PIPPA’S GUARDIANS We started to offer half term camps to international students in response to travel restrictions in place during the pandemic. We understood that not all host families would be able to host during COVID and that an increased number of students would be remaining in the UK during school holidays. Since December 2020 we have run 5 successful camps and are currently preparing for our sixth. We created our camps to ensure international students in the UK, not just those under our guardianship services, had more choice available to them and to ensure they had somewhere safe to go if a host family wasn’t a possibility or a preferred option for them. Pippa’s camps were welcomed by parents and are now demanded by students. New friendships have been formed and students look forward to reuniting during the next school holiday. Our last camp was a study camp during the Easter holidays, our longest camp so far at just over three weeks and our second largest in terms of student numbers. Our Easter camp was held at St Edward’s School in Oxford, chosen for its excellent facilities and boarding houses as well as its location close to museums, shopping centres and a world famous university. As many students were anxious about upcoming A level and GCSE examinations, we held study and revision sessions each morning, with teachers available for revision lessons and academic support. Students could then choose between extra study time or activities and sports in the afternoons and evenings. Our aim was to offer a balance between work and play and give students a choice so they could enjoy and get the most out of their school holiday. The feedback from parents and students has been fantastic and helped our camps to develop and improve each time.
“I really enjoy the camps as I have made so many new friends. The study sessions are great as I can focus solely on my work. I have had so much fun, especially the socials at night and would recommend the camp” CYRUS WONG, A STUDENT AT UPPINGHAM SCHOOL, WHO WILL BE JOINING PIPPA’S CAMPS FOR THE THIRD TIME.
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