Summer camp places for 20,000

Twenty thousand young people in England will take part in US
style summer camps next year thanks to a £12.5 million lottery
grant.

The Big Lottery Fund is to finance a big extension of the
government-initiated programme to send young people on structured
residential camps.

This year 2500 11 to 17 year olds will be taking part in the ten
day camps which promise a broad range of activities from canoeing
to dance to camping in the mountains. The programme, called Get
REAL, was piloted last year in three areas of the country.

The camps are run by established  private sector holiday
companies including Outward Bound and PGL. The Big Lottery Fund
will now provide £500 per participant . Parents on means
tested benefits will pay £25 for the camps, and others will
pay £100.

School standards minister David Milliband said at the launch of
this summer’s programme, “Residential summer camp
experiences can raise standards, increase participation and develop
the life skills of our young people. I would like to see every
pupil in England benefit from a summer camp experience during their
school career.”

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