Helen Lami New Year's Message - Academic Summer Camps

Helen Lami’s New Year’s Message reflects on a year of growth, challenges and purpose, and looks to 2026 with joy and hope for education.

As 2025 draws to a close, I’ve taken a moment to pause and reflect. Not just on the outcomes, but on the journey. And wondering where 2025 went!

Last year my word was ‘thrive’. It was about growth, resilience and building something strong in a demanding season and it turned out to be exactly the right word. The international education sector continues to be challenging. The world is changing fast, with political uncertainty, global conflict, rising costs and rapid technological change. It has been one of the toughest environments I’ve known in the last 25 years, but this also makes it exciting and full of opportunities.

Despite the pressure, we did thrive. Not by cutting corners, but by holding our nerve and staying true to what we believe education should be.

We chose quality over numbers
We continued to care and to show kindness
We stayed agile and, yes, a little bit fox-like

Our clever fox has always symbolised wisdom, adaptability and knowing when to leap.

Education matters now more than ever

If anything, this year has reaffirmed one thing for me: education matters, especially in a world being reshaped by AI. It is about adventure and learning.

AI is not the enemy, and it isn’t a silver bullet either. The real question is how we prepare young people to thrive alongside it, not be replaced by it.

The future belongs to young people who can think critically, ask good questions, apply creativity and humour, collaborate, adapt and lead, and bring humanity into highly technological spaces.

Knowledge alone is no longer enough. Experience matters, exposure matters and learning how to think matters.

Education can change the world and must go beyond classrooms and exams. Young people need experiences that stretch them, challenge them and help them discover who they are and what they bring to the world.

Stronger together

One of the highlights for me is seeing how Academic Summer Camps UK and Canada and Living Learning English work together so naturally. It is great we move forward together as sister companies. Both companies have different models, from immersive group experiences to highly personalised home tuition, but they share one clear commitment: education delivered with care, quality and purpose.

Being stronger together allows us to be flexible, student-centred and values-led in a complex market, while keeping our focus on what makes a difference. Less noise and more substance is what it is all about.

Making a difference is also why partnerships like Theirworld matter so much to us. They remind us that education is not just about opportunity for some, but access for all, and that what we do connects to a much bigger global picture.

Quality and Care

We have a small, committed team. A team who genuinely care about students, families and outcomes. That choice is not always the easiest commercially, but it is the right one. And yes, it does mean we know everyone’s name and the coffee order of our group leaders.

Thriving this year hasn’t been about doing more, it’s been about doing the right things well.

So what about 2026?

Looking ahead to 2026, my word for the year is ‘rejoice‘.

Not because the work is finished
Not because things have suddenly become easier
But because joy is something we choose.

Rejoicing, for me, is about celebrating progress, not just end results. It’s about noticing what is good and leading with gratitude, faith and hope for the future.

If thrive was about strength and growth, rejoice is about joy with depth. A joy that sustains, energises and keeps purpose front and centre.

As we step into 2026, my hope is to continue building education that equips young people not just to survive change, but to shape it, with confidence, creativity, a sense of humour and courage.

Like the clever fox, we step into 2026 with rejoicing, curiosity, confidence and purpose.

Happy New Year – May 2026 be one that is filled with joy.