High Life Highland’s first summer camps in East Sutherland a ‘huge success’
With seven weeks of summer holidays this year, Active Schools teamed up with a number of local groups and other High Life Highland services to deliver a ‘School’s Out’ programme of activities and sports for young people in Sutherland throughout July and August.
It was a very busy programme with Olympic camps, dance, yoga and tennis for primary schoolchildren as well as outdoor activities led by a countryside ranger, including Nature Olympics and seashore safaris.
There were also activities funded by Planet Youth in Highland and organised in partnership with Brora Youth Room and Golspie Youth Action Project. These included rounders, football, dodgeball, yoga and Highland Games.
Elissa Stevenson, active school coordinator for East Sutherland, said: "It was the first time we had organised camps that were four or five hours long but they were a huge success with most camps being fully booked.
"The camps consisted of Olympic themed sports and games followed by a session at the local library and some camps also included an Olympic themed nature session with the countryside ranger.
"It was very rewarding to work with our library and countryside ranger colleagues as well as local groups to provide a variety of activities for young people.”
Elissa added: “We were also fortunate to have sports leaders from Golspie High School and Dornoch Academy to help with some of the activities, as well as local coaches to lead the yoga, dance and tennis sessions.
As part of the summer holiday fun, a family summer treasure hunt was also held, with every library in East Sutherland taking part. The activity involved a fun word hunt around each village, then unravelling the anagram to reveal the answer.
The hunt ran throughout the summer which meant families could complete it at their leisure, collecting and returning forms when their library was open.
Elissa said: “It was a great way to increase footfall to the libraries as well as offering a free local activity for all the family to enjoy.”
High Life Highland is the largest charity and third sector provider in the Highlands.
