It’s almost 2019 and before we know it, the summer holidays will be here. If you are a student, you might be feeling the pressure from your parents and university to get an internship arranged. An internship will look great on your CV, but so will working at a summer camp. Let us tell you why...
You will learn and develop so many skills at both an internship and summer camp which will be really transferable into the working world. And you can have a lot of fun at camp, spend your summer outdoors in the sunshine and make friends for life with likeminded people your own age!
During your six weeks working at camp, you’ll be part of hundreds of conversations and you will need to effectively communicate with lots of different people. From parents at Heathrow asking questions and wanting to know every detail about their child’s timetable for the week to helping and comforting a homesick camper. There will also be times where you’ll be running an activity for up to 160 campers and you will need to address all of the campers – what a great opportunity to practice your public speaking skills.
Throughout the summer, you will spend a lot of time thinking on your feet. Even with all the planning in the world, things won’t always run smoothly. You might have spent a couple of hours planning an outstanding themed afternoon and suddenly the weather changes and torrential rain is predicted for the rest of the afternoon. You will need to quickly come up with a back up plan where our campers still have lots of fun in a safe environment. Or you might find yourself sorting out a disagreement between two campers. No two children are the same so how will you get to the bottom of what has happened?
No matter what your role is in our team, there will be times during the summer where you will be leading a team. Every time we go on a trip, we have ‘Coach Leaders’ who are responsible for checking every camper and member of staff is on the coach on time, wearing their seatbelts and receives a slip of what to do in an emergency. If you are leading an Evening Activity, you will have a team of Activity Leaders to instruct and manage to ensure your activity is a success.
Every day is different at camp and you will experience a wealth of different people and situations during your summer. Last year, our campers came from 67 different countries. You will have plenty of opportunities to learn about their cultures. You day will be busy, but you will have the chance to do lots of different things from the pastoral side of things to activities. It really is an international experience for you too!
Everybody grows at summer camp. We like to see our staff team grow too and encourage you to come forward to try new roles during the summer which will open doors in future summers too. Not only will you grow in confidence, you will leave camp with experience working in a diverse team, with children from all around the world and enough activity ideas to last you a lifetime!