Hello and welcome to the SVP Ozanam Camp, Holy Island.

After sadly missing the first year of Holy Island Camps since they begin way back in 1954, we are delighted to announce that we are ready to return this summer! Applications are now open for 2021.

For those of you not familiar with our camp, it has been running on Holy Island every summer since 1954 and the aim of the camp is to provide a safe and enjoyable week away in a unique location, where children can engage in a variety of mainly outdoor activities, make new friends and get some much needed time away from screens! The ‘camp’ is a purpose built hostel, with dormitories containing bunk beds for eight children. The maximum capacity is 64 per week (a slight reduction from previous years), and we are usually full up! The camp is run exclusively by volunteers who are all subject to Enhanced DBS Clearance (Criminal Record Check) and required to undertake annual training. 

The application process is exactly the same as last year, so those of you who applied then will already be familiar with it. Unfortunately, our camps have been hit badly by the block on income over the last year due to the Covid-19 restrictions, so we are forced to increase the cost to £135 per child, per week. However, we can work with you to agree a payment plan if this would helpful. We will again be allocating places on a ‘first come, first served’ basis, so please apply as soon as possible

The major change to camp in 2021 from previous years is that all our weeks will now be ‘mixed gender’ weeks, i.e. we are inviting both boys and girls to attend together. As you may be aware, we have been already been operating with mixed helpers for a number of years, and the National SVP Committee have a wish for all camps to be mixed in terms of both children and volunteers. For Holy Island, this means we can now offer completely equal opportunities to both boys and girls. Of course, whilst the boys and girls will attend the same week, they will have separate dormitories, toilets and shower facilities.

This also means that we are able to balance out the age ranges in a different manner. For the first time in many years, will be offering a place to both girls and boys currently in Year 7 at school. We are experimenting this year with differentiating weeks based on age. Historically, most of the attendees we get are in Year 6, so those children will be able to attend all weeks. We are going to target Year 5’s for the first three weeks and Year 7’s for the final three. Whilst there may be some flexibility on this for siblings and close friends who may be a couple of years apart, we do ask that you apply for the recommended weeks, as it will help us to tailor our approach according to the age profile, with the aim of giving the best possible experience to the children on each of our weeks.

We have previously run a camp during the May half term holiday, followed by six weeks in the summer. Unfortunately, since many Covid-19 restrictions will still be in place until 21^st June, we will only be running the six summer weeks this year.

Please ask your child to talk with their friends before deciding which week to apply for. Although many children attend on their own each year and have a great time, we do tend to get a number of drop outs as children discover that their friends have applied for different weeks and they will not be together. If your child has a best friend or two that they would really like to share a room with, please note that in the comments section of the online form.

If there is anything at all you would like to ask or discuss, please contact our team at any time via the email address below. Unfortunately, due to the fact we are all working full time on our day jobs, we do not have a phone number for you to call. However, if you would rather discuss a matter over the phone, please email us with your name and number and we will call you back as soon as we can.

Children’s Applications
2021 Applications are now open - Please see the below link

Children's Applications

Any queries contact Rob Curran and Eileen Stout (applications team) by email: holyislandapplications@hotmail.co.uk

Bus times can be found here

VOLUNTEERS

We are now taking Volunteer application forms, see link below

Volunteer Application Forms

Any enquires about volunteering for our Camps? Please contact:

Email holyislandhelpers@hotmail.com

Pete McTernan, 07956 069893.

HIRE THE CAMP

If you are wanting to enquire about booking Term Time Camps or for the House or the Flat please contact Jacinta Hetherington on 07458091639