CPH Post Summer Schools 2022 Supplement

SUMMER SCHOOLS

2022

INTRO

MORE LIKE A SCHOOL OF DOLPHINS!

PIXABAY

With more fun, longer breaks and fewer rules, children have the time of their lives

– where children can gather to spend the days that their parents need to work.

BEN HAMILTON

Internationals in need Now, granted, many Danish families do migrate to their summerhouses for the entire six weeks, where the parents work from home for half the time (or at least that’s what they tell their employers).

It’s only as you get older that you realise that summer school is like winning the lottery for American adults who spend so much of their lives up to their eyeballs in work that they simply don’t have the resources to look after their children.

But your sympathy levels for Americans plummet somewhat, when you realise that as kids they got three full months of summer holiday.

In Denmark, the kids get just six weeks, and like in the US the parents have to work, normally for half of the holiday.

So there is a great need for some sort of organised school – more like the dolphin kind, with more fun, longer breaks and fewer rules

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vice, which normally involves activities held at their premises, the after-school clubs and sports centres in the neighbourhood. But most will be in Danish.

That leaves international schools as the main providers of English-language summer schools, and there are close to ten offering their services this summer break – in both the capital region and further afield.

But internationals – particularly ones who are only here for three or four years and are living in a Hellerup villa – are far less likely to have a summerhouse (see page 10 for more info on this Danish phenomenon).

Other vocational enterprises also organise them. The long-established musical theatre school SceneKunst runs several summer camps for its students, for example.

So it is fitting that so many international schools and other establishments remain open, normally during the first two to three weeks of the holidays, to run summer schools (pages 4-5).

Expat poster-boy Now, it’s not a huge secret that summer schools are often credited with being a turning point in the life of a creative.

Services in English The Danish public schools also provide a ser-

In our feature on pages 6-7, we recount how hundreds of famous Americans nurtured their

SUMMER SCHOOLS 2022 GUIDE

talents at such schools, often under the tutelage of teachers who went on to achieve fame themselves.

And we’re pleased to include in this supplement an interview of one such person who benefited from attending many summer schools during his upbringing (see pages 8-9): an X Factor runner-up who went on to win the Danish Melodi Grand Prix.

With a German mother and Madagascan father, and as somebody who attended both Copenhagen International School and Rygaards, Benjamin Rosenbohm is something of a poster-boy for the international community in Denmark – it was high time that we interviewed him!

Enjoy the summer!

We hope this special section will arm you with all the information you need to ensure your children are in safe hands while you clock up the necessary number of hours to earn yourself a well deserved summer break.

Publisher: CPH POST • Editor: Hans Hermansen • Info: hans@cphpost.dk • Tel: +45 2420 2411

COMING OF AGE ON THE STAGE Not only do the SceneKunst summer school participants benefit from expert tuition in singing, dancing and acting, but they develop in other areas too, returning to their parents with a greater sense of responsibility

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MAGINE a summer school from which your children emerged as more mature, rounded and responsible individuals. Surely, there’s a catch?

And as an added bonus: they get to indulge in their deepest passions: singing, dancing and acting.

Well, for a decade SceneKunst has been running multiple such schools over the summer holidays.

The children keep on returning – sometimes until their late teens!

If only I was 10 again!

CAROLINE Müller, 17, who is both Danish and Dutch, attended the international summer camp for English-speakers last year.

She has one single regret: if only she had heard about the SceneKunst option earlier.

“When I was little, I attended the same week-long dancing camp every summer vacation, but eventually stopped going since it got boring and unchallenging,” she says.

“But had it been SceneKunst, I would never have stopped. They never get boring: every year is a new awesome and challenging camp. I wish I had started going to SceneKunst camps much earlier than I did.”

Camaraderie and coming of age AS WELL as being challenging, the camps are often attended by a great diversity of youngsters – united by their love of musical theatre.

Friendships formed at the camps often endure.

For 12-year-old British twins Ana and Lucie Ganzleben Daniell, who will be attending their third SceneKunst summer camp in July, part of the appeal is catching up with the friends they have made.

They can’t wait to return.

