Christmas is nearly upon us - Santa Claus is loading up his sleigh and your advent calendar is almost empty. The summer holidays could not feel any further away, but here at SuperTroop we are always thinking about the summer. This Christmas we encourage you to help us give young people with learning disabilities a transformative and unforgettable experience, by donating to us and gifting them an incredible holiday in 2026.
To demonstrate the value of these holidays to the young people who attend and to their families we are sharing an interview we conducted with Liz, whose son Rory has been attending the SuperTroop holiday each year.
The following interview was conducted in 2024. Liz talks about her son Rory’s experience on the Supertroop holidays and what Supertroop has given to her family as a whole. The names ‘Liz’, ‘Rory’, ‘Harry’ and ‘Neil’ are aliases to protect the privacy of our holiday maker and their family.
Liz, can you introduce yourself and tell us about your son, Rory?
I am Liz and I am mum to Rory, who is now fifteen years old. Rory has a diagnosis of Down’s syndrome, autism and ADHD and he has been attending Supertroop holidays since the first one in 2018.
What did you feel, sending your little eight year old off to a Supertroop holiday for the first time?
Really nervous, excited for him, but wondering how he’d get on.
And he got on really well! Were you startled by that at the time?
Yeah, a little bit, because it was all new people to Rory. He’s quite sociable, he likes to be made a fuss of. There’s plenty of that with all the young, eager, enthusiastic volunteers and all the members of staff. We did think we really hope he does settle.
I was slightly worried that maybe he wouldn’t want to come home because he’d had such a great time and maybe he didn’t initially! I remember my husband, Neil, and I were so overwhelmed when we saw him, because of the really lovely vibe of the holiday and the fact that we came to pick him up rested and recharged. I think I just burst into tears.
I was so overwhelmed by the kindness that had been shown to us as a family and to see Rory still buzzing. I will always remember that.
What are the things we do at Supertroop that are really great for Rory?
I think as an established holiday maker he understands that there is a routine. The team are flexible but they try to make sure the children know what’s coming next.
He’s very familiar with the surroundings and I think it has worked so well that the holiday has been at Fettes college every year. There’s the garden outside to play in and Rory knows where everything is. There’s swimming onsite, the accommodation is lovely, the rooms for personal care are lovely. It feels homely and it feels personal as well, to the children that are there.
Maybe you can tell us a little bit about the things you might do whilst Rory is on the Supertroop holiday?
We enjoy having time with our older son, Harry, which is even more precious now that he’s away from home. So much of the focus when we are out as a family is on Rory and making sure he’s alright. It was lovely to just relax and sit round the table and chat with Harry.
Neil, Harry and I had a little minibreak down in London, which was just fantastic. To wander round London, which is something that wouldn’t really appeal to Rory. We went to a couple of concerts, went out for some meals and met up with some family.
I wondered if you had any thoughts about the Helpers?
I just love their enthusiasm for signing up. They greet you with happy faces, they’re wanting to get to know your child, they’ve learnt about Rory and the other children in advance.
They just really want to make it a fun week and you sense that in the picture diaries that we get. You see all these smiles. They seem to throw themselves into it. Some of them return year after year to help as well, which I think is amazing.
Regardless of whether you’re seventeen and helping out or you’re older - it’s full on and it might be their first experience of working with a young person with additional needs but I think it’s invaluable for them to have that experience. They see the fun side but they see the challenging side and they learn to manage that. It’s amazing - they are really great young people. A credit to their families and their school.
I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but Rory is something of a Supertroop celebrity. There’s a certain amount of demand to be spending some time with him. He’s such a charismatic young man, full of charm and energy and creativity. We love to spend time with him.
That’s really lovely to hear. It’s definitely reciprocal!
What would you tell other families about Supertroop?
The Supertroop holidays are exceptionally well organised. They treat all the children as individuals.
This year, we had a few extra conversations with the management team and some of them came out to the house to see Rory again and talk through some strategies. As a result Rory had probably his best Supertroop holiday this year.
The team really amazed Neil and I with how much they want to make it a holiday and so much fun but a safe organised environment as well. I know many parents who have said to us “Now, how did you get Rory on that holiday? We would love for our children to go on that holiday!”
We are very much hoping that we might be able to expand and offer more holidays in the future because I think exactly as you’ve described there are lots of families who would absolutely jump at the chance. Maybe one day hopefully!
I hope so. It’s a complete blessing to get Rory a space on Supertroop. We’ve been very, very fortunate to be able to take up this opportunity. It would be great if the charity would one day be able to expand, but the fact you’re doing such a great job already has helped so many people. Thank you.
Please donate to us this Christmas, to help us to continue delivering our holidays - giving an invaluable experience to the young people we look after and providing an opportunity for respite for their families.