Camp CLAPA Activity Weekends are a chance for young people born with a cleft to meet and spend time with others like them in a safe and supportive space.
Camp CLAPA Activity Weekends are opportunities for children and young people aged 8-12 who were born with a cleft to make friends, have fun, and take part in confidence-boosting, team-building activities in a safe and supportive setting.
We typically run three Camp CLAPA weekends each year around the UK. They are completely free of charge, though you will need to arrange travel to and from the activity centre.
This page is aimed at parents and carers. We also have a page on Camp CLAPA aimed at teenagers and young people.
Camp CLAPA Activity Weekends are for children and young people aged 8-12 who were born with a cleft and live in the United Kingdom.
Camp CLAPA is all about bringing together young people born with a cleft so they can make friends, have fun, and try new things whilst enjoying the great outdoors at an activity centre. We hope they will help young people to build confidence, feel better about themselves, and feel connected to their own cleft community.
As well as activities like raft-building, abseiling, fencing, and laser tag, they’ll enjoy plenty of free time to relax or play games with their new friends. We encourage all young people to take part in the activities, but the most important thing is that they make positive memories and have fun, so if they don’t like heights, get tired, or just need some time out, that’s fine with us.
Camp CLAPA Activity Weekends are hosted by a team of CLAPA staff and volunteers, most of whom are adults born with a cleft. They are there to support the attendees, encourage them to get involved and to help keep them safe. They can also share their cleft journey and experiences with the young people as needed.
Get in touch at [email protected] if you have any questions about Camp CLAPA.
Your child's place at Camp CLAPA will be fully funded.
You will need to arrange your own travel to and from the camp location. Please do contact CLAPA if you have issues with travel costs.
We will organise dorm rooms by age so young people do not share with anyone a lot older or younger than them.
Young people of all backgrounds, races, religions, genders, sexualities, and differences are welcome at our events. If there’s anything we can do to make your child feel more comfortable and welcome, please let us know on the registration form for your Camp CLAPA weekend.
We will do what we can to support young people with additional needs, including medical needs, to attend Camp CLAPA. It’s important you share full details about your child's needs so we can make sure we’re able to support them.
There will be a mixture of height based and water activities which we will encourage attendees to try, but they don't have to take part if they don't want to. It's also totally up to them if they want to talk about cleft-related topics or not.
Each weekend looks a little different, depending on the centre and the activities we can choose from but a typical weekend will look something like this:
| Day | Time | Activity |
| Friday | 5pm
6pm 7pm 9pm 10pm |
Arrive at centre, check into dorms and unpack
Dinner Evening activity – this might be cinema night or quiz night Back to dorms to get ready for bed Lights out |
| Saturday | 7am
8am 9am 11am 12:30pm 2pm 4pm 6pm 7pm 9pm 10pm |
Wake up
Breakfast Morning activity – this might be climbing, abseiling, kayaking or nightline Chill out time and CLAPA group activities – this might be making vlogs for the CLAPA website or digital animation Lunch Afternoon activity – this might be fencing or areoball CLAPA group activities, board games, get to know each other time Dinner Evening activity – this might be a campfire or a talent show Back to dorms Lights out |
| Sunday | 7am
8am 9am 11am 12:30pm 2pm 4pm |
Wake up
Breakfast Morning activity – this might be lasertag or bushcraft Chill out time Lunch CLAPA group activities – we make shields for you to take home, play some final games and celebrate everything you have achieved Head home |
“I loved my CLAPA Weekend. It was great fun. We did archery, rock climbing and had a campfire with marshmallows! Rock climbing was a bit scary but I climbed up a little bit and was proud. It was very special because everybody was born with a cleft like me. I had an operation the week after and it was really nice to see other children who have operations. I made three really good friends. We all shared a room together and stayed up late chatting and being cheeky! We even had secret snacks in our room. My favourite memory was going to the tuck shop with my new friends. I can’t wait to go on another CLAPA Weekend because they are so much fun and no parents allowed!“A young person who attended a Camp CLAPA Activity Weekend
Join us in Shropshire for this Camp CLAPA activity weekend in October, where fifteen 8-12-year-olds born with a cleft can enjoy fun, confidence-building activities, make friends, share experiences, and meet our adult volunteers.