“You make lots of new friends, and you get to meet so many

Ana and Lucie Ganzleben Daniell

amazing and different people,” enthuses Ana. “Going to this camp was one of the best experiences of my life, it’s so much fun and I would definitely recommend it,” adds Lucie.

Anna feels the camp has helped her to become “more responsible, mature and independent”, and Lucie concurs.

“There are lots of things we need to manage ourselves. We need to help prepare meals and take it in turns to clean up after. This has made me more independent and mature,” she contends.

More in tune with theatre A LIFE-CHANGING experience is putting it mildly, according to

Susanne Jeppesen, a regular 15-year-old Danish-British attendee of the SceneKunst summer camp.

“If you come you´ll find a new second family who shares the same passions as you – a second family that I will never forget or stop communicating with,” she enthuses.

Along with the camaraderie, Jeppesen is also highly appreciative of the tuition she has received.

“During the camp, I learned many tips on how to use my voice and body to enhance my acting skills,” she says.

“In general, I would credit the camp with increasing my passion for theatre and being on stage.”

OPTIONS

PIXABAY

CHOOSING THE RIGHT SCHOOL Nobody knows your child better than yourself, so make sure you send them to an environment where they will flourish not falter!

ANNA MARYAM SMITH Summer school is a staple in the Danish child’s summer holidays.

Unlike summer school in the United States, they are not a chance for students to improve their grades or catch up academically.

In Denmark, summer school is a chance for children of all ages to develop other interests.

Whether it is to learn how to paint, write poetry, play hockey, knit or swim, the list is endless.

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These ‘camps’ are generally a week or two long, and schools offer several weeks to choose from – but most take place during the first half of the summer (i.e until early/mid July).

Some are more like the traditional ‘sleep away camps’ memorably portrayed in American youth movies, while at others the students are only there during the day.

Combating learning loss The biggest selling point is that the schools can help keep your children stimulated. Summer is, more often than not, a period of time in which children are not intellectually or creatively challenged, and this is often problematic when they return to school in the autumn.

SUMMER SCHOOLS 2022 GUIDE

According to the US think-tank Brookings, an analysis of the phenomenon of ‘summer learning loss’ concluded that children on average lose a month’s worth of school learning during the summer. This means they will struggle when they return to school in the autumn. It can therefore be reasonably concluded that summer school can aid in reducing this drastic impact.

However, this doesn’t mean that the only solution is to have children in an academic setting all summer. Being physically, creatively, or intellectually stimulated aids in your mental acuity because it increases the production of neural pathways that are used in learning, thus actively combating the summer learning loss. Therefore, by sending

your child to summer camp you are able to help them get back to school on a more stable footing.

Huge help to parents Summer school also steers your kids away from the temptation of sitting in front of a screen all day, allowing them to meet and interact with children from all over Denmark, and develop life skills as well as interests in entirely new areas.

It sure beats the alternative of bored children sitting around at home waiting for the rest of the family to clock off so they can travel. Especially due to Covid-19 this year, the options for children during those first few weeks of the holiday will probably be very limited be-

JUNE JUNE 27 - AUGUST 5

LEARNING, ADVENTURE, FRIENDSHIP AND FUN! Welcome to a fun-filled summer programme for children aged 4 to 12! Join us this summer for an active and engaging time of learning, adventure and summer fun in a safe and positive environment!

Children are signed up for our summer care and camp programmes on a weekly basis so your family can choose summer activities according to your schedule.

You are welcome to mix and match CARE and CAMP weeks according to your child’s interests and needs.

cause they can’t go to the movies, museums or amusement parks.

Summer schools are therefore a big help to parents – especially ones with young children. The alternative can often be far more expensive, for example a nanny or babysitter, or troublesome: working at home whilst parenting. The lockdown has shown this is far from ideal!

Summer schools were created to combat this.

They ensure children are kept occupied during the working hours of the day, thus allowing their parents to get their work done in the most productive manner possible.

Potential obstacles However, summer schools are not entirely free of risk. The first, and most apparent one depending on the summer school as well as the child, is homesickness. Being away from family for even a day can appear daunting to children.

