Camp Journal

Greens head to chocolate paradise!

11th July 2017

Chocolate! Who doesn’t like it? As the campers were informed that a trip to the Callier chocolate factory was on the Program, their faces lit up. After an interesting coach ride with many detours and excellent communication of the hard working police, we arrived and had a seat in the cinema of the factory. During the tour of the building, we were lead through a Disney world style story of the origins of chocolate. Of course, campers couldn’t await the following tasting of different chocolates. However, some regretted the After a short bus ride we arrived in the charming village of we set up camp at a local park and explained the rules of the afternoon to the campers the campers were allowed to stroll the village of and dine in one of its many affordable restaurants Time flew by and so did the weather. Upon leaving the fine eateries and boutiques, campers were greeted by one of Switzerland’s famous thunderstorms. Rain and wind turned postcard Gruyeres into a grey, stormy ghost town. We raced to the bus through the hail and rain. With the driver chuckling and the kids shivering, Ralph set sail towards Torgon to get the campers to warmth! After arriving at the chalet, campers plunged in to a warm glacier water shower. At dinner, students shared their thoughts of the day and fought about what chocolate was best.

Blue and Red Groups get Jazzy!

This morning we embarked on a lovely hike back down the mountain after a great night of camping. The sun was luckily shining after the challenging weather yesterday and the Campers were in good spirits. After returning to Camp Suisse, we had a short turn around before heading to the famous Montreux Jazz Festival! Everyone was very excited to see what the festival would be like. The weather remained fantastic which helped us to really enjoy the beauty of Montreux, with the calm and laping clear blue shores of Lake Geneva on one side and the many colourful stands and stalls on the other. The Blue and Red Groups revelled in the vibrant atmosphere, as well as indulging themselves with Ice Creams, fidget spinners and various souvenirs. They definitely deserved it after all that hiking! We then returned to camp in time for dinner and some entertaining evening activities. Once again another great day.

Camping for The Blues

10th July 2017

This Monday, after finishing their language lessons in the morning, the blue group went up on a hike to CAMPING! It was one of the most anticipated times of the week and they were certainly not disappointed. After two hours hiking up – and being trapped in an dramatic and exciting storm- they finally arrived to the camping area, where they took a well deserved rest and put their belongings to dry.

The evening continued with some entertaining activities like a Moo Off which had everybody giggling and feeling silly! This entertainment was followed by a delicious BBQ for dinner; after which they played some more games and even danced to some music for a while. It was a lovely and relaxed evening in which the campers were able to wind down and bond a little more with each other! Finally, one of the notorious camp stories from our imaginative and dramatic activity leaders was retold just before bed time to end the fun and everybody was squirming at the funny horror stories! It was such a nice day!

Our beautiful camping scenes

Team building tests for Green Group

Today was an especially exciting day for the Greens as we received two new girls from the UK: Chiara and Eve! Welcome to our group girls! Unfortunately today was also a very rainy day for the green groups, so mountain biking was cancelled. However Plan B saved the day! It was time for some team building games instead, as the campers were given a chance to bond a little more and to put their thinking caps on and exercise their minds! Plenty of fun and silliness was had as the group attempted to achieve various challenges using boxes and tubes and plenty of fun objects by working together with lots of various rules added to the task in order to make it interesting!

After this, the thinking camps remained on in time for some language classes in the afternoon. The day then came to a close with various activities available for the group so that they could pick and choose depending on how they felt. Some played games, others watched the hilarious Finding Dory and there was even a spot of football for those with plenty of energy left!

An educative day for the Blue group

9th July 2017

Still excited and talking about our amazing day yesterday, the Blue group headed off into the woods ready for ‘Mountain Adventure’. Our fantastic activity leaders, Fergheal and Frankie, taught the campers how to build a shelter in the woods. Campers were divided into three different groups and they built three amazing stable and waterproof shelters. Afterwards, campers were also taught some lessons on water filtration and other techniques to survive in the woods,

Following lunch, the Blue campers played some team building games and practised their climbing skills on our great climbing wall. In the evening an exciting event waited for them: staff vs campers football match. The rain couldn’t stop or us or dampen our spirits as we headed inside for the match and the Campers put in a huge effort to win two games!  We all had a wonderful day and we can’t wait to go camping tomorrow!

