STUDENT JOINING INSTRUCTIONS

Young Film Academy (YFA) Filmmaking & Screen Acting Summer Camp 2023

Dear Parents and Guardians,

We look forward to welcoming your student to Young Film Academy’s Filmmaking & Screen Acting Summer Camp 2023! We’re looking forward to a bumper summer of creativity.

Please read the joining instructions below carefully, as these instructions will provide you with all the information you need before camp begins.  


Arrival

The camp takes place at:

Culford School

Bury Saint Edmunds 

IP28 6TX

The nearest train station is Bury St Edmunds. For local taxis to travel to Culford School: CLM TAXIS 07497554038 & A1 TAXIS 01284766777. Please note that taxis should be booked ahead of time. 

Arrival times:

Sunday (6th August & 13th August 2023). We are staggering arrival times, and request that you arrive at the following times:

  • If the student’s first name begins with the letter A-F please arrive at 2:30 PM
  • If the student’s first name begins with the letter G-M please arrive at 3:30 PM
  • If the student’s first name begins with the letter N-Z please arrive at 4:30 PM 

Please note: check-in may take up to 2 hours. 

If your student is being chaperoned from the airport by YFA (by prior arrangement) the above does not apply. 

Parking is available onsite in front of the main school building. 


COVID-19 Protocols

We are making the following arrangements to maximise the safety of our students and staff on camp, and to minimise the chances of disruption: 

  1. All students need to have completed a lateral flow test on the Sunday morning of their arrival and bring evidence of the negative test to check-in (a photograph will suffice). Tests can be purchased currently for £2 at Boots.
  2. For students travelling overseas, please source a locally available test prior to arrival. 
  3. Any student who tests positively may be quarantined on-site and will engage in activities remotely, taking on a film project in quarantine if they feel well enough or will return home, assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Covid tests from Boots can be purchased by clicking here.

Contact 

For enquiries prior to the start date of the summer camp, please call YFA main office:

+44 207 387 4341

During the camp (6th-20th August), you can reach the on-site YFA Administration team on:

  • YFA main office number +44 207 387 4341 between 9:00am-12:30pm and 1:30pm-5:00pm.
  • In case of genuine emergencies outside of these hours, please contact your student and ask them to find a member of our staff who will contact you.

Please note: The Culford School site has wi-fi but mobile phone reception throughout is intermittent depending on mobile network, so wi-fi calling is best (e.g. Skype, FaceTime, WhatsApp).

If you want to call your student, we recommend between 6:30PM-7:00PM as students have free time then.

We ask that you DO NOT send any post or packages to your student whilst at camp, unless it’s an absolute emergency. The post goes through the school and is not always reliable.  


What to bring to camp

We suggest the following clothing for 1-week students. For 2-week students, we recommend increasing the numbers accordingly. 

3 pairs trousers/jeans/skirt
3 pairs shorts (including sports)
6 short sleeve shirts/t-shirts
2 long sleeve shirts
1 swimming costume
1 pair of swimming goggles
1 swimming cap
8 pairs underwear/socks (including sports)
2 pairs pyjamas
1 bathrobe
1 beach/swimming towel
1 bath towel
2 light sweaters or sweatshirts
1 light waterproof jacket 
1 hat for rain/wind/sun 
1 smarter/glam outfit for Talent show night (Saturday)
Costume elements for our Mystery Movie themed evenings! 
6th-13th August theme: Pirates 
13th-20th August theme: Casino Heist 
(Movies shown on these evenings will be revealed at Camp)

Footwear:

1 pair sports shoes/running shoes/trainers
1 pair comfortable/casual shoes
1 pair flip-flops
1 pair of slippers for boarding house

Compulsory Accessories:

  • Your own water bottle
  • Sunscreen 
  • 1 x any headphones with a wired mini-jack connection (i.e not bluetooth-only)
  • Toiletry kit, including shower gel/soap, shampoo, conditioner, sanitary towels

Laundry (for 2-week students ONLY): 

To make use of the laundry services available at Culford School, 2-week students must label EVERY ITEM of clothing, which will then be deposited in communal bags for white and coloured clothing. For intimates, students should bring 1x mesh washing bag which is labelled as well. 

Washing bag can be purchased by clicking here.

Optional Accessories:

  • Torch
  • Sunglasses
  • Contact lenses/spectacles (if required)
  • Plug adaptors for UK if the student is travelling from overseas
  • Tennis racket
  • Yoga mat
  • Hairdryer
  • Electric fan – students are welcome to bring their own desktop fan to use in their bedrooms during warm weather, if they are likely to want one.
  • Books – students can engage in quiet reading, should they desire, at various points during camp

Bedlinen and Towel

Students must bring their own towel to the camp.

All bedlinen is supplied but students may wish to bring their own second pillow (one pillow is supplied).

Electronic Equipment
Mobile phones/tablets are allowed at camp, but they may not be used during filmmaking/acting sessions. Boarding rooms do not have lockable storage, it is therefore strongly advised that students do not bring valuables to camp.

Note: YFA is not liable for any lost/damaged/stolen equipment. 

Activities Equipment

As part of the afternoon activities, yoga and tennis options may be available. We advise bringing a yoga mat and/or tennis racket should the student like to participate in these activities (other activities will also be available as an alternative to these options). 


