Looking for a summer holiday experience in and around Bristol for your children? Academic Summer’s day camp at Sidcot School runs 6 July to 7 August 2026. Ages 8 to 17, includes minibus pickup and trips out on scheduled days.
If you are a Bristol parent staring down six weeks of summer holidays wondering what on earth to do with your kids, this is worth five minutes of your time.
Academic Summer’s holiday camp near Bristol runs at Sidcot School in Somerset from 6 July to 7 August 2026 and you can choose which days you would like them to attend. Your child arrives in the morning, has a full, active and genuinely enjoyable day and comes home tired in the best possible way. A hot lunch is included. The Bristol minibus picks them up at a central location and drops them off. And the early bird price starts from just £55 a day.
Not a babysitting service. Not a screen. Something far better.
👉 Reserve your child’s place at the Sidcot summer day camp
While other kids are bored, yours could be at a summer day camp in Bristol
Sidcot School sits in 150 acres of Somerset countryside, 45 minutes from Bristol. It is a beautiful, safe and inspiring place to spend a summer — with sports fields, a swimming pool, science labs, a modern arts centre and real outdoor space to breathe, explore and be a young person.
Each day is structured and purposeful, but it never feels like school. Students take part in academic sessions designed to stretch their thinking, outdoor activities that build confidence and social time with young people from all over the world. Over 60 nationalities come together at Academic Summer every summer. For a Bristol child, spending time in that kind of environment is an experience no classroom can replicate.
As Caroline Marshall, Head of Communications at Academic Summer Camps, puts it: “I often find myself thinking, ‘I wish I’d gone to something like this when I was a teenager.’ Our students learn how to adapt, how to communicate, how to feel confident in new environments. It’s not just about what they learn, it’s about building real-life skills that stay with them for years.”
👉 Read Caroline’s full interview
The summer day camp near Bristol built around your child
Every child is different. Some thrive in academic settings. Others come alive outdoors. Many are somewhere in between.
Academic Summer’s day camp at Sidcot works because it offers all of it. Academic sessions in the morning give students real challenge and stimulation, the kind that keeps curious minds engaged over the summer rather than switching off entirely. Afternoons are for activity — sport, outdoor adventures, creative sessions and time in the Somerset air.
Students can also take part in the Be a Leader programme, which builds teamwork, communication and genuine confidence.
Ellie Jones, Head of Academic at Academic Summer Camps, is also a parent who sends her own children to camp. She puts it simply: “Instead of being at home on devices, they’re off building rafts to cross rivers with classmates, competing in sports, going on amazing trips and learning in ways that really stick. They start school in September feeling like they’ve had a head start, reignited in their love of learning and full of confidence.”
Your child’s summer day camp can include FA and UEFA-qualified football coaching, just one of the activities on offer across the week.
Perfect for home-educating families near Bristol
If you home school your child/ children, the summer holidays can feel like more of the same, without the structure, the social outlet or the change of scene that keeps children energised.
Academic Summer’s day camp gives home-educated children something genuinely different. A new environment, new faces, new challenges and the kind of group experience that is hard to create at home. Students arrive as individuals and leave as part of something.
Academic Summer’s day camp at Sidcot School has become a popular choice for local families and home-educating families across the region and it is easy to see why.
👉 Find out more about the day camp
Best £55 you’ll spend this summer
Day places at Academic Summer’s Sidcot camp start from £55 per day on the early bird rate. That includes a full day of supervised activity and academic sessions, a hot lunch, and the Bristol minibus service morning and afternoon.
Helen Lami, CEO of Academic Summer, has built the organisation around a simple belief: “Sending your child to a summer camp is an amazing experience. They gain confidence, make friends and come home having grown in ways that surprise even them.”
Six weeks is a long time. Make at least one of them count.
Everything you need to know
Dates: 6 July to 7 August 2026, Monday to Friday Ages: 8 to 17 Location: Sidcot School, Winscombe, Somerset BS25 1PD — 45 minutes from Bristol Price: From £55 per day (early bird) Includes: Hot lunch, Bristol minibus, full day programme, Be a Leader certificate Accreditation: BAC accredited. CPD certificate awarded on completion.
👉 Book your day camp place 👉 View the full Westcountry Adventure programme 👉 Read the Academic Summer magazine 👉 Get in touch with the team
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