When the day children have gone home, the emphasis of the course switches from music to having a lot of fun with new friends.
The afternoon sport, evening activities, our house team system and general friendly atmosphere on our courses are all conducive to children enjoying themselves. We hear children at the end of each course complaining that the course was not long enough, rather than looking forward to going home (which we think is a good thing....)!
Many children do not know anyone when they arrive on one of our courses: but very quickly new friendships are formed. We have had very few instances of children being homesick - generally they are just kept too busy to dwell for long on thoughts of home.
Each evening there will be activities and games. We usually do a big fun quiz on the first night (in house teams) to break any ice that remains to be broken; other activities include outdoor games such as softball rounders or football, a treasure hunt, table tennis, party games, Brass Academy's Got Talent etc.
The evening draws to a conclusion with showers followed by milkshake and a light snack and a relaxed 15 minutes or so watching a short DVD. Bedtime for the younger children (12 and under) will be around 9.30pm: teenagers stay up later, under light but effective supervision, until about 10.30pm.
Our son thoroughly enjoyed the Easter Course. It was the first time he had ever been away from home on his own - we were so delighted that he was confident and happy in the environment. We felt that he was in safe hands. He did so much musically, and he really enjoyed the scheduled games and activities.
Teenagers
Children of all ages attend our courses, and we recognize that teenagers need and want less structure in the evenings. So whilst they are very welcome to join in the evening activities, they can if they wish have a more relaxed evening, chatting with new friends or playing an impromptu game of football, cards or board games.
