100 Fun Activities: Best Health and Wellbeing Summer Activities

Are you looking after yourself whilst studying at school? Your academic learning is important for your future, but wellbeing in children, teenagers and young adults whilst learning is vital! If you’re wondering what amazing activities you will be able to enjoy with us over the Summer, take a look below! If you’re searching for ideas for yourself or your students / children, we hope to inspire you too.

Below you will find 100 fun activities, most of which, we we offer at Summer Boarding Courses Summer Schools, to create happy, healthy and energised students. Every week is wellbeing week here and we believe there are two vital ingredients students need to enjoy their Wellbeing Time.

Choice

Students have a variety of choice in our wellbeing and health activities. We encourage our students to try all of them to discover new ways of playing and being creative. Choice is important. Allow your students to make their own decisions from a set number of options.

What is Emotional Wellbeing?

Emotional wellbeing is about feeling comfortable, healthy, and happy. It encompasses both physical health and mental health, making it vital for overall wellbeing. Engaging in various wellbeing activities can significantly improve both emotional and mental health. There are many activities that you can do to improve and maintain your physical and mental wellbeing.

Mental and Physical Wellbeing Activities at Summer Boarding Courses

Summer Boarding Courses provide many different Summer School campuses in the UK. We have wellbeing activities running throughout all of the schools alongside our academic English programmes.

Yoga Class

Yoga is a fantastic way to improve both mental and physical health. Our yoga classes are designed to help reduce stress, improve cardiovascular health, and create a mindful practice that benefits overall wellbeing.

Part of our social and wellbeing at school activities is yoga! Our fully experienced and trained wellbeing yoga experts come to Oxford College to give students quality time on the mat and the opportunity to connect with their mind and body. Regardless of whether you have tried yoga before or not, this is a great chance to stretch, be mindful and release stress. Yoga is not only great for mental relaxation but also significantly benefits cardiovascular health.

Go and See a Play

Engaging in cultural activities, such as watching a play, is great for emotional wellbeing. It offers a way to relax, reduce stress, and broaden your horizons.

If you are joining us at Oxford College, you will have the chance to see a spectacular show in London’s West End. We go and see a variety of Shakespeare’s plays in Oxford including Macbeth, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Love’s Labour’s Lost and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

At the end of a big day out in London, we see one of the most popular shows! This can include The Lion King, Aladdin and School of Rock.

Take on a Photo Challenge

A photo challenge is a great wellbeing activity that encourages exploration and creativity. It can improve mental clarity, reduce stress, and provide a sense of achievement.

Discover your new city for the Summer by taking part in a photo challenge! Through various clues and challenges, make your way through the local area, snapping pictures of specific locations and you completing different tasks! It’s the perfect activity to get to know each other, work as a team and discover a new location.

Dance

Dancing is a fun physical activity that not only improves physical health but also boosts emotional wellbeing. It’s a fantastic way to stay active and release endorphins, which are natural stress relievers.

We love music and we love to dance! Why not take some time to get on the disco floor and exercise simultaneously, benefiting both your mental and physical health? In the evenings, our students have the chance to dance and enjoy expressing themselves through music.

Go on a Nature Walk

Nature walks are incredibly therapeutic and beneficial for both physical and mental wellbeing. They help reduce stress, improve mental clarity, and provide a supportive environment for relaxation.

SBC Canford Summer School, located at the prestigious Canford School near Bournemouth, is set in 300 acres of picturesque grounds on the banks of the River Stour. The perfect place to discover nature!

Headington Oxford is at the prestigious leafy green Headington School in Oxford: one of the UK’s top boarding schools. The grounds are vast with tennis courts and an indoor swimming pool, with plenty of nature all around for students to enjoy on a nature walk.

SBC at Eton College is located in one of the UK’s most prestigious schools. This historic venue and extensive grounds provide a truly inspiring environment for our students to study and relax in.

Oxford College & Cambridge College (ages 15-17) are perfect for connecting with nature. Both colleges have peaceful gardens where students can relax and be mindful. Nature walks are not only relaxing but also help improve mental clarity.

Play Football

Football is an excellent way to stay active and improve physical wellbeing. It’s also a great social activity that helps build relationships and boosts emotional health.

Create Your Own Story

Creative storytelling can improve self-esteem, reduce anxiety, and enhance emotional health. Whether you’re writing a short picture book or a long-form masterpiece, it’s a fantastic way to express yourself and manage stress.

