Tryout Camps
Why not give it a go!

MORE TRYOUT CAMP PLACES THAN EVER IN 2024.

 Following two wonderful camps run at Longtown Outdoor Centre in Herefordshire by The Campaign for Adventure in collaboration with The Summer Camps Trust in 2022 and 2023, TWO separate weeks will be offered in 2024:

 Saturday August 3rd to Saturday August 10th

 Sunday August 11th to Sunday August 18th

 For children aged 8-15

For these two camps there will be NO INCREASE IN PRICE from 2023  -  £325 to include full board and lodging, all activities, supervision at Longtown AND accompanied travel from any one of the following points*:

Young People Lit by light from Campfire

  • Peterborough

  • Reading

  • York

  • Birmingham

  • Bristol

  • Doncaster

  • Edinburgh

*If there is another location you would prefer to travel from, please let us know, and if possible we will offer it.

 We are also delighted that the following Summer Camps Trust member organisations are offering some TryOut places in their camps (to be booked through the SCT website):

ATE SUPERWEEKS

  • Liverpool

  • London

  • Manchester

  • Newcastle upon Tyne

Frank Chapman Centre

30th March - 6th April
Ages 8-14

Moor Park

11th - 15th August
Ages 8-14
16th - 23rd August
Ages 8-14
24th - 31st August
Ages 8-14

Edmond Hall

16th - 23rd August
Ages 10-15
24th - 31st August
Ages 14-16

The price of the ATE Superweek places will also be held at £325 (and £265 for the 5-day camp), but for these camps this does NOT include accompanied travel (accompanied travel is available for an additional fee by negotiation with ATE directly).

And for anyone looking for TWO WEEK Camps

 LEARN & EXPERIENCE  

Aysgarth School, North Yorkshire

Sunday July 7th to Saturday July 20th

Sunday July 21st to Saturday August 3rd.

 The price of the Aysgarth camps will be £875 for session 1 and £975 for session 2. Accompanied travel is not available for L & E sessions.

 You can pay in one instalment, or via a non-returnable deposit of £75 payable on booking*. The remainder of the money will be paid by bank transfer, either in monthly instalments or in one lump sum. Final balance must be paid in full by 30 days before the start of each camp.

Some subsidised places are available for children from disadvantaged families. These places can only be booked with the support of a child’s school  -  see our FAQs page.

The TryOut Camps at Longtown and the camps run by ATE will offer an exciting programme of varied activities, outdoor, indoor, sporty, cultural, artistic, etc. There may be some opportunities to take part in outdoor pursuits which require specialist equipment and supervision but these activities will not make up the bulk of the programme.

The Providers

  • ATE Superweeks

    ATE Superweeks is an Educational Charity which has been delivering wonderful summer camps, looking after children really well, and training young adult volunteer leaders since 1996; they have been featured in press articles as among the best of British summer camp providers.

  • Learn & Experience

    Learn & Experience runs summer camps and other residential sessions in Britain and in Canada; they have been running very successful camps for fifteen years, and are regularly highlighted in press articles as doing great work.

How your child gets there…

Delivering and collecting your children by car is the option chosen by many parents. In the run up to the camp you will be sent details of how to find the centre, the postcode, when to arrive on the first day, when to collect on the last day, etc.  

Accompanied Travel on public transport (Available to all children attending either camp at Longtown, and by arrangement with ATE Superweeks directly).

Accompanied travel routes are likely to start from London or other major conurbations  -  though we try to include as many places en route as can be managed with the escorts we have available.

For Longtown we have a list of guaranteed travel points, and you can ask on the application form for “the nearest possible collection point to … (your home)”.

You will be contacted a few weeks before the camp with the details of what has been arranged.  

Please Note: 

  • Our program of TryOut Camps are for UK resident children who have never had the enjoyment of attending a residential summer camp before. Our hope is that by giving them this chance to try out a camp they will be encouraged to do so again.

  • SEND

     It is our aim to be as inclusive as possible, and accommodate all children who wish to attend a residential camp.

  • Our staff do not have specialist SEND training, and we are unable to accommodate children requiring one-to-one care.

    Due to the active nature of summer camps, and the limits of many residential centres we may not be able to offer an adequate provision for children with severe physical needs.

    If your child has any additional needs, please let us know so that we can best advise and ensure we can accommodate them appropriately.

  • Summer Camps are NOT suitable for respite care; the children need to come for positive reasons, not feeling they have been “dumped” to give parents or carers a rest.

  • Groups cannot be accepted together. A child CAN apply to attend with one friend / brother / sister, though we cannot guarantee they will be in the same dormitory group - they will see plenty of each other anyway, but we hope they will also make many new friends at the camp. If applying for two children, please make sure to add the information for the second child in the box provided on the camper registration form.

* Deposits for a camp may only be made available for bookings placed more than 30 days before the start date of a camp.