07/08/2023
Showing off our standout moments at camp
We've had all the fun of the fair at camp with our special weekly theme: The Greatest Show! Children have been celebrating all things performance and have enjoyed our tweaked activities throughout the week and our special Friday Finale.
Here's a snapshot of the fun we got up to on our 3rd week of summer camp.
Around camp
Upminster
It was bitter sweet at camp with 3 of our life time campers experiencing their last day of camp. Conor, Harry and Abir have attended camp every summer since they joined in 2013, celebrating their 10th and final year at Barracudas. The boys designed their perfect timetable for their group on their last day of camp and this was even signed off by David, our CEO! They were delighted to get a unique double swimming session approved to make their last day with us the best day ever.
Not only did they get their ideal mix of activities, but also enjoyed a special presentation ceremony organised by the staff and were awarded their certificates and their very own Barracudas camp kit!
We’re proud to seen the boys grow with us over the years, from Minnows to Barracudas and couldn’t be prouder of them. Hopefully we’ll see them back as staff in the future. Then they can swap their T-shirts with the official staff red shirts!
We also had lots of fun and development at Upminster camp with the official West Ham United Foundation football course this week. Children have loved learning from the professionals and honing their skills!
Bedford
It’s been a full and varied week of activities at Bedford camp. Children loved developing coordination and skills in tennis, challenging themselves throwing and catching the balls whilst moving around in a circle. They loved trying something new in fencing. The Discovery Squad Skills Builder course inspired our budding scientists and they loved making 'gassy creatures'!
Weekly theme fun
All our camps enjoyed our weekly theme! The Greatest Show theme offered lots of fun for both children and staff! We’ve loved seeing what they’ve been getting up to. Here’s just a few snapshots from Hayes, Twickenham Waldegrave and Upminster camps.
Instagram camp takeovers
We know you love to see all the fun at camp. As camp is a child (and staff) only zone, we like to give you an insights into what they could be getting up do throughout their day.
We got a sneaky peak at all the fun at Crawley, Woodford, Upminster, Maidstone and Bishop’s Stortford. Follow us on Instagram to see all our daily takeovers!
Camp TikToks
We’re ahead of the game with our TikTok account, with almost 11k followers, we know you love to see what we’re doing at camp! We shared some amazing moments at Maidstone, Ely, Farnham, Romford and Hutton last week. Wonder what we’ll be doing this week? Follow us to find out.
Photo and session of the day
We share our favourite photos every day on social media. The winners this week were Hutton with a mini camping session, Hemel’s waterpark fun, Sevenoaks camp using our new Build a Fort equipment, great motorsports session followed by an excited motorsports group at Tonbridge.
We have over 80 activities at camp to keep kids entertained in the summer holidays. Each day we share our favourite sessions on social media. The winners this week were Romford camp getting creative with our new Build a Fort activity, rebalancing at Bedford with a yoga session, exploring science at Letchworth camp making volcanoes, fantastic weekly theme arts and crafts at Huntingdon camp and fencing fun at Bedford camp.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to see all of our photo and session of the day updates!
Staff member of the week
We love to shout out about our fantastic staff. This week we celebrated Katie, our Arts and Crafts instructor at Maidstone camp. The Camp Manager said:
"Our staff member of the week is going to be Katy. Katy is our arts and crafts instructor who has gone above and beyond in the last couple of weeks. On her days off she creates us beautiful pieces of art for the children to contribute to during her sessions. She has made our camp look so welcoming and imaginative with how she has displayed all of the children's artwork. She is always getting her groups to sing songs in the art room and is a truly caring and kind person! We believe that every camp needs a Katy!"
Thanks for truly living our values, Katy!
Great parent ratings!
What our bookers think of their experiences matters to us. We were so please to receive lots of 5 star customer reviews again last week. Here’s just a few of them:
Trustpilot reviews:
“We are in Salisbury on holiday from Italy. Barracudas has been simply fantastic. My kids, Francesco and Federico, had so much fun they didn't want the week to end. Everyone has been extremely helpful and understanding with the kids since they are not native speaking. Looking forward to joining Barracudas again next year!” Barbara
“Wonderful experience this summer at Twickenham, St Catherine’s site. Swimming every day, archery, face painting, drama & dance, bouncy castle, dodgeball, quizzes, exciting games and so much more - this is the most fun my kids have ever had at a kids club & I have been really impressed by the professionalism of the staff running the site too. Keep it up Team Barracudas St. Catherine’s!!” Mrs LMC
“My child has been attending for 6 years now. Children are split into age appropriate groups and age appropriate activities. The range of activities available are incredible. Giving the children a choice each session makes them feel more in control of their school holiday time. My child would do arts & crafts and swimming all day if she could. Its not just a holiday club/camp, but more of a community with the leaders knowing every child, and the children having fun with them. Can't praise it enough.” Trish
Take a look at how other parents have rated us on Trustpilot this summer.
Google reviews
“My daughter went to barracudas summer camp for the first time she is enjoying it so much that I’ve extended her booking to extra week her confidence has blossomed she has tried out new activities that she wouldn’t have ever tried before. Staff are amazing and friendly rumbi has made me and my child feel so confident and spoken about all the daily activity’s. Courtney the camp manger is amazing thank you all and definitely see u next summer Romford barracuda is amazing thank you again for giving aria a summer she won’t fight.” Angela
“First ever time for my son and he loved it and can't wait to come back” Thomas
“Our child went for the first time today. Timings are 08:30-17:30 which is perfect for working parents. They take their own lunch but the day is jam-packed full of activities and there’s always 2 choices of activity for each time slot. Todays available activities were basketball, football, dance and drama, electric quad bikes, inflatable assault course, baseroom games, tennis, capture the flag, bouncy castle and circus skills. Such a huge range of activities so well worth the price if you can afford it. He came home tired but very happy about the day he’d had and excited to go again!” Joanne
Fundraising for Save the Children
Each year we like to work with our parents to give something back. Our chosen charity for 2023 is Save the Children. We have an online donation option on our booking system that parents can choose to select when they make their booking and we also have fun fundraising activities at camp.
We have collection boxes at camp for parents to contribute to as well as an online fundraising page.
This summer our Soak the Staff weekly event is entertaining us all at camp. We'd like to thank all our staff and parents for helping us raise money for this fantastic cause. We look forward to seeing how much we can raise this summer.
Another week of fun in the memory bank! We're looking forward to many more moments this week!
We still have a limited number of places available to book. We'd love to see you at camp this summer.