Successful Holiday Club Delivered in Wixams
In August 2025, Blues Foundation successfully delivered a four-week programme of multisport holiday camps in Wixams, supported by funding from Bedford Giving. The initiative was designed to provide children and young people with safe, structured, and enjoyable opportunities during the summer holidays, reducing the risk of antisocial behaviour in the village by offering a positive alternative.
The camps were hosted at Wixams Academy for 4 weeks, 4 days a week and operated in two- part sessions. In the mornings, children aged 5–10 attended primary school sessions, while the afternoons welcomed secondary school participants aged 11–16 on a drop-in basis. By tailoring the offer in this way, we ensured that both age groups had the opportunity to benefit from activities suited to their needs and interests.
Across the four weeks, the Blues team delivered a consistent programme of multisport activities designed to keep participants active, build confidence, and promote teamwork and social cohesion. Alongside this, the Foundation also facilitated dedicated sessions for children with special educational needs, ensuring that the camps were fully inclusive and accessible for all. A key aspect of the programme was helping young people to build positive relationships and make constructive decisions in place of antisocial behaviour.
The programme was further enhanced by a series of specialist sessions delivered by external providers. Cricket East introduced primary-aged children to cricket, with many trying the sport for the first time. Luton Town Community Trust brought football-based activities, while Apex 360 engaged participants with inflatables designed to encourage fun through movement. Educreate offered creative workshops in graffiti art and music,
providing a valuable outlet for self-expression, and Samsons Academy delivered boxing sessions that developed both fitness and discipline. For older participants, Spiral Freerun proved a particular highlight, teaching freerunning skills such as jumps, flips, and aerial techniques.
By combining physical activity, creativity, and social interaction, the camps gave young people a safe alternative to unsupervised time during the summer. Importantly, this structured provision also contributed directly to addressing the challenges of antisocial behaviour in Wixams, ensuring that children and teenagers were engaged in positive, monitored, and purposeful activities. The success of the Wixams Summer Fun Camps highlights the role that sport and community programmes can play in supporting young people while strengthening the wider community.
There has been a total of 251 participants who engaged in the Summer Hub at Wixams.
140 were male and 111 were female.
16 had special educational needs.
57 were from minority groups.
One participant at the Wixams Summer Fun Camps attended every single one of the 16 sessions delivered across the four weeks. At the beginning of the programme, he was very reserved, choosing to keep to himself and spending all of his time focused solely on basketball. For three hours each day, his comfort zone was the basketball court, where he quietly participated without much interaction with others.
However, as the weeks progressed, he began to build trust with the Blues Foundation coaches, developing strong bonds that encouraged him to become more confident. By the final week of the programme, this growing confidence translated into a willingness to step outside of his comfort zone. With a little encouragement, he tried each of the external provider sessions on offer. What started with some gentle persuasion soon turned into genuine enthusiasm, as he embraced activities such as freerunning, boxing, cricket, and creative workshops. He also began to join in with other multisport sessions outside of basketball, showing a new openness to trying different experiences.
This transformation highlighted not only the importance of persistence and encouragement but also the power of providing a safe, supportive environment. From a participant who once kept himself to himself, he became someone who was fully
engaged, exploring new skills and building new relationships. His journey demonstrated the positive impact of the camps: offering young people the chance to broaden their horizons, develop resilience, and feel a sense of belonging within their community.