The joys of summer camp

Among all the conceivable ways for teenagers to spend part of a long summer holiday, a week of science summer camp at Wycombe Abbey, one of Britain’s top private schools, offers a very rewarding experience. I am glad that I did that for my 13-year-old daughter.

 

Once you enter the school’s main gate, it is all meadow and pasture with a scenic hillside backdrop stretching afar. The “graduation ceremony” of final presentations was held in a small theatre inside a simple two-storey windowed structure surrounded by a beautiful tranquil pond, rippled occasionally by gracefully floating swans.

 

Having settled into our seats, along with all the other parents eagerly waiting for their children, my wife and I were startled by a commotion behind the top back row. We turned our heads and were excited to see our princess among the convoy of young enthusiasts marching in through the doors, apparently ready to take the stage to share their scientific discoveries with the audience. Soon after, we sat impressed at the highly proficient presentations on diverse scientific topics such as caffeine, genetics, black holes, engineering, carbon dioxide, the contents of soft drinks, biology, the law of relativity, luminosity, exoplanets and dark matter.

 

It was amazing just how much the youngsters had managed to learn in a week. I was particularly thrilled to see my daughter introducing herself and her teammates on stage, albeit initially slightly nervously, before starting to speak eloquently on how exoplanets are discovered – by the so-called Doppler method! – and convincingly answering questions from the adult audience. I could not help but wonder whether I could have done as well in my own teenage years, but struggled to recall any occasion when I had to speak publicly on stage. No, regrettably, I hardly had any valuable opportunity of this kind – except for being the MC of a school singing contest – and felt happy for all the young stars of the day. But for them, the rewards are far more than just academic.