Your school is planning to organize a summer camp that centres around the
most popular activities amongst teenagers and is looking for ideas for the camp.
Write a proposal to your school board in which you suggest activities for the
camp, and explain why they will be engaging for teenagers.
Summer Camp : proposed activities
1. Introduction / Context
Our school is going to organise a summer camp, and the school board has asked
for ideas about which activities should be organised during the camp. As president
of the Student Council, I would like to propose the following ideas.
2. Need
The most important aim of the camp should be that the students who take part
should enjoy themselves and find the activities engaging. The students are
teenagers, therefore the activities should be chosen because they are related to
interests that teenagers have. However, the activities should offer something new
about those interests – they should not just repeat what teenagers can do every
day anyway. The activities should both challenge and surprise.
3. Proposal, summarised
There should be two main types of activities: those which involve normal teenage
interests, but with a new and unusual approach; and those which are not usually
available, but which teenagers may have thought of trying and have never had the
opportunity. We might call these two types ‘Familiar’ and ‘Experimental’. So what
would this general approach mean, in detail?
4. Proposal, detailed
Let us consider examples of the two main types:-
4.1 ‘Familiar’: Online gaming competition – Many teenagers regularly take part in
online games, but they may not have had the chance to display their skills to all
their friends and peers. So, the summer camp should hire one or more large
screens, so that online games can be projected for everyone to watch. This would
mean that everyone in the camp could share in the excitement, and appreciate
the skill of the gamers.
4.2 ‘Experimental’: Performing arts – Everyone at the camp should have the
opportunity to take part in a workshop developing skills in a performing art that
they have never tried before. For example, the Music workshop would have a
range of instruments that people could try; the Dance workshop would encourage
people to try weird exciting new dances; and the Video workshop would enable
small groups to make their own experimental videos.
These are just examples, to illustrate – we could think up other ideas along the
same lines.
5. Costs and benefits
5.1 Online gaming – This activity will require hiring a large screen, with technology
to link everything up. There should be loudspeakers so that there can be
commentaries to explain what is going on. Apart from being exciting and
interesting in itself, this will be a shared experience, which will in turn develop a
good atmosphere and social cohesion among the students.
5.2 Performing arts – Depending on which arts are chosen, instruments and
equipment will have to be hired or borrowed; and it would be best to pay for
visiting experts to run each workshop. Everyone will benefit from
being able to choose which art they try
experiencing something new
enjoying other people’s efforts and experiments
These workshops could lead to a final concert / exhibition, which would be a lively,
entertaining social event.
6. Advantages / Conclusion
This proposal suggests that activities should engage teenagers attending the
summer camp in two important ways: by offering a fresh approach to familiar
activities, and by offering a chance to experience new activities. Neither of the two
specific activities suggested will be very costly to organise, and both will
encourage group activities in a happy and lively atmosphere.
I hope that these ideas will appeal to the school board, and I will be very glad to
help in further development and planning.
Word Count: 575