Advertising Feature by Club Excel Multi Activity Camps

25% off for new customers at Club Excel Camps 2026

Families in Hitchin can look forward to an exciting, activity-packed summer as our holiday camp returns to The Priory School from 27^th July to 21^st August.

Open to children aged 3-13, the camp offers an incredible range of activities to suit every interest, giving children the chance to stay active, get creative, learn new skills and make lasting friendships throughout the summer holidays.

For energetic children, Multi Sports, Xtreme and Football camps deliver action-packed days filled with games, challenges and team activities. Budding performers can enjoy Performing Arts & Crafts and Theatre Workshop, while creative minds can explore our NEW Artists' Studio programme, where children in Years 3-7 can experiment with more complex painting, drawing, sculpture and creativity.

This summer also introduces NEW Techy Coders for children in Years 4-8, offering hands-on coding, game design, technology-based projects that inspire creativity, problem-solving and digital skills in a fun, engaging environment.

Our popular Mini Camp also returns for children aged 3-4 in their pre-school year. Designed with smaller groups and age-appropriate activities, it's the perfect introduction to holiday camps, combining play, creativity and adventure while providing flexible childcare for families.

Mums' Guide to Hitchin readers can also take advantage of an exclusive 25% discount for new customers using the code HITCHINMUMSGUIDE25 when booking.

With such a wide variety of activities on offer, our Summer Camp at The Priory School promises a fun, welcoming environment where every child can discover something they love and create unforgettable summer memories.

Book now to secure your spot!

Give us a follow us on social media for regular announcements and updates!
Facebook: Club Excel Multi Activity Camps
Instagram: @campexcel

Advertising Feature by GM Hockey

GM Hockey – 2026 Summer Courses

Dates: July 29th - 31st & August 19th - 21st (Wednesday – Friday)

Time:  10am – 3pm

Venue: Blueharts Hockey Club, Lucas Lane

Age range: 7-14 yrs

Ability: All players welcome, from beginners to established players. These are development courses, NOT Elite.

Cost: £40/day or £100/all 3 days

For further details & application/medical forms - please email: [email protected]

Places will be limited as usual to enable the Coach/player ratio of 6/8:1 leading to good transfer of technique & establish fun connections. This also provides good safety protocols to be observed.

WIN 3 family tickets to a Sundown Cinema family screening this summer! 🎬🍿

We've teamed up with Sundown Cinema to give ONE lucky winner 3 family tickets (each valid for 2 adults and 2 children) to enjoy an unforgettable outdoor cinema experience at Hitchin Lavender.

Instead of just taking your own family, you'll be able to invite two other families to enjoy the experience with you!

Choose one of these family screenings:
🌟 Zootropolis 2 – Sunday 9th August, 2:30pm
❄️ Frozen – Sunday 16th August, 2:30pm
🌈 Encanto – Sunday 23rd August, 2:30pm

Bring a blanket or camping chairs, and settle in for a memorable afternoon watching a family favourite surrounded by the beautiful lavender fields.

The prize

One winner will receive 3 family tickets (each admitting 2 adults and 2 children) to attend one of the family screenings listed above.

How to enter

📧 Email [email protected] with the subject line "Sundown Cinema" and include:

• Your name
• Your contact number

✨ Competition runs from Monday 6th July – Sunday 12th July 2026

⏰ Closing date: Sunday 12th July 2026 at 23:59 BST

Good luck!

T&Cs apply

Are you a parent or carer supporting a neurodivergent child or young person in Hertfordshire?

Join The Summer Reading Challenge at Hitchin Library

The Summer Reading Challenge is back at Hitchin Library, encouraging children to read over the holidays. It is the UK’s biggest reading for pleasure programme for children aged 4 to 11, delivered via public libraries – and it’s completely FREE to take part!

This year’s theme is Read to the Beat – celebrating the creative power of music and reading!

At Hitchin Library (and every library in Hertfordshire), we’ll be challenging young people to complete six reading-related challenges during the summer holidays. Everyone who signs-up gets a collector folder in which to keep the stickers that they will receive each time they complete a challenge. When they’ve collected all six stickers, they receive a medal and certificate, and are entered into a prize draw to win a place at a workshop with an acclaimed musician and author. Many schools in Hitchin choose to celebrate the children who have completed the Challenge in an assembly in September.

It all kicks off on Saturday 4 July and runs through until Saturday 5 September, so there is plenty of time to take part, even if you are away going away for a period during the school holidays.

There will also be a variety of other craft and reading activities at the library throughout the summer, including Boomwhacker workshops and our popular Page One children’s reading activity club – pop in to Hitchin Library to find out more.

The Challenge helps broaden reading horizons and maintain reading levels for the next academic year. It’s a fun, free family activity that encourages healthy reading habits and is a great way to keep young people reading over the summer holidays.

It’s completely free to sign-up – just head on down to your local library. Children do need to be a library member to sign-up to the Challenge, but it’s also completely free to join the library.

We can’t wait to see you at Hitchin Library very soon!

Kids Week is back!

The longest running initiative of its kind, Kids Week has introduced over 2.7 million young people and their families to the magic of live theatre for over 25 years.

How it works:

• During Kids Week, a child 17 and under goes free when accompanied by an adult paying full price.
• Plus an additional two children can attend for half price, all with no booking fees.

In addition to free tickets,some shows will run activity sessions or interactive curtain calls, so you can get even more from your theatre trip. 

The Kids Week offer includes selected performances between 20 July – 31 August. 

Tickets go on sale at 10am on Tuesday 9th June so check out participating shows and get ready to book, as tickets go fast!

The Kids Week offer is available exclusively at OfficialLondonTheatre.com. 

Booking will be very busy on the first day particularly for very popular shows and those where less tickets are made available so you may have to be patient and keep trying.  We'd recommend planning ahead and having a few shows in mind and several several dates/times.  If you're not successful in getting what you want, do keep checking the website, as often new tickets are released. 

Check out full details here and get ready to grab a bargain! tickets will go fast!

Oakfest Fun Day Charity Fundraiser- with Circus Pazaz

Oakfest is an annual family fun day fundraiser bringing together local families, volunteers and businesses to raise funds for a 3 year old local boy called Oakley who was born with a rare brain condition and needs specialist therapies and equipment. 

After welcoming over 1,000 people in 2025, we're back bigger in 2026 with a circus-themed event featuring live entertainment, a pop-up market and activities for all ages.

What's happening...

• Big Top circus shows
• Pop-up market with local makers
• Live music and entertainment
• Inflatables and family activities
• Raffle and fundraising games

The circus tickets are one of the main ways they're hoping to raise funds for Oakley’s therapy, so if you’re looking for something fun to do with the kids on Saturday 11th July, then you can book circus tickets in advance.

You can read more about Oakley, the event and book circus tickets here: www.oakiedokie.co.uk