Draw inspiration from what is around you and decide how you would like to create your story. Will you do a short picture book story, a play or maybe a long-form masterpiece? Have fun with the characters and plot and enjoy expressing your ideas through storytelling.

Experiment with Clay

Working with clay is a mindful practice that can be incredibly therapeutic. It enhances focus, reduces stress, and promotes physical and mental wellbeing.

Maybe you would like to try making some pottery or observe who is around you and create a 3D portrait for a friend. You could make some jewellery such as a pendant, or have fun making decorative items for your room. You can also study English further whilst focusing on Art and Design through our English Plus+ courses!

Go Horse Riding

Horse riding is a physical activity that benefits both physical and mental wellbeing. It’s an incredibly therapeutic experience that helps improve posture, balance, and reduces anxiety.

Spending time with horses can be very therapeutic. Horse riding will teach you how to care for others whilst improving your posture, balance, core strength, physical wellbeing, and mental wellbeing. Students at SBC Canford and SBC Oxford can try this!

Make Your Own Decisions During Free Time

Making decisions independently is a great way to boost self-esteem and emotional health. It encourages personal growth, improves time management skills, and helps integrate wellbeing practices into everyday life.

For our students at Oxford College and Cambridge College who are growing into young adults, we want to encourage them to make their own decisions by having their own free time in the city. They can choose to do whatever they wish during this time in their wellbeing action plan. We find that our students like to go shopping, explore more of the city, eat their favourite foods, buy souvenirs and relax in the park. This is also a great chance for them to practice their timekeeping skills. These activities help students integrate wellbeing practices into their everyday life.

Visit a Museum

Museums offer a supportive environment for learning and relaxation. Visiting a museum is a fantastic way to enhance mental health, reduce stress, and engage in a meaningful activity.

With three out of our seven Summer Schools running in Oxford, Summer Boarding Courses makes the most of the city by visiting its museums! The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology is a firm favourite with our students. We also recommend the Pitt Rivers Museum and History of Science.

Play Basketball

Basketball is a physical activity that promotes physical health, improves motor skills, and reduces stress. It’s also a great way to stay active and build friendships.

Basketball is great for your entire body and your teamwork skills. Play this competitive game with friends to build your bones, strength and motor skills, whilst improving your space awareness and confidence.

Visit Bath

Students at SBC Canford and Headington Oxford can explore more of the UK by having a great day out in the Roman city of Bath. Famous for its natural hot springs, students will be able to enjoy the city’s 2000-year-old history whilst exploring its architecture. There will also be the chance to enjoy some shopping at some special independent shops. We recommend you try Bath’s unique mineral water before you leave.

Play the drums

Playing a musical instrument increases your memory, coordination and comprehension! We have musical instruments in each of our schools and love to run drum workshops to bring the world of beats to our wellbeing for kids sessions!

Make new friends

Friendships increase your sense of belonging and purpose. Boost your happiness and emotional wellbeing at our summer schools by making lots of new friends from across the world.

Join Summer Boarding Courses in 2025

Want to make your summer a bit more exciting in 2025? At Summer Boarding Courses, we’ve got a wide range of activities, from academic classes to creative projects, and of course plenty of chances to relax and have fun. Whether you’re interested in improving your skills, meeting new people, or just trying something different, there’s something for everyone.

Our campuses, like Oxford College, Cambridge College, and SBC Canford, all have their own unique vibe and offer loads of opportunities to get involved. Come and join us for some great wellbeing activities, cultural trips, and loads of fun moments.

Find out more at https://www.summerboardingcourses.com/.

Try a quiz

A great way for the students to get to know each other and to also find out more about their mentors is to run quizzes. Sometimes the mentors set the questions. Sometimes the students do. Students work in teams and combine their knowledge to try and get the most points in each round to win prizes. There are lots of different round themes you can run. Try asking questions about countries, music, food and current affairs!

Eat your favourite food

We ensure that our students are provided with three nutritious meals each day. When we go on excursions, we also like to go out and eat our favourite foods. Students can enjoy some British favourites, including pizza at Pizza Express! Enjoying your favourite foods can also contribute to your emotional health.

Watch a film

Why not relax and unwind in the evening with an age-appropriate film? We like to show our films on one of our big projector screens. Students can choose from a variety of options.

