Sunday 9 July 2006 - Arrive at Camp!

Sunday is very busy day with students arriving at the two centres from all over the world. The international students are picked up at airports in London and Waterloo Station. The UK students arrive with their parents, who get a cup of tea for their labours of driving their children halfway across England.

We all have supper together and you can see that, although a lot of students are still a little shy, a lot of different people are already talking together. Some international students, for instance, have already found out they actually come from the same city when they were on the bus. The dinner hall is buzzing with students and coaches and everyone is trying to work out which coach will be coaching which sport, or will they be teaching?

In the evening there is evening entertainment but it's very laid-back because a lot of people have travelled all day to get here. They call their parents, watch a movie in the Social Centre or play some sports. There is volleyball, short tennis and football in front of the Social Centre and some people are chilling out in the grass.

Monday 10 July 2006 - First day of sports coaching and EFL!

We get up bright and early (and a little too late) and have breakfast at 9am. It's great to see everyone dressed up in their sports kit; there are dancers, footballs players, tennis players, golf players and so on. It really looks like an Olympic village for teenagers!

After a proper English breakfast we all head for the Social Centre to meet the coaches and get ready for our sports. Groups of students now get into their sports groups and they follow their coaches. It's easy to spot which coach does which sport, now they have their equipment with them. The horse riders are lucky; they go off site and see a little bit of England on their way.

Then it's off to do some proper sports! Three hours is a long time but it's great to be playing alongside some terrific coaches from really come from all over the planet, not to mention the other students. We start by showing how good we all are and then we get divided into smaller groups. Despite a few breaks in between, we can say we're absolutely beat come lunchtime.

Lunch is warm and we get something for dessert too. More and more students have got to know each other now. They played their sports together in the morning or shared a room together.

After lunch and a bit of time to ourselves we all split up in three groups. Most people do English now, some do multi-sport and the die-hards have chosen to do even more of their chosen sport and they do academy sport.

The students doing English receive three lessons of fifty minutes, with two breaks. It's not as much running around as in the morning but we still do a lot of things such as language games and speaking. We also get the opportunity to get to know a lot of new students, which is great. You can sit next to people who do not play the same sport as you and who are not from the same country as you are.

At six there's supper again, followed by evening entertainment. By 10pm we're all pretty exhausted, even though we stay up chatting in our rooms until well into the evening.

Tuesday 11 July 2006 - Playing sport!

Today it's the same morning ritual as on Monday, although we're all a little bit tired from talking until late. Breakfast is a bit more quiet and sleepy but when we get to our sports, we are all ready to go. Yesterday it was tough but today our coaches are even more demanding!

After lunch we get separated into three groups again. For those choosing multi-sport there is a programme on offer. You can decide what you'd like to do before lunch and there are some interesting sports on offer such as mountain-biking, archery, climbing, volleyball, touch rugby, football and cricket. There's something for everyone.

Unlike the sports coaching in the morning, multi-sport is very much designed to have fun. You don't have to get better and some have never played the sport they choose. It's not every day, for example, that an actual archer teaches you how to use a bow and arrows.

Supper is lovely again, especially with the lasagne and home-made garlic bread. Most of the students pass the salad bar and dunk extra layers of cheese on their lasagnes.

Evening entertainment is race night. Everyone thinks it's a little childish at first but the race track looks pretty impressive and so people get well into it after about five minutes. When the coaches finally race each other - the highlight of the evening - the betting takes on a rather wild character. Of course the race is rigged! Students who are not into the betting chill out in the grass and watch as the others run as if their lives depend on it.

Tired and having made a fortune on fake money, we head off to bed - we don't get much sleep.

Wednesday 12 July 2006 - Getting tired now!

Tired faces in the morning at breakfast; it seems we're not the only ones who enjoyed a late night talking in their beds.

Although we're all a little tired today, the coaches are pretty strict! They make sure that everyone gets the most out of their training at Exsportise. They're right of course but I'm hoping my body will listen!

In the afternoon, after lunch, the die-hards get their three extra hours of academy sport. The tennis players get their chance to beat their coaches but almost none do (this one played at Wimbledon though...). The golfers are taken off site to play on a real English eighteen! They must be good players. The football players are grilled further on tactics and skills by the Arsenal coaches and the hockey players go through all the drills on the astro-turf. Academy is not for the faint-hearted!

After supper there is a lot of entertainment including an organised water fight! The weather is perfect for it and everyone is talking about the big event. It turns out to be more water fight than organised and after about five minutes everyone is soaked to the bone. All the tiredness is forgotten as we chase each other across the grounds carrying anything that can hold water, getting hit by water balloons from all sides in the process.

Come ten o'clock and everyone is absolutely bushed. We're talking about who got who and who was the wettest and so on. For the first time this camp most of us go to sleep instantly.

Thursday 13 July 2006 - Re-energised!

After a decent night's sleep and the biggest breakfast ever we are all roaring to go! After all, tomorrow is tournament day. Today you can still learn about your opponents and work on your own game.

On the pitches and courts everybody is working hard on improving his/her game and the coaches are loving it. They can see how some people have already improved after a little input during this week and there's another week to go!

In the afternoon students and coaches and EFL teachers show the same commitment towards English, multi-sport and academy. It seems we're really beginning to become one big Exsportise family. The buzz in the dinner hall is great and we can't wait for tomorrow's disco!

In the evening the older kids go off site with a couple of coaches to watch a movie in the cinema and do some bowling. They can do this because they're 15 and 16 already. The other students stay on site for casino night. Lots of fake money is again won but this time it can be auctioned off for interesting prizes!

Friday 14 July 2006 - Tournament day!

We wake up bright and early as today is the day! Everyone wants to be a winner and today's the day where we really show our skills. In the Olympic village dinner hall we are bragging a lot and telling each other who is better.

The games that follow really settle who's boss and who is not. It is amazing to see once more how good some students really are. Some already represent their countries for the juniors. You have to have a very good day to stand any kind of chance against them.

In the EFL lessons things get wound up too. Those who are leaving tomorrow receive all their lesson material in a folder and the teacher tells them how much they'll be missed in the class. I agree; we are going to miss the people who are leaving. They're part of the family now! We're one big team.

The disco in the evening is great and you can see some couples sneaking off. The ones who sneak off too far get brought back by coaches with flashlights and some students quite enjoy this cat and mouse game. Others just enjoy the disco and eating a million sweets.

The disco ends with a few tears about the students leaving tomorrow. It'll be sad to see them go but e-mail addresses and telephone numbers are exchanged furiously and perhaps we'll see each other next time!

Saturday 15 July 2006 - Thorpe Park!

We are allowed a little lie-in but then head off straightaway to an immense theme park called Thorpe Park, near London. It's also the first time off site for some of us but that doesn't keep some from sleeping the entire way...

Thorpe Park is huge! The rides are great and scary and even though you have to wait quite a long to get on any of them, we have a fabulous time. Back on the bus, sick on candy floss and popcorn, we tell each other which rides we dared (pictures serve as evidence) and which ones we didn't. Only for about half an hour though; after that the entire bus falls asleep.

Back on site we're welcomed by a barbecue in the garden. It's fantastic, hamburgers and hot dogs while people sit in the grass and relax for hours. Those who have any energy left play Scorpion Football; others play some volleyball or short tennis. There are also many who remain lying in the grass or they watch a movie in the Social Centre.

We all wonder about tomorrow: who are the new arrivals on Sunday and where are we going on excursion? Not that it matters now, those of us who are here can't believe our luck that we have another week! And it looks like tomorrow is going to be another great day!