14th

What a lovely weekend we’ve had! Trips to York, Lightwater Valley Theme Park and a trip around the Dales villages.

It all happened over an extraordinary English weekend of sport where the very traditional game of Cricket World Cup Final was being held plus The British Grand Prix and The Wimbledon Final.  England became cricket World Champions for the first time in history – a memorable experience for the the children who watched.

We ended Sunday evening with a lovely BBQ sat in the sunshine.

We’re incredibly excited for the week ahead…the Young Global Leaders Course and the Football School starts on Monday!

Click for weekend Photos

Monday, 15th July, 2019

We launched into week two with some eggs on toast and hunger games dodgeball. 

For creative, there was Strictly Come Dancing with Sophie (samba, cha-cha-cha, and more) in the morning. Slowly, but surely the L&E camp is becoming more flamboyant. ULTIMATE frisbee was repeated (due to previous popularity). The most compelling activity (the adventure one) was Campfire Cooking. This was led by the expert fire-maker Jack. Little chocolate-chip cakes were cooked in oranges that we heaved into the fire (that had a chair burning at its centre). I felt epic. 

In the afternoon the artsy kids did some graffiti (wash off – we’re not delinquents I swear). For the more sporty children there was volleyball. This was Very popular. Sardines (a curious form of hide and seek) took place in the L&E building, which was followed by SUMO WRESTLING. 

The Young Global Leaders course started today! We did a lot of teambuilding activities (including detangling ourselves in groups, passing along a hoop while holding hands in a circle and “Two Truths and a Lie”. There was discussion about other global leaders and what it means to be a good one. The kids were also presented with the power of planning the night’s evening activity.

Football camp also started today which, as I heard, went very smoothly. Regarding technicality, dribbling was the centre of attention. The camp tutors leading it (Matt and James) made it known that they were really impressed by energy and commitment that their group had. There was also a fun, competitive game at the end.

Monday FUNDAY was this evening’s activity (as planned mostly by the Young Global Leaders). I may be slightly biased, but this was an really really legendary evening.  There was apple bobbing followed by finding a Malteser in flour. The outcome of this decision was soggy, flower-covered children who looked like small Santas. A binbag fashion show also took place (photos will be on Facebook). The outfits were FABULOUS, but the catwalks were even better. An L&E Egg-drop was the big finale of Monday FUNDAY. We all chanted “scrambled eggs, scrambled eggs”. This was a nice circle ending to the beginning of the day with the eggs on toast. EGGCELENT :,) 

Click for Day 9 photos

Tuesday, 16th July, 2019

As the campers rose on a sunny 52nd birthday of Will Ferrell they enjoyed a classic English breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast.  After filling themselves up and running back upstairs to brush their teeth, they pattered down to the sports hall to play the traditional L&E morning warm-up… dodgeball.  All the kids followed the five rules of dodgeball… dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge and the standard of dodgeball in everyone (staff included) has improved massively since the start of last week.

The morning activities chosen were basketball, den building and papier mâché. In basketball, after doing a few testing drills, the participants were then separated into 4 teams; Dumplings, Team 3, NBA and Ragamuffins.  After a round robin tournament, they then played semi-finals and ended with a final of the dumplings verses the Ragamuffins ending in a sudden death penalty shoot out which lived up to the exciting billing, with the Ragamuffins just edging the contest.  Our adventure team ventured off to the woods to build dens.  The creativity and survival instincts of the campers was inspiring, and they made seriously impressive dens in the amount of time that they had to work with.  Finally our creators made some papier mâché sculptures which rivalled the 7 wonders of the world!

After a delightful traditional roast beef dinner and ice cream, the campers were treated to an impressive range of activities; a final instalment of this weeks campfire cooking where we made the biggest fire yet and today made chocolate muffins with white chocolate chips. This, like yesterday, went down like a house on fire. Our keen sportspeople took on a joint task of rounders and it’s american friend, baseball.  Everyone hit a home run with this activity and caught, hit and threw with great aplomb.  Finally our budding Picassos went to the art room to design and create props and posters for our upcoming theme night; ‘The Greatest Showman’.   