Thus, attending summer school could create a lot of tension and make the child unhappy.

But while every child is different, so is every summer school. It’s important to choose the right summer school for your child’s needs and to thoroughly take into account the activities, distance from home etc.

Of course, sometimes it’s impossible to find the right school for teenagers. They generally don’t like being told what to do at the best of times – especially when that means they can’t hang out with their friends or do what they want on their one long break from school.

After all, for some it can be overwhelming – particularly if they are going directly from exams and tests into another, sometimes high intensity, learning environment.

But if the approach to sending one’s child to summer school is facilitated in such a way that allows them to have control over the situation, and an awareness that this isn’t an academic setting but is in fact a chance to have fun, the rest will be smooth sailing.

The Summer CARE Programme, aimed at children aged 4-10, consists of daily activities such as crafts and educational games organised in a child-centred and interest-based setting.

The Summer CAMP Programme, for children aged 7-12, is a series of thematic camps within a variety of areas such as music, science, photography, and more. Read more about each camp on our website.

To learn more and register visit www.ish.dk/summer The International School of Hellerup is a Not-For-Profit IB World School with over 600 students representing more than 70 nationalities from around the world.

Find out more about ISH, book a visit or contact us at: + 45 70 20 63 68 I info@ish.dk I www.ish.dk International School of Hellerup Rygårds Allé 131, 2900 Hellerup Præstøgade 17, 2100 København

INCENTIVE

CHANNELLING YOUR INNER TIGER WOODS

KEITH ALLISON

How children discover and then develop hitherto unknown talents at summer school

BEN HAMILTON Imagine if Tiger Woods’ dear old Papa hadn’t thrust a club into his infant son’s hands and told him to take a swing at Bob Hope.

Of course, Tiger is Cablinasian (his words, not Oprah’s, although her lips were moving), which broken down is caucascian, black, Indian and Asian, but you can’t help thinking what might have happened had he grown up on a project in Detroit (as opposed to being Papa’s personal project).

And while we’re at it, what if Vincent van Gogh

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hadn’t picked up a paintbrush (sunflower grower, probably), Neil Armstrong hadn’t gone to space school (greeting cards writer?) and Julie Andrews hadn’t tried her hand at singing (100 percent a nun) … we would have been robbed of some of history’s biggest achievers.

Well, sometimes summer school is where the journey begins.

In distinguished company So let’s start the proceedings with a nice easy one. What do the following people have in common: Seth Rogan, RuPaul, Reese Witherspoon, Adam Levine, Edward Norton, Zooey Deschanel, Julia Roberts, Mariah Carey, Ben Affleck, Natalie Portman, Adrien Brody, Mel Brooks, Jonah Hill, Anne Hathaway, Lauren

SUMMER SCHOOLS 2022 GUIDE

Bacall, Chevy Chase, Gwyneth Paltrow, Adam Sandler, Mark Zuckerberg and the Coen Brothers.

You thought you knew until Chevy Chase, Gwyneth Paltrow and Adam Sandler popped up, right, and then you realised the answer couldn’t be ‘talented performers’.

Well, the link is that each and every one of these mostly, if not entirely, North American people went to a summer school.

Those precious weeks away (in Sandler’s case, three straight months out of his parents’ sight) played a huge part in unearthing the talent beholdeth to the world today. Thank you, summer school, thank you.

Fun, feel-good, friendships Hold the sarcasm for a second, though, as summer school really is the bomb. It’s pretty much the best parts of your childhood all rolled into one tidy package – and it sure as hell beats sitting at home watching TV. First off, it’s almost entirely non-academic.

Forget triple maths and double Latin, this is quintuple fun. The syllabus is strictly sourced from the ‘School of Life’ – there’s a good reason why so many high school films are rooted in extra-curricular activities.

Secondly, it’s relaxed. It’s like the final day of the school year, but for a whole week. The students are relaxed – even the uptight ones usually killing themselves to get a scholarship

– while most of the teachers have turned into ‘The Fonz’. You never knew they could be this charming!

Thirdly, who knows, it might present an opportunity to form a friendship: maybe with the popular kid who you’re too intimidated to mix with in company, or that crush from the year above - if only you had the courage.

