The second week of the school summer holidays saw the Pools Study Support Centre welcome back some of its Y5 pupils for our latest summer school.

The emphasis for this course was to encourage the youngsters to try something different. A host of exciting new activities were laid on for the children over the 3 days at Victoria Park.

The children made new friends and introduced themselves to each other by designing and printing their own T-shirts to reflect their hobbies and interests.

Next on the agenda was a chance to watch the HUFC squad training and get autographs from the lads.

Media skills were needed next with the creation of podcasts in the Pools Studio.

On the morning of day two the group filmed their own short videos using web-cams and stop-motion animation techniques.

They even created their own clay characters and added voice-overs!A truly new experience was next up for the team as they crossed over to the nearby Hartlepool & District Indoor Bowling Club.

Many thanks to Bill, Dave and Ken for coaching the children in the basics of indoor bowls and making it such fun for us all.

On the final day the children put all their baking knowledge from previous courses into cooking four tasty foods for lunch and to take home for parents (maybe!).

In between all that there was still time to try their hand at circus skills, Speedstacking and compete against each other in Nintendo Wii challenges.

All in all not a regular week at the Study Centre, but certainly fun.

Well done to all the children for getting involved in each activity and we hope they have a great time for the remainder of their school holidays.