The day ended with the weekly L&E campfire, which showcased the immense talent of all the campers. Many of the campers got up to perform, highlights included some impressive quick rapping, impressions of the staff by campers and even a series of ‘opera offs’.  Ending with the delicious melted marshmallows and hot chocolate, the campers snuggled up in bed, chatting about  the excitement that tomorrow may bring. 

Click for Day 10 Photos

Wednesday, 17th July 2019

Today camp rose yet again with the sun shining, which surely promised joy and happiness for yet another wonderful day at L&E. Breakfast this morning was a treat, with Beans and Sausages on the menu, Connor loved them so much he had 4! The choice for activities was equally exciting with Water Polo, Tree climbing and old style poster making on the cards. 

For those who did Water Polo, they were given expert coaching by Jack. It was such great fun that the kids were given a chance to do it again in the afternoon. Tree climbing was fantastic fun too, it’s exhilarating getting up to those heights, and it’s so exciting that we’re allowed to do it too! The Poster making was cool too, the kids learned how to use a tea bag to make the poster looked old fashioned! Some were so good that they’ll be used for our Greatest Showman theme night tomorrow!

Lunch was delicious as usual, everyone was treated to Hunter’s chicken and little mini roast potatoes. It was so so so good! The Hunter’s chicken was really tangy while the potatoes were super herby. For dessert, we had a chocolate muffin with a whipped cream filling, which was superb too. 

After lunch, along with the aforementioned Water polo, we also were offered the option to do either Tennis or the chance to make our own dream catchers! Tennis was cool to do – with Wimbledon having happened last weekend it was fun to recreate the Finals!! The quality of the tennis match between Andrea, Paul, Connor and Emma L was so high that we had to call in Caroline Flack to inform which couple was announced the winner. Making dream catchers were awesome too, Hayley taught us how to transform a few twigs of wood into a really cool dream catcher. On top of this, Sam was running trips backwards and forwards to a lake to do some Kayaking. This was super cool too, although falling in the water was really cold!!! 

This evening kicked off with a delicious meal of Pasta. We were given 3 choices, Spaghetti Carbonara, a Cheesy bake or Green Pesto Pasta! On top of this, we were given some yummy garlic bread! All this set the scene for watching the Greatest Showman ahead of tomorrow’s theme night. The soundtrack is so so good, we were all singing along!

We’d also like to give a mention to the Young Global Campers, who tonight are out camping. Unfortunately for them, it’s raining tonight, the first time it has done since arriving to camp. Despite this, let’s all hope it’s a fantastic experience for them – and they learn some valuable skills from it all.

To finish today’s blog, we unfortunately said goodbye to Zara today. Zara has added to everyone’s time at camp and really impressed all the tutors here. She was a fantastic student and she will be missed by all her peers, let’s hope we see her again next year!

Click for Wednesday’s photos

Thursday, 18th July 2019

Spring ’19 Newsletter

• Visit to Amsterdam

• New L&E World Camp & Teen Travel Films

• Congratulations to Julie & Hayley

• Limited Availability for Summer 2019

• New Teen Travel Tour for 2020

It ‘s been a busy couple of months with the L&E Office a hive of activity.  Here are a few of the highlights…

Visit to Amsterdam

In April we were invited by a lovely parent to give a presentation at her children’s school De School van HIP in Laren near Amsterdam.  We had an absolute ball and also took the opportunity to make some plans for our Teen Travel Euro Tour in the summer which will be stopping off in Amsterdam.  Thank you, Yvonne for hosting us and to all those who took the time to hear us speak.

New L&E Films

We’ve had a lot of fun over the past few months interviewing campers, teen travellers, parents and staff to help others understand what L&E World Camps & Teen Travel are all about.  They are the best part of 10 minutes long so get a cup of tea and a couple of biscuits and enjoy…

L&E World Camps – what children, parents and staff say!

What is L&E Teen Travel? (in their own words)

Congratulations to Julie & Hayley

Julie and Hayley are very special members of the L&E team and have been involved with us since 2014. They got married on 20th April in an incredibly emotional ceremony with many members of the L&E staff in attendance. It was a magical day and we are all so delighted for them both. Wishing them many years of happiness together.

