Before you pack your offspring off to a children's camp, make sure it is a member of the British Activity Holiday Association, which sets safety standards and minimum requirements for accommodation and staff training. Members are listed here. A community website for expatriates in London also posts a list of camps with comments from parents.
PGL
By far the best and most comprehensive of the sites visited. PGL is big enough to offer plenty of specialist holidays; those who choose to go to France can opt to train as a lifeguard, lie on the beach all afternoon or learn French. Also runs 14 multi-activity holidays around Britain.
Sealyham
Another for the PE-loving child, Sealyham is based in Pembrokeshire and offers three different activities each day, including "muddy experiences", campfires and raft building.
The AquaSports Company
For children aged between eight and 16 at a lakeside centre in Surrey. Children must have already completed a beginner's course in dinghy sailing, windsurfing or canoeing. The courses, which last five days, also take in treasure hunts and barbecues. Accommodation is in tents.
CampPage
Sending your child to the US or Canada does have drawbacks; the cost of the airfare, the possible homesickness, and the difficulty in vetting camps. But if your child likes the idea, then a number of the centres listed here accept children from abroad.
Pré Fleuri
Pré Fleuri is an international school in the Swiss Alps for four- to 12-year-olds. It combines language learning, sport and a belief in the creative potential of every child.
EF Language Travel
Pupils learn Spanish, German or French during the morning and try to speak it in the afternoon. Unfortunately, prices are frequently missing and the information is bland and rather unconvincing.
Cross Keys
Cross Keys camps allow children more freedom to choose which activities they want to pursue and encourage them to relax and express themselves. Unusually, the site includes a section for the children themselves.
Camp Beaumont
Runs nine day camps, four residential camps (one in France) and specialist holidays based on the US model. For children as young as six.