Granted, there are a few possible drawbacks.

The summer holiday lie-in is going to have to wait a while longer and you might get lumbered with the school bore … but if you’re going to improve your tolerance levels, this is as good a place to start as any.

Inspiring teachers Let’s hold that teacher thought again, as summer school does tend to attract educators of the highest calibre. Talk to any successful person and they’ll probably have a tale of a teacher who truly believed in them – a relationship nurtured when the two could enjoy some quality one-on-one time.

and Rooney Mara, singers Leonard Cohen, Lady Gaga and Carly Simon, and film director Penny Marshall are just a few examples of famous people who worked as summer school counsellors early on in their careers.

Seriously, there are probably hundreds of grown-up Americans who had no clue that their counsellors Miss Germanotta and Miss Robinson went on to become the queen of pop and the White House respectively.

A pivotal week There’s no doubt that summer schools are the perfect environment to discover the Vincent van Goghs of the future.

After all, don’t they say that in order to become an expert at something it will take 10,000 hours of practice, so you’d better start during your childhood!

Malcom Gladwell makes the often disputed claim in his book ‘Outliers: The Story of Success’, and it certainly rings true for many of the activities favoured by summer schools.

Teachers are often highly talented people who harboured dreams of becoming a professional creative themselves, be it a musician, actor or artist.

The environment they provide gives children the chance to discover and then develop hitherto unknown talents under the guidance of experts who have already put the hours in.

But somewhere along the line the reality of paying the monthly rent set in, at which point they realised they could also use their talents to help others.

It could prove to be the best investment you’ll ever make – and the most pivotal week of your child’s life.

Michelle Obama, actors Denzel Washington

Week 27 (3rd – 9th July)

in Holte

INTERNATIONAL SUMMER CAMP A week of Drama, Singing, Dance and Fun!

8 – 18 yrs. Book now at info@scenekunstskoler.dk. www.scenekunstskoler.dk SUMMER SCHOOLS 2022 GUIDE SommerCamp_Annonce_266x175.indd 1

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28.04.2022 10.07

INTERVIEWS

X FACTOR, EUROVISION, POP CAREER …

PIXABAY

But for Benjamin Rosenbohm, it all started at SceneKunst, and his most treasured memories are of going to its summer school

LENA HUNTER Benjamin Rosenbohm shot to fame in 2019 on Denmark’s ‘X Factor’, taking second prize with his raw, folksy vocals and a mean hand for the guitar.

Eurovision success He then followed it up with a runaway win at the 2020 Dansk Melodi Grand Prix as one half of ‘Ben and Tan’ with the pop earworm ‘Yes’.

The win should have sent the duo to the Eurovision Song Contest as Denmark’s 2020 entry – but the pandemic shut the contest down completely.

Since then, the duo have put out ‘Iron Heart’, a synth-drenched pop belter, while Benjamin has also released a solo track, the rustic indie tune ‘Worth a Broken Heart’.

A sound work ethic Benjamin’s keeping busy as he’s “used to working his ass off ”. He credits much of his work ethic to his time at SceneKunst, as a student and later as a helper.

A highlight of every year was the Scenekunst Summer School, which he remembers helped

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to further improve his acting, music and dance skills.

So how did SceneKunst prepare him for a career in showbiz? CPH POST sat down with Benjamin to hear his take.

Why did you go to a summer school?

My parents saw a lot of creative energy in me – I was a very hyper kid! – and signed me up for a musical drama school called SceneKunst.

Its summer school sounded like fun.

Can you tell us a bit about what you did there?

It’s like a summer camp where you do singing, dancing and acting throughout the day and then hang out and do a bunch of activities with people afterwards. You do that for a week, and then at the end you perform a couple of scenes from a play or musical that you’ve been preparing.

tryside and there was a campfire there. I would always bring my guitar to these camps and I have so many memories of everyone being around the campfire, me playing music and just having a good time. It’s a very dear memory to me.

What do you think you gained creatively from SceneKunst?