Pocket Money & Passport

YFA operates a cashless system onsite when purchasing items such as snacks and souvenirs in our onsite shop. Any pocket money not used by UK-based students will be returned to parents via BACS within 14-days of the Camp’s end. International students will have unused cash returned to them in cash when they checkout.

Students must bring pocket money in CASH only, which must be handed in to YFA at check-in:

Students staying 1 week: we suggest £70 

Students staying 2 weeks: we suggest £140 

Please note we can’t accept card payments for pocket money, so please do bring cash for this purpose.

Students will retain their own passports or ID cards (if travelling from abroad), as YFA cannot  accept responsibility for these. 


What NOT to bring to the camp

Do NOT bring expensive electronic equipment to the camp as there is no lockable storage in the student accommodation. All filmmaking equipment will be provided by YFA. 

The school is entirely nut-free and it is strictly forbidden to bring products containing nuts on campus. It is also forbidden to bring chewing gum, bubble gum, matches or lighters on site.  


Medicines & First Aiders

Students who take medication should bring the correct amount for the whole duration of their stay at camp, labelled with their name. Please bring two of everything so we have a spare e.g for inhalers & epipens. At check-in, please make sure the YFA Safeguarding Officer is aware of what medications the student requires, as declared in the medical section of your booking form. YFA staff will make sure that students take their medicines regularly. 

Members of YFA staff who are first aid trained will be pointed out to students onsite.

Students are instructed not to bring ibuprofen nor paracetamol. This is available in the YFA Office onsite, and must be taken with the supervision of a staff member. 


Accommodation

All students will be sharing a room with a small number of other students.

Male and female accommodation will be separated. There are separate male and female bathroom facilities. Students are prohibited at all times from using (or entering) the restrooms of the opposite sex and will need to use their allocated bathrooms only.

Students are responsible for the general upkeep and cleanliness of their own rooms and common areas and this will be particularly encouraged.

Each night there will be a curfew time by which all students must be in their own rooms. Students  must sleep in their own room. Sleepovers are not permitted.

If, without prior consent from a member of YFA staff, a student leaves the school campus at any time, they may be dismissed from the camp at their own expense, without refund.  


Travel Insurance

Students travelling from outside the UK must have a full travel insurance policy in place. 


Code of Conduct & Complaint Procedure

Young Film Academy operates a zero-tolerance policy regarding alcohol, smoking, illegal and non-permitted drugs, theft, lewd and indecent behaviour, sexual, racial and personal harassment/ intolerance or absence from the group or camp site at unauthorised times.

Students are asked to read the YFA Code of Conduct for summer camp (attached below) before arrival. Due to YFA’s zero-tolerance policy, should a student not abide by the code of conduct, YFA reserve the right to remove them from the camp at their own expense.

Should a parent wish to submit a complaint, the procedure to do so is to email Event & Partnerships Manager Amelia Sciandra (manager@youngfilmacademy.co.uk) or call YFA during camp on +44 2073874341 explaining the reason for the complaint. Should a student wish to submit a complaint or share a concern regarding themselves or any other students, they may discuss this with the designated Safeguarding Officer onsite. The Safeguarding Officer will be on site at all times and can be approached at the students’ convenience. 


Final Films Premiere Screening and Checkout

There will be a Premiere screening of the movies produced during camp on the final Sunday of each week. Please see the information below for the time of your student’s screening. (Note: students on the 2-week Filmmaking or 2-week Screen Acting have their screening only at the end of the second week of camp.) 

The following times apply for ALL students (both filmmaking and screen acting crews): 

Sunday, 13th August

Ages 14-17 — please arrive at 9:30am for parent registration and screening; check-out from 11:45am – 12:30pm 

Ages 12-13 — please arrive at 10:00am for parent registration and screening; check-out from 12:00pm – 12:45pm

Sunday, 20th August 

2-week Students Ages 14-17 — please arrive at 9:00am for parent registration and screening; checkout from 11:15am – 11:45am

1- week Students Ages 14-17 — please arrive at 11:15am for parent registration and screening;

check-out from 1:15pm – 1:45pm 

All Students Ages 12-13 — please arrive at 10:00am for parent registration and screening; check-out from 12:00pm – 12:45pm 

Please note: if your student is doing 1 week of each discipline, you are welcome to attend both screenings. All films will be made available after the Camp is over, so if you’re only able to attend the final screening (or neither) you will still have a chance to see the films your student made. 

Parking is available on-site. 

If you are travelling to and from the Bury St. Edmunds train station, we highly recommend you pre-book a taxi. The area is rural and the wait for taxis can be long. Additionally, the area doesn’t have full cell service so calling on the day may be difficult.  

Lunch is not available for students or parents on departure days and we recommend making alternative arrangements.

Digital copies of the completed films will be sent to every student within 15 working days of the end of camp.

Films produced on camp may be nominated for the Young Film Academy Awards which takes place on Saturday 2nd September, 2:00PM – 3:30 PM at the British Film Institute (BFI), Southbank, London, SE1 8XT. Nominees will be invited to attend by the 25th August.


THE END…(roll credits)

We look forward to welcoming you to YFA summer camp to eat, sleep and breathe movies with us!

Best wishes, 

The YFA Team