Governance

The Summer Camps Trust is sad to report the death of our President, Lord David Ramsbotham. David had been President since the establishment of the Trust in 2015, and had been supportive and helpful to our work in many ways. He was a real gentleman, and an enthusiast for the causes he supported.

We are pleased to announce that the new President of the Summer Camps Trust will be Baroness Estelle Morris PC. 

Trustees

  • Ian Lewis - Chair

    Ian is director of the Campaign for Adventure which promotes achievement through adventure, community and creativity. Ian provides the secretariat to the All Party Parliamentary Group on Adventure and Recreation in Society in UK. Ian is the chairperson for the Trust.

  • Nicky Bandini

    Nicky is a sports writer and broadcaster who contributes to leading outlets in Britain and internationally - including The Guardian, ESPN and the BBC. She attended summer camps throughout her teen years and believes firmly in the positive impact they can have.

  • Sir Julian Brazier

    Sir Julian was a Conservative MP for Canterbury and Whitstable. Prior to his career in politics, Sir Julian served as an officer in the Territorial Army for thirteen years, five of them in the SAS. Sir Julian co-chaired the all-party Group for Adventure and Recreation in society between 2004 and 2011.

  • Mya-Rose Craig

    Mya-Rose, also known as “Birdgirl”, is an inspirational young ornithologist and environmentalist, who campaigns to ensure VME children have equal access to the countryside and nature through her non-profit organisation Black2Nature, which organises camps in nature for kids.

  • Keith Hagon

    Keith is the Executive Director of the UK branch of Christian Camping International.
    Prior to joining CCI UK, Keith was CEO at George Muller Charitable Trust in Bristol.

  • Hannah Peart

    Hannah is studying International Relations at the University of St Andrews. She discovered her passion for summer camps during training with The Summer Camps Trust followed by working on a camp. Hannah writes for the student newspaper and enjoys exploring the Fife countryside.

  • RT HON Jacqui Smith

    Jacqui was the Member of Parliament for Redditch and the first ever female Home Secretary. Jacqui has a PPE degree from Oxford and a PGCE from Worcester College of Higher Education. Jacqui is Chair of Birmingham Hospital.

  • Lord Mike Storey CBE

    Mike was a teacher for 40 years, a City Councillor for 35 years and is currently the Liberal Democrat party’s spokesperson on education, families and young people in the House of Lords. Mike is currently a member of the Youth Unemployment Select Committee.

  • Malcolm Trobe CBE

    Malcolm worked with Colony Holidays as a young man, became a very distinguished headteacher in Wiltshire, and has recently been Assistant General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders.

  • Tricia Rawlingson-Plant

    Tricia is the joint-founder and Director of Mill on the Brue Outdoor Activity Centre. Tricia is also Vice-Chair of the British Activity Providers Association (the BAPA) and has been on the board of the Activities Industry Mutual Insurance Company since it began.

Staff

  • Chris Green MBE - Coordinator

    Chris has been involved with summer camps since the 1950s and was awarded the MBE in the New Year Honours List 2011 for services to education through summer camps. He had previously been involved in establishing and managing Colony Holidays (est. 1963), a provider of summer camps in the United Kingdom from the 1960s to 1980s, and latterly ATE which continues to provide summer camps across the UK.

  • Helen Fairest - Lead Trainer

    Helen trained as a volunteer summer camp leader in 1995, and since then has worked regularly and very successfully as leader and later director of a large number of camps. More recently she became involved in the training of leaders, and has worked on many courses. Outside of summer camps Helen is a trained speech therapist, and a keen exponent of the Forest School movement.

  • Fran Haigh - Administrator

    Fran trained and worked as a summer camp leader for many years. She now works in theatre-making and design in the north-east, but greatly enjoys continuing her connection with summer camps.

President

  • Estelle Morris, Baroness Morris of Yardley

    Estelle Morris was a secondary school teacher for eighteen years, and then became MP for Birmingham Yardley in 1992. After the change of government in 1997 she became a Minister in the Department for Education, then Secretary of State for Education in 2001. She was made a Life Peer in 2005, and has continued to support many aspects of education from the House of Lords.