Summer Activities for Kids and Young People in London

Summer is well upon us and families with children are faced with the same recurring problem: what to do with the children? We have rounded up a list of fun activities to do with kids in London. True to our spirit, we have mixed the educational with the entertaining and have listed summer activities and events that will delight any child and young person from 7 to 25 year old.

Dance  – A Nite with Da Bratz (Boy Blue Entertainment)
Fri 16 & Sat 17 July, 7.15pm – £12
An exciting evening of dance profiling the talented young people who are members of Boy Blue’s youth company Da Bratz.
Info & Tickets

Music – Spotlight LDN
Sat 17 & Sun 18 July, 7pm – £16.75
O2 Indigo, The O2, Peninsula Square, London SE10 0DX
A concert that brings together the UK’s finest grime, r&b and hip hop artists. Performers include Scorcher, Cherri V, Kele Le Roc, Princess Nyah, Nate James, Mz Bratt, Fr3e, Hanzy, Ny, Dotstar, RD and RT Entz, supported by a live band.
The event is promoted by Rising Tide, one of London’s leading music industry development and youth events organisations.
Info & tickets

Festival – Young People’s Afro-Caribbean Carnival
Sun 18 July – Free
Carnival procession from 1pm, Live on stage from 2pm
Leyton cricket ground, High Road Leyton, E10 6PY
Over a 1000 young people from across Waltham Forest bring carnival and dance to the streets of Leyton. The programme features dance and music from  The Dennis Bovell Dub Band, Sandra Cross and Kofi. The show is compered by Geoff Schumann of Platinum FM.
Info

Festival – Shoreditch Festival
Fri 16 July – Sun 18 July – Free
Shoreditch Park, New North Road, London N1 6TA
A week-end of free events for the family, with an opening concert from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and performances showcasing local talent with live music, films, dance and plenty more.
Info & full programme

Do You Know Where Your Daughter Is? by Angie Le Mar

Theatre – Do You Know Where Your Daughter Is?
Fri 23 & Sat 24 Jul – £12.50
Bernie Grants Arts Centre, Town Hall Approach Road, London N15 4RX
Angie Le Mar’s cutting edge teenage drama witnessing the tensions in the relationship between a mother and her daughter. The play had a sold-out run at the Hackney Theatre and played in front of more than 7000 young Londoners.
Info & tickets
Courses / Workshops – Futureversity
Mon 26 July – Fri 20 August
Across London
Free creative courses for  11-25 year olds. Courses range in length from one day to four weeks and include subjects such as drumming, performance poetry, sewing, or film-making.  Teenagers can also learn to dance (bollywood) or practice sports such as netball or football. The more focused children can also choose to attend career workshops or volunteer to become mentors or youth ambassadors.
Info & registration

Creative workshops – Haringey Shed’s Summer Theatre 2010
Bernie Grants Arts Centre, Town Hall Approach Road, London N15 4RX
Haringey Shed promotes inclusive theatre, giving all young people and children, irrespective of disability or race the opportunity to discover theatre and perform. The Summer Theatre programme starts early August, with performances on 21 August at Bernie Grant Arts Centre.
Info and registration (scroll to the bottom of the page)

Music – Underage Festival
Sun 1 August, 11.30am – 8pm – £29.50
Victoria Park, London E9 7BT
Underage Festival is dedicated to the under 19s, with more than 5 stages of music. Singer MIA is headlining, with Tinchy Stryder, Annie Mac and drum n bass stars Chase & Status sharing the bill.
Info & tickets

Skating Heaven

Fun – Family Skate @ Skating Heaven
Sundays afternoon, 1pm-4pm
£6.50 or £20 for a family of 4, including free skate hire
Skating Heaven is the biggest roller skating venue in London and boasts 3 massive rooms to skate, for beginners, intermediate and advances skaters. Skate in music while listening to disco, r&b, hip hop, soulful and funky house. Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult.
Info

Drama Summer School by Angel Shed Theatre Company
Two week-long courses in August (9th-13th and 16th-20th). Workshops will run from 10am-4pm from Monday-Friday, and there will be a performance for family and friends on Friday evening. The cost is £260 per child per week. CANDI Studio Theatre at City & Islington college.
Info

Museums – Museums provide a whole range of events activities to delight the whole family:
Learn African and Indian dance at the Horniman Museum in August and July
Discover South African’s plants and flowers at the British Museum
Prepare for the Hackney Carnival (8 August) and make your carnival outfit at the Hackney Museum

Kid films

Street Dance 3D
Street dancer Carly is devastated when her boyfriend walks ways from their dance crew weeks before a  dance championship. Desperate, Carl y agrees to include 5 ballet dancers in the crew in exchange for a rehearsal space.
Find a theatre near you

Shrek Forever After
In this fourth and last instalment of the Shrek saga, the green ogre is bored with family life. He meets Rumpelstiltskin who offers him a day free of any responsibilities.
Find a theatre near you

Jaden Smith in Karate Kid

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Prince Dastan befriends princess Tamia and she leads him on a quest to retrieve a mythical dagger that contains the Sands Of Time – a powerful gift from the Gods.
Find a theatre near you

Karate Kid
Already a Us box office, this Karate Kid remake featuring Jaden Smith, son of Will Smith, is coming to the UK on 30 July.
Official website