In honour of their special day L&E produced a music video to celebrate the small (though not insignificant!) part that L&E plays their lives…

Hayley & Julie’s Summer Story

Limited Availability Summer 2019

Summer is fast approaching and all our programmes are filling up nicely.  We have no places left on our Teen Travel UK Tours and have only a few places on our Block 1 World Camp North.  All other programmes still have places but will no doubt fill up very soon so don’t delay if you are still interested.

World Camps

• North UK: 7th – 20th July (A few place available):
• North UK: 21st July – 3rd August (Limited Availability)
• South UK: 28th July – 10th August (Limited Availability)

Teen Travel

• UK Tour: 30th June – 13th July (No Availability)
• Euro Tour: 21st July – 3rd August (Limited Availability)

Young Global Leaders Course

• North UK: 13th – 20th July (Limited Availability)
• South UK: 3rd -10th August (Limited Availability)

New Teen Travel Tour for 2020

We’re delighted to announce our new Teen Travel programme in British Columbia, Canada. For more details email: info@learnexperience.co.uk

British Columbia Adventure

L&E Newsletter – Dec ’18

• L&E Review

• L&E Road Trip:Copenhagen

• Little/Cool Sam’s L&E Working Journey

• L&E FEATURE: Tennis Academy

November was a busy month that brought, amongst other things the introduction of our new booking system which will hopefully allow L&E to move (belatedly) into the 21st century.  Families will have their own accounts where they can see their payment plans, make personal requests and update data to allow for an easy progression to camp.  Please be in touch with the L&E Office if you have any queries about the new system.

The L&E Roadshow got going with Julie visiting Copenhagen (see below for full story). I will be visiting New York in December and will look forward to tell you all about it in the January Newsletter. I wish you all a great festive season and really hope to see many of you in the New Year! SR

L&E Review

We are a small company that don’t have a massive marketing budget to spread the word of L&E. Therefore, we really rely on our loyal families to help us get the message out to other families.  Word of mouth has always been our main source of new families and we truly appreciate all your testimonials and recommendations.  It would be wonderful to have a permanent record on an independent forum where you can leave your honest and open reviews.  We have review pages on Google and Facebook so would be absolutely delighted if you could spare a few moments.  Many thanks in advance.

L&E in Copenhagen

Our first road trip of the season took us to the beautiful Danish capital, Copenhagen.  It was their first cold snap of the year but clear skies made it a thoroughly enjoyable trip.  

We were delighted to host 2 L&E information evenings at schools in Rungsted which is just north of Copenhagen.  The first school we visited was Rungsted Skole which is the school L&E camper Freja attends.  Along with Freja and her mother we met some new families and spent an evening telling them all about the 2019 L&E programmes.  The next evening we visited was Rungsted Private Realskole where we again met some lovely new families.  There were lots of great questions from the parents and children from ‘what is the food like’ to ‘how do we pick our activities’.  The families said how great it was to have someone explain how all L&E programmes work in person and how this really put their minds at ease about sending their children to a camp in another country.  

We have found these information evenings to be very helpful for families trying to decide upon summer programmes for their children.  They give parents and children the opportunity to hear a presentation from a L&E representative and ask any questions they might have, that includes the children asking questions!  If you would like L&E to come and visit your school, town or city then please get in touch with Julie. 

Little/Cool Sam’s L&E Working Journey

I have to tell you a quick story…Sam B has worked with us for the last 9 years and has been a key component of why our camps are so successful.  He is loved by everyone – staff/parents and most importantly, the kids.  He has always been known as “Little Sam” to differentiate from myself (who is ever so slightly taller!!)  However, in my eyes he will always be “Cool Sam”.  The main being reason back in 2012 we had a magical theme night where, inevitably I found myself hidden under a sheet in the front hall while the children searched high and low for me.  A few children rushed up near me (not knowing I was under the sheet) declaring that they’d received a clue from Sam.  One child exclaimed “Do you mean Boss Sam or Cool Sam!!??”……  My ego was crushed for a few moments but, to be fair I definitely can’t compete on the coolness factor with our beloved Little Sam.  Here’s his story in his own words….