Constantly interacting with people and learning to be social – it was where I realised that music was the thing that spoke most naturally to me. Also, you’re expected to memorise a lot of content in a short amount of time and then make something with it, which is a quality I think everybody can benefit from. It’s especially relevant to me now because I sometimes get rung up a week beforehand asking “Hey, can you play this gig?” or “Hey, can you write a song with this person?” . The sooner you get used to that work ethic, the better.

Sounds fun! Do you sleep there?

Yeah, you sleep in bunkbeds – it’s so much fun! You just chill in bunkbeds with people of a similar age and stay up talking about all kinds of things. You get to know people in a very short amount of time, but very deeply, which is really cool.

What are the teachers like?

They’re musicians, actors and dancers. A lot of them have projects going on outside of SceneKunst. Some of them were experts in choirs, had dancing gigs, or acted in ads and shows outside SceneKunst. So that was also really inspiring – that the teachers were active in the creative scene in Denmark.

Do you have any standout memories from your time there?

I have a couple from the same place. We went to a scouts’ camp type of thing out in the coun-

Could you go to SceneKunst without any musical training or experience at all?

I think so, because what’s cool about SceneKunst is that all the teachers are very open to the level

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you’re at. Let’s say you’ve never danced before, stood on a stage, or sung a note in your life – the teachers will take you through, step by step.

They might say: “These techniques can help you sing better” or “These choreographies are not too hard.” It’s a place where anyone can be a part of the creative stuff.

What about if you’re more experienced?

The teachers are so well-educated that I, for example, was able to get a lot more out of it than I had expected. They adjust to your level and can provide more advanced teaching like intonation and breath work in singing. The more you want from SceneKunst, the more they’re going to give, and the less you understand, the easier they’re going to go on you.

What would you say to someone considering going to SceneKunst?

Firstly, I would say be prepared to make a commitment. A lot of the time people think school’s more important, or that it’s just a free time thing. There’s a good amount of discipline at Scene Kunst, and the vibe is best when everybody is on board with that. Second, if you want any kind of creative outlet – and I really mean any – there’s going to be something at SceneKunst that will speak to you.

Personally, I wasn’t much of a dancer – I’m still not! – but there was so much else that I enjoyed. It’s amazing to work so hard with so much material and to be able to perform something at the end.

In order to understand whether summer school is worth it, as well as what it has to offer children and their families, a few first-hand testimonies are crucial.

ANNA MARYAM SMITH

THE INSIDE SCOOP PIXABAY

Marie Rønde is 20 years old and has just finished her second year studying anthropology at the University of Copenhagen.

She is Danish-American and grew up in both Houston, Texas and Copenhagen. She graduated from International School in Hellerup in 2019 after receiving an IB Diploma.

In the summer of 2015 she attended Copenhagen International School’s summer program for creative writing.

Did you enjoy the experience of being at summer school?

I did enjoy it because it was fun, free learning without the agenda of getting a specific grade – rather learning something purely because you find it interesting. It taught me that learning through passion, rather than simply ‘going to school’, makes it much more fun.

Did it feel more like a relaxed summer activity or an intense academic experience?

Relaxed and fun – a great time with friends.

Do you think summer school is for everyone?

I think it is not for a specific type nor would a specific type dislike it. If there is a class with a subject they enjoy, then there should be something for everyone.

Would you recommend summer school to someone else?

Yes! Oskar Groot, 21, is a film student in Copenhagen. He is Danish, but has been an expat for most of his life – living in Japan for two years, the UK for ten, and finally finishing his IB diploma at Herlufsholm School in Denmark. He attended Herlufsholm summer school twice – at the ages of 13 of 14.

What did you attend summer school for?

I attended summer school to practise my Danish. After many years abroad, I had become slightly out of touch with my mother tongue. Other than that, I also chose to go to the summer school because of its sports and creative activities, and because I could spend time with some of the friends I already had, while making new friends within the group.

Did you enjoy your summer school experience?

I only have fond memories from my time at summer school. It was a great couple of weeks, packed with fun. Memories include playing sports outside in the sun, going for long walks, canoeing, trips to the beach, art lessons, a trip to Copenhagen and, of course, spending lots of time with friends.

