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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).
Welcome to National Youth Music Camps

Information for parents and carers


Guidance for parents/guardians of the youngest (8 year old) campers 


Do have a look at all the information on the website to find out more about camps - hopefully it will help you work out if it is suitable for your child. We do limit the numbers of very young campers (8 year olds) and we do advise that they have a good level of personal independence and confidence.

We recommend that they have had some experience of nights away from home without parents (ideally residential trips with a school or group such as Cubs or Brownies etc), and ideally some camping experience as well. It is also useful for us to know on the application form any additional information about their musical experience and musical confidence so we can plan a good camp experience for them. If you have any specific questions about this please get in touch with us at camps@stables.org


Campers Contract

All campers and carers sign a Campers Contract. This states that the spirit of camp requires the camper to be fully immersed in camps socially and creatively for the entire week and that you agree to some important rules.

No Devices rule:-

As part of those rules camps have a ‘no devices ’rule for security and safeguarding reasons, but also for the positive benefits it has for the campers.  Parents and even campers themselves have commented that a device free week, free from pressures of social media and other influences, has been a positive thing that allows them to fully immerse themselves in the camps.

The following items should not be brought to camp: Mobile Phones, Gaming Devices, mp3 players/iPODs/iPADs/Tablets, Smartwatches, Radios, any wifi or internet enabled device.

Campers with these devices will have them confiscated for the duration of the camp, and the camper will be sent home at the Director’s discretion.

(If a camper needs to travel to & from camps with phone, and the phone cannot be left with or taken away by parents, it can be handed in for safe keeping at registration and will be returned at the end . There is a special camps phone number for parents to contact camps in emergencies or exceptional circumstances, and in exceptional circumstances camps can arrange for campers to call home.)

In particular the following transgressions will not be tolerated and may result in the camper being sent home:

  • Bullying, physical and verbal abuse
  • Smoking
  • Possession of alcohol
  • Possession of any illegal substance
  • Leaving or attempting to leave the campsite without either written permission of the Camp Director or being accompanied by a member of staff

Sending campers home is regrettable, but may have to be done for the well-being of all other campers and staff, who are entitled to a full and rewarding camps experience without any problems and disruption caused by a minority of campers.

Students from abroad

We sometimes get asked for advice on campers coming from abroad and what standard of English they would need to take part. We welcome children from other countries, but they do need to speak the language well as all activities are taught solely using English. The camps have a very busy programme of music making and the tutors cannot guarantee to have the time to provide additional support to anyone who may struggle with understanding the language.