I was very happy to have the chance to write about my experiences working with L&E over the years. I’ve been working with L&E since it began almost 10 years ago now! So I’ve had many great summers at camp and seen the impact the camp has on kids as they return year after year. I came to my first camp when I was only 19 years old and at that stage the camp was still working out what it would become in the years to come. We had some really great kids that first year, although we almost had as many staff as kids that year, which did make the staff vs camp dodgeball quite easy! As has always been the case year on year, the kids that are attracted to this camp are always great fun. An amazing aspect of camp is that each week is a completely new experience. While you may have the same size camp, in the same place, with the same staff, the camp will still feel unique, as what makes a camp is the kids and each week is made up of a new, totally unique set of characters, whose mix of personalities make the camp what it is.

I came to work at  L&E   through my family, both my two sisters and my father worked that first year and many of our friends have worked at the camp over those 10 years. The camp has always had a very intimate, family feel to it and that is something that I think was fostered in those early camps. At that stage there was roughly a 2:1 child to staff ratio and it really did feel like one big family. That ideal has largely remained at  L&E through the years and is what makes this camp so special. Despite that,  L&E  has grown every year I have been there and has added new locations and experiences to the original North Camp, such as the new South Camp and teen travel.  It would be so difficult to pick a favorite memory from my years at  L&E, however I think perhaps the most rewarding part of my time at  L&E has been to see so many children grow up over the years. I’ve seen many kids come for their first camp as little 8 year olds, very shy and unsure of how their week is going to work out, and then return for the next 6 years, making life long friends and growing up into really great people. There would be too many kids to name, but a particular highlight has been to see the likes of Tom and Baptiste, who were once kids on the camp, return as staff and be such great tutors. Apart from making me feel old ? that just highlights that the camp has an impact for kids beyond the week they spend with us over the summer. It has been an eventful first 10 years for  L&E  and I hope that the next 10 years will be the same ?

L&E FEATURE – Tennis Academy 

Adventure, Sport and Creative activities are always offered at our Camps but there are few L&E Extra courses that are a little more specialised.  Here we look in detail at our Tennis Academy…

South Camp only (1 Week max)

Just as Wimbledon, the oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament in the world ends for the year in nearby London, boys and girls will have the opportunity to improve their tennis skills at L&E Tennis Academy at South Camp.  

Along with expert tuition from our tennis coaches and first rate facilities at Forres Sandle Manor School the players have the perfect setting to improve their racquet skills.  As well as perfecting court skills the players will receive seminars on fitness training, nutrition, respect and patience.  

To ensure this is a week the players will never forget we will take them to visit the famous All England Club, Wimbledon for a tour.  They will get up close and personal with the Championship trophies and clothing & equipment donated by many of the top players.  Of course they will get to see Centre Court and the player’s entrance and even get a tase of what it is like behind the scenes in the BBC Studio.  

“Expert tennis coaching with a trip to see Centre court at the world famous Wimbledon”

• 5 day Coaching programme delivered by qualified coaches
• Tennis seminars on fitness training, nutrition & respect.
• Elite Tennis facilities at private school with all equipment provided for the week
• Tour of the All England Club, Wimbledon including Centre Court visit
• Exclusive L&E Tennis training kit 

See previous L&E Newsletter

Teen Travel UK Tour Blog

Saturday -Tuesday

We are eleven  people from all around Europe:

Lukas – 15, from Sweden.

Emily – 16, from Holland.

Paul – 16, from Germany.

Serafina – 15, from Germany.

Beatrice – 16, from Germany.

Maria – 16, from Spain.

Marianne – 15, from France.

Gaia – 16, from Italy.

Sam – 15, from England.

Connie – Travel Mentor, England

Julie – Travel Mentor, Scotland

Apart from Sam we all arrived in Manchester airport at various times on Saturday. From there we drove to L&E North camp to plan our trip and get to know each other better. We decided to depart the next day but before we left we all watched the final match for the World Cup and ate at he barbecue with the rest of the camp. After the barbecue big Sam drove us to our first stop in Grassmere where we stayed for one night in a hostel and we all went to the park in the town and we unanimously agreed that we all slept better there than at the camp.

The next day we had breakfast in the self serve kitchen of the hostel and Sam and Lukas made dough balls in the oven. We then took a bus to Brokehole where we went on a treetop trek which ended in a triple zip wire that was 200 meters long! “It was exciting!” – Gaia. Connie had to have her shoe taped onto her foot because it kept almost falling off.