A photo shoot, Camp Suisse Olympics and Murder Mystery!

8th July 2017

Some say that it is the greatest show on earth- we would agree.. Having completed a yummy breakfast, the groups had some time to tidy up their rooms and do some organisation before our great photographer, Alex, began a photo shoot in which everybody did fantastic and funny poses!

Next up, the whole afternoon was dedicated to Camp Suisse Olympics! The Camp Suisse 2017 Olympic games opening ceremony began with representation from 10 nations, face painted to kingdom come, and banners and posters aloft: the games began. With 5 challenges to face them, everyone gave 100$ and put themselves behind their adopted nations.  Countries competed against each other across five disciplines: the three legged race, Egg and Spoon race, water carry, wheel barrow race and the obstacle course! All of the teams worked very hard together and showed fantastic teamwork skills. Finally, after the scores were counted, the bronze medal went to France, the silver to Brazil and the gold went to Mexico! After a sweltering afternoon, the only way to top it off was with a huge camp water fight- with no camper left dry after a hilarious 15 minutes.

In the evening, the campers stayed in their Olympic teams to play an energetic and competitive game of Murder Mystery. Our hilarious Activity leaders Siobhan and Toria dressed up as inspectors and the campers had to explore the camp and encounter suspects to find their clues which included working out math puzzles and completing various funny tasks! Such a great day!

Our fun photo shoot in the sun

Blue Group vs Ghyll Scrambling

7th July 2017

It was time to put on our thinking caps as the morning commenced with some fun, but also compelling and challenging language classes for the Blue Group. Followed by lunch, the blue group then headed to the football field for some archery, which all the campers enjoyed immensely. After a quick afternoon snack, with the help of some great activity leaders, we went Ghyll Scrambling. Although at first the campers were shocked at the cold waters, they acclimatised quickly and grew in confidence when they saw how much fun the obstacles were! There was lots of giggling and excitement as the campers returned to camp in soaking clothes to shower and change and after having dinner, they then took part in the casino night. There was a competitive atmosphere and we saw the clever and mysterious sides to our campers come out as they all tried to beat each other! All in all, another fantastic day.

Red Group bike in the Swiss Alps

This morning, Reds had exciting language classes in German, English, French and Spanish that were jam-packed with fun & educational activities to keep the young campers engaged! They had beautiful views from the classrooms up on the second floor that almost don’t seem real!

The afternoon was taken by mountain- biking, where the kids had the chance to show off their skills in the beauty of the Swiss Alps as well as improving the confidence of some of the less confident campers on bikes.After a tasty curry for dinner, the red group took part in our very own Casino Night! The kids played many card games, there was a big sense of competition in the air and everybody simply had a lovely and fun evening !

Green Group

Green group woke up to a beautiful sunny day on the mountain that was ready to be exploited for some fun outdoor activities!

The first activity of the day was Bushcraft survival skills in the forest which included building a campfire , water filtration and shelter building for animals. The campers learnt so much that they are excited to be able to use in the future. After a delicious buffet for lunch the campers went off and to their language classes, a lot of which were able to be enjoyed outside in the fresh air due to the lovely weather. There were plenty of fun games such as ‘Guess Who’ to keep the campers interested and to teach them real, everyday languages!

For evening entertainments the group watched a movie along with some of our kitchen staffs’ special Camp Suisse hot chocolate. A lovely and cosy end to the day!

Banana silliness for Red Group

6th July 2017

The Red group had an adventurous and silly day at the lake for some banana boating, playing on the giant slide and plenty of swimming! It’s impossible to get tired of the stunning Lake Geneva and the multitude of fun activities you can do! Everyone really enjoyed themselves, and the fun carried on into the dinner when we headed to the woods for some yummy BBQ! Hot dogs and salads with some delicious cookies was just what everybody needed to finish of the fun day in the perfect way!