How to choose the right summer camp for your child

Summer camps can be a productive and fun way to help fill the long school holidays. Clodagh O’Donoghue of Consumer Choice looks at the options, costs, and what you need to consider.

For school-age children, waking up on the first morning of the summer holidays and knowing there are two whole months of freedom stretching ahead — three, if you are a non-exam year secondary school student — is a truly great feeling. Their parents, however, may not experience the same degree of unmixed enthusiasm.

It can be challenging, not to mention expensive, to fill all those hours that a child is used to spending in the school environment. One answer to this annual problem for parents is the plethora of children’s summer camps that are on offer.