Springbank Community Group CiC

⭐This morning's HAF session is running 9-11.30am⭐

Due to forecasted high temperatures on Thursday 13th August we have made the decision to move our HAF session to 9-11.30am.

Finishing the session with a water fight from 11am.

Young people will then be given a packed lunch to take home with them.

🗓️ Thursday 13th August
📍Springfield's Park
⏱️9-11.30am

⭐Tomorrow's HAF session is running 9-11.30am with a water fight from 11am⭐

Due to forecasted high temperatures on Thursday 13th August we have made the decision to move our HAF session to 9-11.30am.

Finishing the session with a water fight from 11am.

Young people will then be given a packed lunch to take home with them.

🗓️ Thursday 13th August
📍Springfield's Park
⏱️9-11.30am

Oo… look… Biscoff Cheesecake! It’s in the fridge so if you would like a slice or 2 just ask

Due to forecasted high temperatures on Thursday 13th August we have made the decision to move our HAF session to 9-11.30am.

Finishing the session with a water fight from 11am.

Young people will then be given a packed lunch to take home with them.

🗓️ Thursday 13th August
📍Springfield's Park
⏱️9-11.30am

Taking inspiration from the Mediterranean, this week in the cafe we have falafel with salad available served with hummus, coleslaw and feta. Don’t fancy falafel? then we can prepare you a ham or cheese salad served wjth pickles and coleslaw instead.

If you are joining us for today's HAF activities we will be ending the session with a water fight!

🏕️ Weekend Residential – Would Your Young Person Be Interested? - StrawPoll What is your opinion? Vote now: 23.10.2026 - 25.10.2026, 30.10.2026 - 01.11.2026

🏕️ WOULD YOUR YOUNG PERSON LOVE A WEEKEND AWAY? 🏕️

We’re exploring the possibility of organising a weekend residential at Cranham Scout Centre for young people aged 13 and under – and we’d like to find out how much interest there would be from local families.

The residential would run from Friday early evening through to Sunday mid-afternoon and, subject to a successful funding application, would cost families just £20 per young person for the whole weekend.

We’re hoping to pack plenty into the weekend, including:

🏹 Archery or air rifle shooting
🧗 Caving
🔥 Fire lighting
🥾 A walk and outdoor activities
⚽ Sports and games
🎨 Arts and crafts
🪩 Saturday night disco
🌲 Plenty of opportunities to make friends, have fun, try something new and build confidence and independence!

At this stage, this is just a straw poll and not a booking form. The residential will only be able to go ahead if our funding application is successful and there is sufficient interest from families.

Your responses will help us demonstrate demand for the residential and understand which potential weekend(s) would work best.

👇 If your young person might be interested, please complete our quick poll and select ALL of the dates you could attend:

https://strawpoll.com/e7ZJak9Bvg3

Please feel free to share this with other local families who may be interested! 💚

🏕️ Weekend Residential – Would Your Young Person Be Interested? - StrawPoll What is your opinion? Vote now: 23.10.2026 - 25.10.2026, 30.10.2026 - 01.11.2026

🌍 PEACE CAMP 2026 – WHAT A WEEK 🇬🇧🇩🇪🇵🇱

How do you sum up a week like this?

Seven days ago, young people from Cheltenham, Göttingen and Toruń arrived at Cranham ready to begin Peace Camp 2026. Some knew each other, many didn't. They came from three countries, spoke different languages and brought with them different cultures, experiences and perspectives.

Today, they left as friends. ❤️

And ultimately, that is the greatest success of Peace Camp 2026.

Throughout the week, we have watched barriers disappear. We've seen young people find ways to communicate when language wasn't easy, encourage each other through challenges, share their cultures, laugh together, learn together and develop friendships that crossed national borders.

They have stepped outside their comfort zones, tried things they had never done before and discovered talents they perhaps didn't know they had.

They've crawled through tunnels, taken aim during air rifle shooting, climbed high above the ground at 270 Climbing, explored science at We The Curious, learned about safety at SkillZONE, climbed Robinswood Hill, explored Gloucester Cathedral and the historic docks, experienced Stroud Farmers' Market, walked through the valley at Ruskin Mill College and discovered how incredible Gloucestershire-made gelato really is at Wholly Gelato.

They've explored Cheltenham and Bristol, sung karaoke, sat around campfires, danced, performed, eaten together and probably laughed more times than any of us could count.

But Peace Camp has always been about much more than activities.

Our young people learned about democracy and the UK Parliament, comparing life and society across the UK, Germany and Poland. They stepped inside Cheltenham's Municipal Offices and met the Deputy Mayor of Cheltenham. They met civic leaders, community organisations, supporters and people who give their time to make their communities better.

Most importantly, they learned from each other.

Peace Camp is built on a simple but incredibly important idea: when young people from different countries are given the opportunity to spend meaningful time together, difference becomes something to explore and celebrate rather than something that divides us.

International youth work creates opportunities for conversations that cannot be replicated in a classroom. It challenges assumptions and stereotypes. It develops independence, confidence, resilience and communication. It allows young people to experience another culture through the people who live it.

And in a world where division can sometimes feel louder than unity, creating spaces where young people can build friendships across borders feels as important as ever.

Peace Camp is now 31 years old.

For more than three decades, generations of young people from our partner communities have been given the opportunity to meet, travel, learn and build friendships.

This week, another generation became part of that story.

There have been so many successes.

Success was a young person finding the courage to take another step on the high ropes.

Success was somebody standing up in front of their peers and sharing a talent.

Success was watching three nationalities disappear around a dinner table because everyone was simply talking as friends.

Success was seeing young people encourage somebody who was struggling.

Success was hearing laughter around the campfire.

Success was watching a group who had known each other for only a matter of days dance, sing and celebrate together on their final night.

And perhaps the clearest measure of success came this morning, when saying goodbye was genuinely difficult.

Because you don't get emotional about leaving strangers.

You get emotional about leaving friends. ❤️

None of this happens by accident.

Peace Camp 2026 has been delivered through a partnership between Springbank Community Group CiC and Cheltenham International Partnerships Association, alongside our international partners and with the support of an incredible network of funders, sponsors, community organisations, staff, volunteers and individuals.

To every organisation that funded or supported the programme, every person who donated, every guest who visited, every venue that welcomed us and everyone who helped behind the scenes – thank you.

To our staff and volunteers, who gave an enormous amount of themselves to make this week safe, memorable and meaningful – thank you.

To the families who trusted us with their young people – thank you.

And finally, to our young people from Cheltenham, Göttingen and Toruń:

Thank you for embracing Peace Camp.

Thank you for taking chances.

Thank you for sharing your cultures.

Thank you for looking after one another.

Thank you for the conversations, the performances, the laughter and the memories.

Most importantly, thank you for reminding us exactly why programmes like this matter.

Our German and Polish friends may now be travelling home, our home at Cranham is now far quieter and Peace Camp 2026 may officially be over...

…but the friendships, experiences and memories don't have to end here.

Three countries. One camp. One unforgettable week. One Peace Camp family. 🌍❤️

Until we meet again.

🇬🇧 Cheltenham
🇩🇪 Göttingen
🇵🇱 Toruń

Peace Camp 2026 – complete. ❤️

**A