ATE Staff Liam, Connor, Patrick, Stefan and Anthony are doing a ’88 miles in 88 hours’ centre-to-centre challenge to raise funds for the Adventure Appeal this summer. Liam tells us more: “Have you ever noticed that the word ‘Fun’ is in Fundraise? Well, that’s because it is incredibly fun do to exactly that. But the…
Posts by Patrick
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About ATE: It’s ATE’s 20th Birthday! Cat W talks about what these 20 years mean to us.
This year, ATE celebrates its 20th birthday! Together with our predecessor body, Colony Holidays, we’ve been running for over fifty years, and this year celebrates 20 years since we were established as ATE. We spoke to Cat, a Monitor and former Superweeker, who put on her Official Birthday Party hat to talk to us: “Twenty years of…
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Superweeks: “Shall I tell you about my Superweek Mum?”
“Shall I tell you about my Superweek Mum?” He asks as we are cracking the ice on a puddle near Wyre Piddle. It was the day after Boxing Day. A mere 122 days after his return travel day from his Superweek at Moor Park. To be honest I had given up trying to find out about Ben’s…
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Volunteering: Introducing the (excited!) Monitor class of 2015!
With summer just around the corner, we caught up with the newly trained Monitor cohort; 25 fresh-faced excited new Monitors, all working with us for the first time this summer. We wanted to know about their experience of the training course and how they feel as the newest members of the ATE family. “Firstly I…
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Superweeks: Realizing how Amazing the Outside World Can Be
During the eight years that I have been volunteering on Superweeks, I have witnessed many amazing childhood moments being experienced by the children we work with. But some of the loveliest moments, were when they realised how amazing the outside world can be. Unfortunately, during day to day lives, children don’t always get the chance…
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Superweeks: Why summer camps?
The sun has come out (ish), the summer holidays are fast approaching and there will more likely be decisions to make about how your child(ren) spend their 6 weeks away from school. There are friends to meet up with of course, new computer games to defeat, perhaps a family holiday to go on. It’s an…
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Superweeks: How I Learnt to Stop Worrying and Love Childhood
At any moment, half a million children across the UK are unhappy with their lives according to The Good Childhood Report 2012. Over the last decade, several studies have suggested that puberty is starting earlier. And it’s not just the physical change from child to adult that is sneaking up on parents and children –…
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Superweeks: “The Joy Generated is Infectious”
If you asked me to isolate just one memory of Superweeks to label as my favourite, it would take me at least half an hour to decide on my top 5. From my four years of Superweeks, there are so many memories to choose from, and each one more positive and vivid. The only moment…
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Superweeks: The Sense of Awe and Wonder to be found in the Great Outdoors
Like several Mums I know, as the school holidays lurch into view, I begin a slightly panicked search through the local papers and online forums to find something which may be both fun and ideally beneficial to fill each available day. It is easy to think that I have to be responsible for programming my…