We then took the same bus with a different bus driver who wasn’t as nice to Windermere where we had lunch which was pleasurable. After that we booked the accommodation for Glasgow the night after, furthermore we found a train connection from Kendal to Glasgow that was also affordable for the next day. We then took the bus to Kendal where it then started to rain on our walk to the hostel we were next staying in. After a break we went to Booths to buy food for tonight and the next morning. Sam and Gaia cooked a delicious meal for dinner – pasta with cheese sauce.  Lukas told some ghost stories (not that scary) and we all sat and chatted until bed time. 

Tuesday – Thursday

After a lovely breakfast in Kendal we took the train to Glasgow. It was a long journey and we had to stop and change the train – at the intermediate station Julie had to pretend to be a dog because of a dare!

Since this morning a fun game had started ,where everyone has to “kill” someone else in a specific place and way, two people were already killed.

We arrived at the hostel around 5 o’clock and we ate at Wetherspoon. The evening was full of talks and bonding and we also started to see Shrek

Deaths of the day:

1. Connie – singing the national anthem on a train, in the morning.
2. Marianne – smelling something in a shop, in the morning.

Wednesday 18th

The next day started slowly. We woke up at around 10 am and after a good breakfast we took the bus to Glasgow centre. After a short trip to the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and the park everybody was allowed to go of in groups of at least and discover Glasgow on their own. Most of us went to a burger and than make a short shopping trip.

Back (in at) the hostel Marianne started making crêpes – Sam as chef in training. We than went to bed “in time” because the next day would start very early.

Deaths of the day:

1)  Paul – reading a book on a playground, at midday

2)  Beatrice – singing the national anthem (german) in the bathroom, at lunchtime

Thursday 19th

To day we had to get up at 6.30 am to get the bus to Loch Ness at 7 am. Because of the early time we didn’t eat breakfast, so we had packed (a lot of) (many) snacks for the bus. The bus trip to loch ness took us about four hours but we had a few stops at beautiful places to make pictures and get a pass from the sitting.

When we arrived at Loch Ness we had two options. We could either go and see the castle and than make a cruise on the Loch or only do the cruise. 

• Spent the day in Glasgow (shopping, eating, a pigeon poop on Lukas…)
• Tastes good
• Take bus (discover scottland)
• loch ness
• Take the bus back (strange songs)

Friday…

In the morning we arrived in Edinburgh. Making our way through the streets in the rain, we found a bus to take us to the hostel, not far from the city centre. Sam was in charge of directions and we followed him (cautiously) down several side streets off the main road. Despite a slightly scary looking front door,

we walked through into a travellers paradise; a ping-pong table, PlayStation, comfy sofas and relaxed, friendly staff awaited. The hostel was made up of converted shipping containers, neatly arranged with every amenity. We felt at home right away. 

No time to relax though; we dropped our bags and went straight into town to explore. We picked up some lunch on-the-go, and made a beeline for the Royal Mile. It was hard to miss the incredible architecture as we wound through the streets; the National Gallery of Scotland and the Castle were particularly impressive. Reaching ‘Camera Obscura’ – a museum of oddities, illusions and mind games – we were were happy to get out of the drizzle. It full of bizarre, interactive activities and we emerged later on, giggling on to the streets. Straight on to a restaurant for food, we then just had time for a quick walk up to Calton Hill for the sunset. It did not take much persuading to get everyone to sleep back at the hostel after such a jam-packed day.

We awoke to a sunny day ~ yes, the sun does shine in Scotland! We all headed to the motorbike and music festival we had booked a few days ago, it was on the same side of the city as us which was good. It was very cool – lots of different styles of motorbikes, we even got to sit on some of them!!  We also had a shot on a theme park ride – Sam has been on so many his facial expression didn’t change at all but all of the girls hair was going round and round and round!  

After we got back to the hostel we collected our bags and headed back into town to try and get some onesies for the bus journey. Unfortunately we couldn’t find any we liked so we bought some blankets and some neck pillows which turned out to be invaluable. We went to a restaurant to get some food and to also make a plan for the next part of our trip. Our big map came in handy – it’s good to have a visual of the UK to see how far away each place is from the other. We all worked very hard to plan the next part of our trip – we were getting very tired which was good as we knew we were about to spend the next 9hours on the overnight bus to London. 