Visit London

All our students have the opportunity to go on many excursions to enjoy England whilst they are with us. Depending on their specific school and interests, the highlights of the day can differ. At Oxford College, students will visit London attractions attached to their studies, such as the House of Commons, the Tate Modern and the Royal Courts of Justice.

Celebrate your successes

Our students at Oxford College and Cambridge College have the opportunity to experience what college life will be like in a UK university, and by coming to Summer Boarding Courses, they will be able to celebrate the end of their experience with us at the graduation party! We recognise everybody’s achievements, eat a delicious dinner in a beautiful setting, and give our students the opportunity to reflect on their experience and say farewell. Make sure you give yourself time to reflect on your successes and celebrate what you have achieved!

Spend time with other cultures

You will meet so many different cultures at Summer Boarding Courses. We ensure that there is a mix of nationalities in each school, by applying a cap to how many students we accept from each nationality. Your ideas and expectations will naturally be questioned and you will see people do things differently to how you do them. We encourage students to share their ideas and thoughts with each other throughout their Summer experience and wellbeing time helps greatly with this.

Go swimming

All students at Summer Boarding Courses have the opportunity to go swimming. Swimming is excellent exercise: it increases your endurance, builds muscle and is a great stress reliever.

Put on your own fashion show

Let your inner fashion designer shine bright by being part of a fashion show. Use recyclable materials that others are not using, or purposely buy art and craft materials to make your outfits. Put on a show to present your creations to everyone in your class!

Make your own t-shirt

Wellbeing activities are just as much about arts and crafts as sporting activities. An easy activity to do is to make your own tie-dye t-shirt. Buy a white top, some tie-dye materials, and create your very own unique design!

Discover a castle

Students at SBC Oxford have the opportunity to visit Warwick Castle and students at Headington Oxford are able to visit Royal Windsor; the family home to British kings and queens for over 1,000 years!

Learn to knit

Learning to knit is a great skill to have, but also a skill that allows you to meditate and relax! Once you get into the rhythm of it, you can enjoy making new items for yourself and friends, whilst having the time to reflect and restore.

Play squash

Squash is the perfect sport to really get your heart pumping! You will be running, diving and leaping for that ball and quickly improve your coordination and reflexes.

Read a book

There’s nothing quite like getting lost in a book. It expands your imagination, opens up new worlds to you and helps you create new ideas in reality. There are plenty of amazing books to choose from at Summer Boarding Courses. Our mentors offer up their own favourite books and recommend them weekly to our students. These books can also be won as prizes!

Meditate to manage stress

Take some time out during your day to meditate and manage stress. You do not have to meditate for long; even a minute of meditation, where you try to block out the noise, can be incredibly helpful for your mental health. Our meditation is incorporated into our yoga sessions, as well as our nature walks and time in the park.

Mindfulness and Relaxation

Practice deep breathing exercises

Deep breathing exercises are a simple yet effective way to manage stress and improve your focus. Taking slow, deep breaths can help calm the nervous system, reduce anxiety, and increase overall relaxation. It’s a great tool that can be used anytime, whether you’re in the middle of a busy day or winding down in the evening.

Play dodgeball

Try and get the opposing team ‘out’ by throwing a dodgeball at them! To make things more difficult, you can also get an opposing team member out by catching one of their throws at you. A team wins when all of the other team is out, or you have more players at the end of a 2 minute game!

Try circuit training

Take your wellbeing fitness to the next level. Try and mix up some of the following exercises to create your own circuit training session: burpees, tuck jumps, squats, high knees, jumping jacks, planks, skipping on the spot and lunges. We like to do our circuits outdoors if the weather permits!

Play a board game

Not all of the best games are on your PC or mobile phone. Try some classic board games with your friends. Our favourites are Scrabble, Chess, Cluedo, Scattergories, Checkers and Operation.

Go to the zoo

If you’re joining us at SBC Oxford, then you can enjoy a visit to Cotswold Wildlife Park; one of the UK’s largest zoological collections. Cotswold Wildlife Park supports a thriving education programme, is a key part of endangered species breeding programmes and works with conservation projects in the wild. When you visit, you will be able to see not only a variety of animals but the beautiful gardens too!

Go Punting

For a truly quintessential British experience during your wellbeing and wellness time, we recommend going punting! Popular in both Oxford and Cambridge, it’s the perfect opportunity to slow down and focus on moving forward with that pole down the tranquil river.

