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The Stables, Stockwell Lane, Wavendon, Milton Keynes, MK17 8LU ‘The Stables’ and ‘IF: Milton Keynes International Festival’ are operating names of Wavendon Allmusic Plan, a registered charity in England and Wales (261645), which is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (00979681).
Learning & Participation

Welcome to National Youth Music Camps

 Music Camps 2022 Postponed

With great regret we are sorry to announce that the 2022 Music Camps will not be able to go ahead. We realise what a disappointment this will be for campers, families and everyone involved in camps.

There are various factors that have led to this difficult decision. There are still ongoing impacts and risks due to the pandemic and we do not have a site to host the camps in 2022.

The school we moved to in 2019 is unable to host camps this year and we have no alternative site.   We know from our work in 2018/19 how difficult it is and how long it takes to find a site, with no guarantee of success. Camps need such a unique mix of facilities from a location that  it is very difficult to find. Unfortunately there is just not  enough lead-in time to put everything in place and commit to significant costs, with no guarantee that we would be able to go ahead.

There are other factors and risks that are still with us – these include uncertain uptake of places, overall viability, staff and volunteer recruitment, financial risks and risks to the supplies and services we need to safely operate and deliver the camps.  Some of these are not just applying to camps but also across the wider festival and outdoor events world.

Music Camps are a complicated mix of elements and finely balanced judgements and cannot afford to take any risks that affect their long term viability. As a charity we have to take particular care on the financial risks and how we deliver on our charitable aims. We believe that time is better spent this year looking to the future and how we bring camps back so they are sustainable in the long term. That includes where they might happen and what the purpose and mission is for camps in the current world of musical opportunities for young people.

That doesn’t mean losing or changing  everything that camps are about, or how they work, but it will give us a chance to be clearer about how to sustain camps in the long term. 

We don’t want to prejudge what the exact outcomes of this work will be, but the aim would be to re-launch camps next year, if we can find a suitable site that would allow us to run a viable camp and where we might have a sustainable long term future.

We hope you all stay safe and well and that we see as many of you as we can in 2023.

The NYMC team
May 2022