After many years abroad, I think that it is only natural that one becomes slightly disconnected from their home country. I was [in Denmark] every summer, and when I was there we were only in our summerhouse – far away from everything else. The summer school gave me a chance to make friends and go to school in my home country. I got to go and explore my own country with a group of friends. I therefore think that it helped me to reconnect with my roots and rediscover my home country from a new perspective.

Did it feel more like a stressful academic experience, or more like a relaxed and fun summer activity?

It felt a lot more like a fun summer activity than

a stressful academic experience. As I recall, we only had three hours of lessons during the day. The rest of the day was filled with all sorts of summery activities and creative projects.

Do you think summer school is for everyone? What types of people do you think would enjoy it? Conversely, what types of people do you think wouldn’t enjoy it?

I definitely think that the summer school appeals to a broad group of teenagers. I think that it is especially designed for people looking to make new friends, and fill a long summer with a meaningful couple of weeks. I always used to get the summer blues when I was younger, when I would miss my friends dearly halfway through the summer holiday. But because I went to an international school, people were all over the planet, so I couldn’t see anyone. I think that was part of the thrill for me: it was the first time I could be away from my family during the summer holidays. I don’t think I would have enjoyed it as much if I was not open-minded and willing to try new things. I think it is essential to arrive with a ‘this will be fun’ attitude for the experience is to be fun. If you come with a good attitude, the school provides great care and attentiveness from the teachers, extraordinary facilities, and a myriad of possible experiences, within a safe and comfortable space.

Would you recommend summer school to someone else?

I would definitely recommend the summer school to anyone considering it. After the first year, I decided to go again. A couple years later I decided to finish my high school at the very school I had gone to summer school at. This year I will be returning to the very same summer school as a member of the hard working staff, and I am looking forward to trying to give the students as positive an experience as I got when I was there.

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DANISH SUMMER

SUMMERHOUSING DREAMIN’

Barely a winter’s day goes by without the Danes licking their lips at the prospect of living ‘the good life’ again in peaceful July

BEN HAMILTON Ah! The summer holidays in Denmark! What did Grundtvig once say? Or was it Holberg?

Hang on, surely it was Sidney Lee: “July in Copenhagen is like ‘The Day of the Triffids’ every single day.”

Or for a more modern reference, it’s just like coronavirus lockdown, but without the endless press briefings. Nothing happens and the whole city is deserted. For visiting tourists it’s like showing up at the Marie Celeste.

To the summerhouse!

So, why is this the case? Surely it can’t be because the entire population have uploaded

their homes onto Airbnb and beanoed off to Benidorm for six weeks?

Well, there’s a logical answer and it can be found in their not-too-distant agrarian past.

Danes are essentially farmers at heart, and they like nothing better than leaving the city behind them for long periods to live in their rurally-based summerhouses.

Within just days of the coronavirus lockdown being announced, there was a stampede to the countryside amid unparalleled demand for high-speed internet connections in remote areas.

That’s the real reason why the coronavirus lockdown was so quiet: nobody was here.

Meanwhile, the populations of certain coastal towns in northern Zealand and Jutland ran into six figures.

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Lifestyle divider For reasons like this, having a summerhouse is a big deal. Albeit trivial and overlooked by most internationals, you could say it’s something of a lifestyle divider.

In some countries, the lifestyle divider is a matter of life or death, like having water or not having water, or possessing or not possessing guns. In the US, for example, it’s having health insurance, and in the UK, it’s whether you can afford to send your toddlers to childcare.

But in good old Denmark, it’s the ownership of a summerhouse and the means to travel there. In fact, it’s so slight, most internationals don’t even notice.

All aboard!

So come July, an awful lot of Danish people

relocate to their summerhouse for six weeks.

For some, this can be a perilously long car journey across the entire country, for others, just hopping aboard a Christiania bike in Vesterbro and cycling to a garden shed in Gladsaxe.

But regardless of the cottage or carriage, it means living the dream, and this is what July has become for most Danes: a chance to disconnect most of their devices, recharge their batteries, and reconnect with their agrarian past.

