Forest School Camps
| Forest School Camps | |
|---|---|
 Forest School Camp's logo |
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| Abbreviation | FSC |
| Motto | An Adventure in Education |
| Formation | 1947 |
| Headquarters | Haddenam, Ely, Cambridgeshire |
| Region served | United Kingdom and Ireland |
| Budget | Non-profit |
| Website | www.fsc.org.uk |
Forest School Camps (FSC) is an organization that is aimed primarily at children between the ages of 6 and 17. FSC has camps running throughout the year, the main ones taking place in the summer. Being a volunteer run organization, it relies on cultural/social bonds and enthusiasm from participants for support and staffing rather than monetary incentive. FSC is designed to give children that have never camped before experiences, life skills and social skills.
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[edit] Culture and history
FSC was originally formed by a group of former students and teachers from a radical educational scheme called the Forest School that started in 1930 in the New Forest, which was forced to close at the start of World War II. The Forest School had connections with a diverse range of cultures such as the Woodcraft movements, Native Americans cultures and the Quakers. FSC has continued an individualistic approach and has developed its own distinct culture with traditions and internal practices. Many of the traditions have developed out of physical necessity, such as Rally (a meeting of everyone on the Camp where they discuss what is going to happen through the day), Clan (a vertical age sub-group of the lodge that prepares the meals for the day) or the Arise song, though others sprang forth from cultural and aesthetic bases, such as Merry Moot, or the Camp Songs. The camp songs are sang round a big camp fire and are a great way to have fun and a bit of a laugh.
[edit] Groups
People on camp have traditionally been separated into the following groups, although some experimental camps have varied this arrangement:
- Pixies - Children who are to young to go alone and must be acompanied by a parent or relative
- Elves - Children between the ages of 6 and a half and 8.
- Woodlings - Children between the ages of 9 and 11.
- Trailseekers - Children between the ages of 12 and 13.
- Trackers - Children between the ages of 14 and 15.
- Pathfinders - Children between the ages of 16 and 17.
- pixie parents- the parent or relative looking after a pixie
- Waywardens - Adults who require special attention due to disabilities
- Staff - Adults who care for the children and co-operatively run the whole camp
From 2007, as a trial, the age groups have been amended slightly, increasing the age range slightly in the lower groups, and reducing it for the pathfinders, to allow the camps to accommodate slightly more older children without distorting the number in each age group. As a high percentage of children who begin camping with FSC fall in love with camp and want to stay on until their final year, when they participate in a coming of age ceremony, when the pathfinder age group previously encompassed ages 15, 16 and 17, there were always more applications from pathfinders than spaces for them to fill. The change in age groups has compensated for this and now more children are able to continue camping into their final year. These changes are reflected above.
[edit] Camps
Each camp has a different agenda and model, set by tradition and the Camp Chief. There are several different identifiable types:
- Standing camps
- These are set in regularly used locations, at sites generally used for many years, and where a relationship has been built up with the landowners. Most camps are in this format and children need to attend at least 2 of these camps to experience FSC life before being able to try activity camps as below. A variety of standard and novel activities take place on these camps, and they can be exciting and challenging, but they are less demanding physically than some of the mobile and activity camps. They may have a theme or special interest depending on the interests of the camp leaders and staff.
- Mobile camps
- These camps generally do not have a single fixed campsite but move on most days (mobiles) or some days (semi-mobiles) and can be based around walking in lowland or mountain environments, cycling or canoeing, and while most are based in the United Kingdom some take part abroad.
- Semi-mobile camps
- Semi-mobiles are basically Mobiles except they either have a period of time where they stay in one place and then they go, or that they have one fixed location and they go every morning (except for rest days).
- Caving camps
- These camps usually have a fixed base camp but with day adventures out into local caves in parts of the UK such as the Mendips, Devon, or Yorkshire.
- Conservation and Skills camps
- These are a special form of standing camps focussed on a particular work project, usually an environmental project of some sort. These camps restricted to over 16s or over 18s depending on their nature and leaders.
- Associate Camps
- These are run and organised by FSC associates, usually parents of child campers, but can also include staff from children's camps. They are generally shorter weekend camps, and do not follow exactly the same structure as standard child camps, but are similar in ethos and are open to family groups, children are cared for by their own parents/guardians rather than staff.
[edit] Primary sources
The historical records of the Forest School Camps are held in the Archives of the community Institute of Education, University of London and a full catalogue can be found on-line.