Run your own mini olympics event

With a few items, you can create your own mini olympics event. Set up different game stations and put students into different teams. Teams must compete against each other at the different stations to see who wins. You could do a balloon race relay, a hula hoop competition, a running competition, a wheelbarrow race and a throwing challenge.

Make the best paper airplane

Summer Boarding Courses love a good challenge. Using science, imagination and creativity, you can set a goal to create a paper airplane that has to fly so far, or hit a certain target. What are you going to create in your wellbeing time?

Throw a frisbee

It’s not too difficult and something that requires a friend to play with. Try playing frisbee to improve your coordination and reflexes!

Build the tallest tower

Can you build the tallest tower out of all the teams in your class? Put your engineering skills to the test! You may only have spaghetti sticks and blu-tac, cardboard boxes, straws or only paper. Have fun being creative and working together with your team.

Play bingo

A bingo game can be as simple as calling out numbers. Yet there are many variations of bingo. Students can play together in pairs, where they have to ask each other a question in order to tick off a particular square. Or you could have charades bingo, where your partner has to guess what action you are doing for you to win that square. Be creative and make up your own bingo games.

Discover a new place before going there

Students at Oxford College and Cambridge College have their own free time to go out and explore the city and also on the excursions we go on across England. We encourage them to research the areas they are going to beforehand online, so that they can find activities and sights they are interested in. Make the most of your free time by planning ahead.

Try and build a bridge

We love a challenge at Summer Boarding Courses. How about trying to build a bridge to support a particular object? This could involve materials such as spaghetti, marshmallows and kinder eggs. Be creative, think out of the box, and try and build the strongest bridge you can.

Play volleyball

Make sure you have a net and a volleyball, and you’re set to have a great game! Volleyball improves muscle strength, reflexes, balance and hand-eye coordination.

Create a podcast

Blogging, vlogging and podcasts are incredibly popular today and a great way to share your thoughts, ideas and news. Creating them is so much fun. How about setting yourself the goal of documenting a day out, or interviewing someone who inspires you? Tell your friends and share what you have created.

Solve a crime mystery

With your friends, take on roles in a crime mystery game and work together to try and solve who committed the crime and why. Maybe the class mascot has gone missing or there’s a magical book missing from the library. Use your imagination. One Stop English have some excellent resources to help you out.

Have fun with science experiments

Do you want to make edible amber fossils, explore surface tension, make a hovercraft or understand the science of fireworks? There are many fun and safe activities you can try together to bring out the scientist and explorer within you. Find plenty of ideas here!

Play table tennis

Fast-paced, precise and a great sport for your focus and reflexes, put table tennis on your wellbeing ideas list!

Go to a Silent disco

Pop your headphones on and pick your own music! Dance the night away and sing your heart out to your favourite music with your friends.

Paint a picture

We encourage our students to paint what they wish during their freestyle art time. Maybe you have a picture inside your mind, or you are taking inspiration from the environment in front of you. We have the materials to help you create what you wish.

Go to a zumba class

For students seeking a high-energy physical activity and to improve physical health, Zumba is an excellent choice. The music is great and the moves so much fun. We ensure that we invite the best qualified teachers to instruct us. If you are coming to SBC Oxford, Zumba class is on your wellbeing options list!

Go on a scavenger hunt

Use your mind, body and teamwork skills to work your way through various levels of puzzles and clues to get to your final destination in a fun and clever scavenger hunt! A hunt is easy to organise and a great way to get outdoors and have fun exploring. We like to test our students and run scavenger hunts to keep them on their toes.

Play tag rugby

Try a non-tackle, minimal-contact version of rugby with tag rugby. Set up two teams and try and score the most tries by placing the rugby ball on or over the try line of your competitors’ side of the field.

Go to a theme park

Calling all thrill-seekers! Do you enjoy riding roller-coasters and experiencing twists and turns? Summer Boarding Courses takes its students at SBC Canford, Headington Oxford, SBC at Eton College, SBC at Wellington College and Cambridge College to Thorpe Park in their summer school experience.

Try go-karting

Ready, steady, go! Students have the choice of taking part in a multi-activity programme or choosing an English Plus+ option on two afternoons per week for an additional cost at SBC Oxford, SBC Canford and Headington Oxford. English Plus+ options include adventure sports, horse riding, drama and art and design. As part of our adventure sports option, go-karting is included.

