12th July 2021
The Red and Blue groups had a fantastic day discovering the delights of the Cailler Chocolate Factory and the Swiss town of Gruyères today.
First up, at the Cailler Chocolate Factory we witnessed every step in the Swiss chocolate making process (the tasting room was everybody’s favourite!). With our bags full of chocolatey treats from the gift shop, we hopped back on the coach and headed for the picture postcard town of Gruyères.
Paolo, Clemente, Julian, and Riccardo went with Philip to see the impressive castle at the top of the hill, whilst the rest of us toured the town and picked up souvenirs. Those who returned to basecamp early were treated to a fantastic show by local actors. Soon enough, with bags full of cheese and chocolate, we jumped back on the coach to head back to Torgon.
What a fantastic day!
– Hugh Duffy, Group Leader
11th July 2021
Whoosh! And just like that our first week at Camp has whizzed by and we are so proud of our campers’ resilience, progression and interaction in the past week. After welcoming some new Blue and Red legends on Saturday, we had a spectacular Sunday doing language classes and an unreal ultimate survival in the forest, which would make even Bear Grills very jealous!
Language classes this morning saw our fabulous French learners and epic English learners smash some language team building challenges on the football pitch. Lena and Mia took language animal bulldog by storm as they sped across the terrific terrain as fast a bolt of lighting. Equally, Cesar asked his fellow campers some incredible and insightful questions, which both challenged their marvellous minds and channeled their inner Mo Farah running talents!
As the clock turned 11:30, it was time to practise the singing spectacle that is Mr Sun. Camille, Lena, Anatole, Charles and Paul sang like angels as they belted out Mr Sun more impressively than Mariah Carey singing ‘All I want for Christmas’ on Christmas Eve. At the same time, over in the French class, Jimena and Julieta made Old McDonald proud as they sang e aye e aye o more enthusiastically than Mary Berry making a victoria sponge.
The afternoon saw Julien, David, Mircea and Aiden embody the heart of Grand Designs as they designed and built a jaw dropping den in the fantastic forest. Cali, Penélope, Louise and Valeria proved to be true naturals at fire lighting as they surprised us all with their incredible skills.
All in all another fabulous day with the reds and blues as they made us all proud once again! What icons!
– Beatrice Palmer, Group Leader
10th July 2021
This morning was a busy one with some of us departing early in the morning and more arriving throughout the day. After breakfast we had a masterclass in bed making and after, we put our new skills to use and cleaned our rooms! Next Olympics Day kicked off and it was once again a fantastic day! We picked teams from an eclectic bunch of countries and we spent the morning painting our faces, making flags and brainstorming chants that would best represent our country.
After an athlete’s picnic on the decking, we felt fit to compete. There were five events, all testing different skills from aim to speed to agility. Julien proved to be quite the team leader, directing his group through the water obstacle course with passion and gusto. Cali was on the organising committee and proved to be very effective. Lola represented her country of Greece with singing chants and even lead them to win bronze place. In silver came Mexico and in gold came Morocco. Paul was delighted with his first prize of a lanyard, the exact same as the ones the staff wear.
A relaxing evening was much needed and so a ping pong tournament and some card games and free time were just what the doctor ordered, maybe even an early night for some!
– Katy Rea, Group Leader
9th July 2021
The rising of the golden sun brought the rising of the legendary reds and blues. Breakfast was a welcome sight as an extra special Camp Suisse assortment of fruit, toast, Nutella and pain au chocolat was devoured as well as an array of yogurts, cereals and as many condiments as one could imagine. Nutella being a firm favourite for the campers as they fuelled ready for a dreamy day of paddle boarding, banana boating and swimming out on Lake Geneva!!
Jimena , Carla and Cali showed us how to paddle board like pros as they glided across Lake Geneva as cool and chill as can be, whilst Oliver and Julien put Tom Daley to shame as they jumped off the highest diving board like absolute iconic legends – I think we might have two future olympians!!! Equally, Claire, Ivi and Elena taught us the true Oxford English Dictionary definition of “water baby” as they strutted their stuff in the lake with such ease!!!
Over by the swimming pool, Anatole, who was initially feeling slightly apprehensive about swimming, made us all proud as he jumped in like a seasoned professional and even created a new pool game, involving ping pong, which we all had lots of fun playing!!! Watch out Paris 2024, water ping pong bat gliding is going to be on the cards !!!
Cesar, Elena, Victoria, Juan, Paul, Paolo and Olivia swam better than baby sharks as they raced across the pool whilst playing ball at the same time !!
The day also saw our brave Blues and Reds conquer the banana boat, which is not for the faint hearted but every one of them took It like champions and glided across Lake Geneva faster than Neil Armstrong running to the rocket on his first exhibition to space !
All in all, a fabulous day was had and our Blue and Red legends made us proud once again with their manners, participation and all round fabulousness!!!
– Beatrice Palmer, Group Leader
8th July 2021
Woken up by an enormously intense thunderstorm, the reds and blues made their way to another great breakfast. The conversations of the morning were all about the adventures of the amazing AquaParc yesterday. Both Mia and Cesar were super excited to tell us about their experiences on the orange slide and the Black Hole slide.
Excited about what the day would bring, the Reds and Blues went out to the playground with their language classes. Cali and Jullieta went on to do a mind boggling game of chess. Julian and Oliver both rode the zipline like absolute legends and Penelope, Louise and Jeanne explored the whole area while having their conversations in English.
The afternoon was filled with some Bob Ross like art-jamming activities. Ivi and Jimina really showed their talents for the fine arts! Right before dinner we landed down for a movie to get some well deserved rest after a couple of nonstop days of fun activities!
