City Kids Surfing's 2024 Summer Surf Camp

Initially started in the South London borough of Lewisham, City Kids Surfing has worked with two primary schools for several years – this year adding a third school to the roster due to its growing popularity of the scheme. Each school works to identify which children would most benefit from the programme and, whilst selection is based on several factors, all the kids receive free school meals and would not usually have the opportunity to get to the coast.

The programme also aims to get children thinking about the environment, and their own local ecosystems. In the lead up, City Kids Surfing visited each school to deliver a session to the participants and parents on both the benefits of surfing but also environmental sustainability – sending each child away with a conservation task to get them thinking about the impact of river pollution.

Many of these kids will have never even seen the ocean, so the build up is just as important as the trip itself to ensure that the children are excited and eager rather than apprehensive. The big weekend rolled around on the 21st June with a packed programme of activities to give the kids the chance to explore, learn new skills, build friendships and, most importantly, have loads of fun.

Surf lessons were top of the list, and the professional instructors took the kids through the basics – from board fundamentals, to line up etiquette and essential safety knowledge. With two surf sessions over the weekend (a total of 6 hours in the water) the kids had ample chance to get stuck in with a huge number of participants making it to their feet in their first sessions.

But the weekend is about more than just surfing. From daily yoga sessions to getting the kids involved in preparing their own meals under the supervision of their volunteer Chef, City Kids Surf takes a holistic approach – making the most of the opportunity to educate the kids about the wide ranging physical and mental health benefits of a surfing lifestyle.  

Finisterre ambassador Sandy Kerr has worked with City Kids Surf since the very early days of the programme. Now a Trustee of the charity, he was joined by Finisterre’s Falmouth Store Manager Josh Bradford to deliver a talk to the kids about how to make a career out of surfing. They traced Sandy’s own journey into surfing in the raw Northeast of England, and the kids eagerly asked questions and shared their feelings after seeing the films.

Amongst the scheduled activities there was plenty of time for the children to play and explore their natural surroundings, and throughout the weekend the City Kids Surf team made sure to weave in information about the importance of the ocean in supporting the health of our planet. To wrap up the trip, the kids each received a unique award in recognition of their efforts and contributions to the weekend.

The experience had a huge impact on many of the participants, helping them to grow in confidence, build friendships and gain exposure to new experiences that they normally would not have access to. From the nerves and anxiety reported at the beginning of the trip, by the end of the weekend the children shared their feelings of being calmer and having greatly gained confidence in the water.