The result is that July is mostly bereft of major events, leaving June and August to overflow with all manner of festival.

Bar the odd tourist getting lost on your street, it’s an extraordinarily peaceful time in the major cities.

OPINION PIXABAY

CONRAD MOLDEN

Ah, the summer holidays. We can smell the fresh sea air, feel the warm sand between our toes and taste the Hansens Flødeis on our lips.

Noah would have jumped But summer can be two vastly different experiences for parents and the childless. At this time of year, as a father of two, I envy you people without children.

Sipping mojitos and taking selfies on the beach in your reclined sun loungers. For the childless, summer holidays represent precisely that: holidays. Holy days to thoroughly work on the tan, day drink and get on top of your social media game.

For parents we’re faced with the very real challenge of 43 days of the children at home. It’s a long time. It’s longer than Noah spent on the Ark, but with the same level of peril.

Kid on a hot tin roof Thank god for sommerskole. I remember the glee in my mother’s eyes as she would send me off every summer when her nerves were finally at their end. Of course, this was back in the UK but summer schools there are essentially the same: wild.

24-7 party people Like many children I do remember rambunctious levels of fun throughout. All day outside in the hot sun, completely happy to be sweaty and dehydrated, and then suddenly inside an enormous hall with a buffet of food to fill our rumbling stomachs. We would play until exhausted, eat until bursting and somehow have energy to make it to the dormitory.

Then, somehow, it would rapidly all come to an end and we’d be sent back home on that hot bus back to some collection point.

Bedraggled and dirty, with shoes full of sand, our loving parents would still want us back.

Once back at home our mothers would open our bags only to discover half our clothes missing, someone else’s underpants… and a spine.

IMERCO

A big part of these camps always seemed to be abseiling. I’ve absolutely no idea when this skill will become useful: perhaps one day trapped in a burning building with 18 metres of spare rope I’ll eat my own words. However, climbing up and down walls in the hot sun seemed to be just what we all needed.

complained about ‘The Stench’. We kids were just happy to be there.

FLICKR/ MARYLAND GOVPICS

I remember being crammed onto a hot bus and being driven for an eternity to a faraway ‘activity centre’. Millions of children with summer holiday in their veins would be unleashed onto the accommodation. All the pent-up frustration from months sat at desks, inside rooms and now, suddenly, without parents and truly free.

As a parent looking back on those long hot summers I better understand my mother’s glee.

She loved me but she also knew those 40-plus days were enough to send anyone bananas.

Far better to opt for limes, as I’m sure she did on a sunlounger in our garden, drinking mojitos.

Dormitories are truly where the madness would take hold. Without any adult eyes it quickly becomes something like ‘Lord of the Flies’. Only two groups will know this to be true: psychologists aware of the 1950s ‘Robbers Cave’ experiment and anyone who attended a summer school.

We’d attack one another, issue dares, eat random items we’d discovered earlier in the day and generally do anything but sleep. That’s the magic of summer school: to somehow burn 5,000 calories a day, stay up all night and continue wildly the next day.

Knackered, but not spineless I remember the smell of our dormitory. Initially it was sweat and dirty clothes, but one day I found a large random piece of spine on the beach and smuggled it all the way back in my bag. It reeked a bit, but only the staff ever

Conrad is a 30+ stand-up comedian and father of two. He has had two one-man-shows that have toured around Denmark, ‘Danglish’ and ‘Danglish 2’, which are both streaming on TV2 Play or his website. His new 2022 show ‘Hyggelicious’ is coming in September. He is an amateur anthropologist living amongst the Danes and reporting back to his international friends. He has ambitions to lær the dansk but after nine years thinks nodding and grumbling might be a more realistic survival tactic.

His comedy is aimed at anyone seeking comfort, support or relief in this strange land.

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DANISH SUMMER COURSE

25/7 - 12/8

Summer course in Danish language and culture Spend your summer in Copenhagen and join our three-week course where we dive deep into Danish language and culture.

Language teaching every morning and cultural activities afternoons and evenings. Lots of networking with other interesting people.

Read more and sign up at studieskolen.dk