Run a talent show

Can you sing, dance, read poetry, juggle, tell jokes or act out a scene? We all have a talent. Show yours by taking part in a talent show with us.

Get creative with a Polaroid camera

It has become popular at celebrations and festivities to have an area set up with some props and a polaroid camera to have fun taking photos. Use your creativity with your friends, dress up, use the items in novel ways, and create your own polaroid snapshots!

Cook a delicious meal

Experiment with new ingredients, flavours and textures by cooking something new! Or for your mental wellbeing, you may like to cook the dish that you love from your country to share with your new international friends. Cooking can also be a therapeutic activity that enhances your emotional health.

Visit Cambridge

Home to the prestigious University of Cambridge, Cambridge is a fascinating city to go to and explore for the day. We take our students at Oxford College here for the day and our Cambridge College students also spend a lot of time exploring the city. We go punting along the river Cam, and get to see and hear about King’s, Trinity and St John’s as we float on by. Then we take a guided walk through the city to discover more historical landmarks, then enjoy the city at our own pace in free time.

Sing a song

Singing has been proven to strengthen your immune system, improve your posture, help you sleep, lower stress, be a natural anti-depressant and help you bond with newfound friends. Sing your favourite songs!

Play chess

Really put your mind to work by playing a game of chess! We have chess boards across our summer schools, some of which are very large and require your whole body to move the pieces! Chess is excellent for your IQ, memory and creativity, exercising both sides of your brain at the same time.

Enjoy a BBQ

Enjoy the summer outdoors and some good food by having a BBQ. Cooking and eating together is a great activity to get to know people better and discuss your interests.

Go bowling

How about a game of ten pin bowling to take some time out from studying and work? Exercise your coordination, lunge those legs and aim that ball for the centre!

Enjoy challenges on inflatables

How about having lots of fun on inflatable games? At SBC Oxford, students take on Challenge Day, where they play various games on inflatables in teams to win points! It’s one of our favourite 8 to 12-year-old activities. There are plenty of challenges to try, including trying to throw balls in nets through soapy suds!

Draw

Try and draw something you have never tried to draw before, or draw whatever comes to you when you put the pencil to the page. Draw a friend, or the nature around you. Or take a walk and draw what inspires you along the way.

Try Laser Quest

Catch your opposing team out with your laser to try and get the most points, whilst avoiding their lasers in return!

Have a lip sync battle

How well do you know your songs? Can you lip sync to them like a pro? Try battling with your friends to be the best performer you can be.

Write a poem

From a sonnet and a limerick to a haiku, be creative and express yourself through a poem. Take the time to think and reflect, and create something for yourself or a poem you can share.

Make something useful out of recyclable materials

Plastic bottles, cardboard boxes, food trays and reusable bags. There are plenty of materials we can use to make something completely new with a different purpose. Think out of the box and see what you can create from recyclable materials.

Play capture the flag

Make two teams and claim some space outside or inside which is a large rectangle that both teams can fit in. Place a flag at each end of the pitch: these are each team’s flags, which are in each of their territories. The goal for each team is to try and steal the other team’s flag, without being tagged by the opposing team. If a team member is caught, they have to stand still until a member of their team comes to rescue them by touching them on the shoulder. If they get the other team’s flag back into their own territory, without being caught, they win!

Enjoy Brighton and Bournemouth

Just 60 minutes from London, Brighton is a vibrant, dynamic and exciting city that makes a great day out at the beach. Discover the Royal Pavilion, independent shops, street art, beach front and creative vibes! With stunning scenery, beautiful gardens and a chance to build a sandcastle, take a trip to Bournemouth beach too.

Self-Improvement

Set Personal Goals

Setting personal goals is a great way to challenge yourself and stay motivated. Take some time to think about what you want to achieve, whether it’s related to your studies, hobbies, or wellbeing. Setting realistic and achievable goals can help give you direction and a sense of purpose, making each day more meaningful.

Track Your Progress

Once you set your goals, it’s important to keep track of your progress. Use a journal or an app to note down your accomplishments and challenges. This will help you stay on course and adapt your plan if needed. Reflecting on your journey can also boost your motivation and provide insight into how far you’ve come.

Celebrate Small Wins

Remember to celebrate every milestone, no matter how small. Acknowledging your achievements, even the minor ones, can improve your confidence and inspire you to keep going. Whether it’s treating yourself to something you enjoy or simply taking a moment to reflect, celebrating your wins can make the process much more rewarding.