The bus station wasn’t far from the restaurant which was great as we were all quite tired and ready to try and sleep. Although the bus was a little cold we did manage to get some sleep. Next stop – LONDON!!!!!!!

South Camp Diary – Week 1 & 2

Sunday, 30th July

Sunshine, The New Forest and a great group of campers are the best ingredients for an amazing first night at the new L&E South Camp! The children arrived, excited for a new venue, and a new group of friends to be made. They ate a glorious BBQ on the terrace followed by lots of games with the tutors. The campers were undefeated in a game named ‘splat’, much to the tutors frustrations. As the sun set over the old manor house, we all retired to some chocolate cake for Daniel’s birthday and then into our dorms for a good night’s sleep, all excited for what tomorrow will bring!

For more photos from Sunday click here

Monday, 31st July

Well what a way to start the first south camp! The children all arrived last night and we enjoyed games and a yummy BBQ together to get to know each other.

We hit the ground running today with a great session of Dodgeball, the children vs tutor games got very competitive! We then got straight into activities with one group heading out into the school grounds for some outdoor art, another group into the pool for water polo and the third group hopped into the bus and went down to Mudeford Quay to do some crabbing! The fantastic English teachers took their groups for their lessons.

North Camp Diary – Week 4

Sunday, 30th July

The campers slowly filtered into Aysgarth School this evening from all across the globe, coming from as far as Hong Kong! After enjoying a BBQ the kids said goodbye to their families and got stuck into the evening activities.

The first evening gives us the chance to get to know each other through some fun camp games, which everyone gets involved in. Tonight we began with packman, a camp game that mimics the arcade game as the children follow the designated lines in the sports hall making sure they do not get tagged. We then play a game of Zap, which is a game of fast reflexes and instincts. Following that we played various forms of what is called stuck in the mud in the UK, this tests kids balance, cunning, agility and speed. Following that we played a game of fruit basket, which is another game of concentration and speed, as children sprint around the gym in teams attempting to be the first into their respective fruit baskets. Finally we finished the games off with a classic camp game of 40/40, which is a mix of hide and seek and tag.

As you can probably tell the evening was jammed packed and following the evenings activities we came in for a hot chocolate to relax before getting ready for bed. After giving a small talk, giving the kids an idea of what lies in store this week, we all went up to our different rooms for the evening and got to know each other a little before settling into bed. It has been a great first evening and we’re sure it will be a brilliant week with a brilliant set of campers.

For more photos from Sunday click here

Monday, 31st July

The day started with eggs, the day ended with eggs. Now let us tell you what happened in between…

Our final week’s campers woke up surprisingly early to beautiful sunshine (for ten minutes) and tucked into eggs and soldiers for breakfast. The group then headed down for their dodge ball debut, which they all enjoyed. After wiping the floor with the tutors, the campers then chose their morning activities: the creative kids brought their consequences stories to life with the magic of multimedia, the sportsmen and women amongst us battled the blustery conditions during a morning of tennis, and the adventurers headed off in luxurious Lenny (the Land Rover) to Aysgarth Falls where they wandered alongside the torrent that has become the River Ure since our last excursion. Safe to say they would not be swimming today, but it was an enjoyable outing all the same as the weather held up until we left.

North Camp Diary – Week 3

Sunday, 23rd July

It wasn’t promising weather for this weekend’s campers, whose planned trip to Whitby looked ominous. But as the camp tutors predicted the sun did grace us at sunny Whitby! It was a wonderful day full of seaside sweet shops, beach cricket and of course a trip to Poundland!

On Sunday, there were several tearful campers and tutors as we said goodbye to last week’s campers. Not long after that the excitement kicked in for our new arrivals. Many of the ‘old hands’ were there to welcome the lovely, bright new faces. New friends were made within minutes and games of pool and ping pong were created as the rain confined us to the main house. Our lovely planned BBQ was relocated indoors and the children enjoyed the burgers and chicken that was on offer. With parents being bid farewell, it was time for the games to begin.

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