Sony Camp

Each year approximately 20 senior students from Canberra Grammar School and Canberra Girls Grammar School choose to give up the first week of their School holidays to move into the Canberra Grammar School Boarding House and act as full-time carers for primary aged children with additional needs.

The CGS Sony Foundation Children’s Holiday Camp is primarily funded by the Sony Foundation and supported by Canberra Grammar School. Camps are run across Australian at more than 20 boarding schools and universities, but the one held at CGS is the only one in Canberra.

The students and the children move into the Boarding House for four days. During this time the students, along with a small team of volunteers, are responsible for the care of the children 24 hours a day. They participate in a range of activities including line dancing, a trip to the zoo, swimming and cooking – celebrating with a fete and Christmas party.

The students learn how to care for a child with additional needs and past participants have described it as a a life-changing experience.

The camp has enormous benefits for all participants. The children are treated to four days of activities and interactions they may never have had the chance to experience, while their parents and carers get some respite at the time of year when they need it most. For some, this will be their only break of the year.

To support or volunteer please contact the Camp Chairman of the CGS Sony Foundation Camp Committee, Graeme Lendrum.