– Suzanne Wallet, Group Leader
7th July 2021
The reds and blues set off this morning on a splashtacular day at AquaParc. We left promptly and arrived with loads of time to spend lounging in deck chairs… except we did no relaxing! Instead we went from slide to slide to slide to slide and tried out as much as we could! Many of us overcame fears today, from small spaces to heights to scary rides we did it all! A special congratulations to Jimena as she flew down The Jump slide as it was all of the above and she went and did it anyways! Anatole was seen helping other kids set up their floaties for the slides, and Mia had her whole group going down the Lazy River in style.
We dined on the terrace and once we felt thoroughly satisfied, we went back into the Parc for even more! This time we were given more responsibility with our timings and it definitely payed off, everyone stepped up to the plate and proved once again, to be extremely trustworthy. On one particular slide, Camille sang “I believe I can fly” at the top of his lungs much to the amusement of everyone nearby.
Once changed, we made a stop off in the shop for some souvenirs – expect presents home! We’ve made some guesses about what’s for dinner, we hope it’s burgers and chips, or maybe macaroni… After food we’ll be watching a replay of the Spain Vs Italy match, for some reason Juan isn’t so eager to watch it today, I wonder why…
Until tomorrow!
Katy Rea, Group Leader
6th July 2021
A brilliant breeze mixed in with splendid sunshine awaited the adventurous linguistic superstars that are the Reds and Blues, as they bounced out of bed ready to embark on their journey of linguistic discovery and exploration with the first day of their language course!
A cracking continental breakfast was a welcome sight for the campers, before splitting off into their respective language classes.
Cali and Julien started their Spanish lessons with the joyous Joan, who has bundles of enthusiasm and natural talent.
Over in the English classroom, Paolo and Cesar came up with a smashing story for a theatrical masterpiece, which will be featured in the Camp Suisse talent show, taking place later in the Session. Meanwhile, Elena, Mia and Lola channelled their competitive side as they swooped to victory in the conversational snakes and ladders competition. Royce, Camille and Paul sang fabulous phonics and wondrous week days with such enthusiasm.
In the French lesson, Jimena, Olivia, Julieta, Carla and Oliver put Old Mac Donald to shame with their amazing animal impressions “e aye e aye o”!
The German class saw Ivi, Claire and Elena put the ‘guten’ in ‘tag’ with their great German skills and beaming smiles.
We really were walking on sunshine in Torgon as we enjoyed perfect panini at lunch, as the sun shone down on Camp.
This afternoon brought teamwork, resilience and cooperation together as the campers worked to smash teamwork games out the park! Jimena really shone on Lava River, whilst Cesar would have made David Attenborough proud, with his brilliant bird impressions and Royce smashed capture the flag. Penelope and Louse showed tremendous teamwork skills as they cooperated with their fellow campers.
Another dazzling day with the fabulous Reds and Blues in Torgon, as they once again showed us what absolute legends they are!
– Beatrice Palmer, Group Leader
5th July 2021
The soaring sun was shining in the midst of the marvellous mountains today as the brilliant Blues and Reds sprung out of bed eager and ready for another fun filled day at Camp! Breakfast was eaten excitedly as the campers awaited the tremendous trip to the legendary Labyrinth Adventure Park.
With full stomachs and lots of enthusiasm, the Reds and Blues embarked on their journey with faces full of joy and excitement.
As we pulled smoothly into Labyrinth Adventure the campers excited the coach as quietly as international super-spies on their best behaviour ready to enter Labyrinth Adventure. Royce absolutely smashed the crazy golf course (potential future olympian!) whilst Cali and Jimena took the rubber ring slide by storm, sliding down with elegance, speed and beaming smiles. I think we might have some future zip-wire world champions in Penelope and Louise as they zoomed through the air as fast as Santa and his elves on Christmas eve!
A fun-filled morning brought our hungry campers ready to feast on brilliant baguettes, fabulous fruit and scrumptious speed bars at lunch which was followed by a spine tingling water drinking competition, which had the group leaders on the edge of their seats as Juliette and Cali rose to victory.
After lunch, the fun continued as Oliver and Julien proved to be the next Lewis Hamiltons on the car machines and Ivi, Claire, Elena and Carla were ‘Rolling on a River’ on the inflatable hamster wheels. Meanwhile, Ricardo and Paolo made Tigger look bad at bouncing on the brilliant bouncy Castle.
As always every single camper smashed it today and demonstrated to us their shining manners and personalities. A great day was had by all. Very proud of all our campers today!!!!
– Beatrice Palmer, Group Leader
4th July 2021
It was a fantastic start to Camp today; we had football and climbing for the reds and blues. With encouragement from the others, Oliver and Carla made it to the very top of the climbing wall and rung the bell! On the football pitch, Clemente and Paolo were in goals and stopped some great shots, making for a nail-biting match.
We’ll have some games this evening and then it’s off to bed, ready for another amazing day in the Alps tomorrow. The kids are all sorted into their language groups and ready to start learning!
– Hugh Duffy, Group Leader
What a day it has been! The campers said their goodbyes to their families and joined the Camp Suisse family for Session One. They are now all super excited about all the activities they are going to do! Today we played lots of games, like ping-pong, Jenga and parachute so that the campers could get to know each other and their Group Leaders.
Not only that, everybody got a tour of the Camp Suisse site, found their roommates and made new friends! For dinner we ate pasta bolognese followed by pear upside down cake which was super yummy, before playing games before going to bed. We are all looking forward to the upcoming weeks and can’t wait to see what adventures await!
Suuz, Blue Group Leader