Exams finished - ideas for your child's summer bucket list

Jul 18, 2023
5 min read

Updated: Jul 22

Post-exam days are finally here. Exams are over and your child will be as free as a bird, and may never again have such well-deserved 'me time' on their hands.

As a parent, the post-exam relief is tangible. Months of routine, discipline and angst give way and you finally have your child back. But as any parent knows, idle hands are the devil’s workshop, so while you want your child to kick back and enjoy their freedom from the slog, you also want them to embrace their time out in a healthy, positive way. No festering on the sofa for weeks, or preserving their livers for generations to come. Many will already have made plans, and the moment the ink on their final exam paper has dried, those plans will galvanise into action. For others, some inspiration may be needed.

Here at Yipiyap HQ we’ve been thinking of ways we would fill these happy summer days if we had the chance again, so we’ve compiled a Yipiyap Summer Bucket List to give you and your child some inspiration.

Exams finished - ideas for your child's summer bucket list

1. Read a book (and not just any book)

We challenge you to use this time to read a book you can wax lyrical about for years to come, one that never fails to impress others when you tell them you’ve read it. A long, restful summer is an ideal time for weighty classics such as War and Peace, The Count of Monte Cristo or Middlemarch.

Alternatively, the well-defined genre of campus literature (books about university and campus life) yields plenty of enjoyable reads to whet the appetite for life as an undergraduate. Sally Rooney’s Normal People, Philip Roth’s The Human Stain, Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, and Evelyn Waugh’s Brideshead Revisited and Decline and Fall all come to mind.

2. Give something special to your community

We all know volunteering is standard CV and personal statement fodder, and many Year 13s will already have some under their belt. It’s also one of the most proven ways to improve life satisfaction; if you’re in a rut, getting out of your own head and thinking of others does wonders.

Giving something back doesn’t begin and end with a Saturday job in Oxfam. It could be anything from volunteering in a care home, supporting a local food bank, sports coaching, conservation work, or taking elderly neighbours’ dogs for a walk.

2. Give something special to your community

3. Start exercising

Exercise in any form is fantastic for your child’s physical health, but it’s also good for their brain health and mental wellbeing. It’s widely recognised that even a little exercise has a substantial impact on the brain’s levels of dopamine and serotonin, both of which improve mood, not to mention the less-tangible satisfaction of achievement that comes with it.

In fact, while exercising may momentarily make them tired, it actually leads to greater alertness and focus, meaning more energy, not less. So getting out and being active is not only good for your child’s body, it helps them keep a sharp, healthy mind. This can be anything from a daily walk to something altogether more vigorous. It all counts.

4. Create a dish fit for MasterChef

Learning to cook for themselves is a great way for your child to make friends, stay healthy and save money at university. It’s far better than a takeaway every night.

So why not challenge them to master a culinary dish or two worthy of Greg and John’s taste buds? Expanding their repertoire is an impressive feat in its own right, and really is a skill for life.

5. Know their place

For many school leavers, this summer marks the beginning of a long process of flying the nest, and the end of the time when they’re truly living in the place they are right now. So why not encourage them to get out and really get to know where you live? Explore it like they would a European city on holiday: look properly at the buildings and architecture, visit local museums, parks and galleries, and explore the roads and paths they’ve never been down before.

6. Take a hike

Venturing into the great outdoors is always worthwhile, and now your child has a whole summer to invest more time than ever getting back in touch with nature, especially as many will have spent much of the year indoors revising.

England is home to ten national parks (covering 10% of its land area), so everyone has one relatively close to hand, and there are thousands of walks to go on. There’s never been a better time for your child to get their walking boots on and head outside for a hike.

7. Learn a new language

With the rise of new technologies, it’s never been easier to learn a new language. The love affair with language learning apps continues, with free apps like Duolingo still gathering tens of millions of monthly users. Learning a language is a great way to keep your child’s mind sharp and pick up a valuable skill for life along the way.

8. Get into gardening

Despite the name, you don’t really need a garden to get into the nitty-gritty of gardening. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as seeing something you’ve planted flourish with the right care and attention. And gardening isn’t just the preserve of the retired these days.

Gen Z appreciate the mindful nature of this pastime and connecting with their surroundings. So whether you have a garden or some window pots, give your child the challenge of making something beautiful grow.

9. A grand day out

With warm weather and longer days, summer is the perfect time for a good old-fashioned day trip. We’re incredibly fortunate in England to have dozens of beautiful, historic and interesting cities perfect to visit in a day. With a student travel card, your child can hop on a bus or train to the castles of the north-east, the sunny Jurassic Coast in the south, or the great eastern cathedral cities of Lincoln, Peterborough or Cambridge. England is steeped in history, and wherever you are, there’s plenty for your child to do close by.

10. Get creative

They say everybody has a talent, and we at Yipiyap know young people are teeming with creative ability. Sometimes this creative urge doesn’t get the chance to reach full expression when they’re up to their ears in coursework and revision, so now’s the time for your child to let loose. Be it painting, drawing, writing, making music, snapping away with their phone camera, or even film-making, now is the time to scratch that creative itch.

We hope these ideas give you some inspiration to share with your child for the coming weeks and months. However they decide to spend those post-exam halcyon days, we hope they enjoy themselves. They’ve deserved every minute.

About the author

This is a guest post by Yipiyap. Catherine Birkett is the co-founder and COO of Yipiyap, which has been developing the peer tutoring sector for over a decade, working alongside gap year students to provide relatable peer tutors to schools and colleges across the UK.

If you’d like to know how your teen can build their character, develop skills, stand out from others and improve their chances at interviews, all while doing things they enjoy, read our suggestions in The Parents’ Guide to Developing Skills and Character. It includes sections on: