Family-run holiday camps across Lichfield, Cannock and Stafford named national awards finalist

A family-run holiday camp provider for children across Lichfield, Cannock, Burton, Sutton Coldfield and Stafford has been named a national finalist at the UK Small Business Awards 2026.

The JC Academy team. Back row, left to right: Jack Craven, Hayley Bartlett, Freya Smith, Daisy Mountford, Ashleigh Ward and Tom Bennett. Front: Sam Craven and Jaime Craven, with JC Academy's Employee of the Year 2026, Ewan Stevens, holding the award. | JC Academy LTD

placeholder image — The JC Academy team. Back row, left to right: Jack Craven, Hayley Bartlett, Freya Smith, Daisy Mountford, Ashleigh Ward and Tom Bennett. Front: Sam Craven and Jaime Craven, with JC Academy's Employee of the Year 2026, Ewan Stevens, holding the award. | JC Academy LTD

JC Academy Holiday Camps, based at Britannia Enterprise Park in Lichfield, has been shortlisted in the Best Family Business category. The national top 10 will be revealed at the awards ceremony at Eastside Rooms in Birmingham on Saturday December 19.

The business runs Ofsted-registered day camps for children aged five to 12 every school holiday. In Lichfield these are Camp Darwin at Darwin Hall and Camp Streethay at Streethay Primary School. In Cannock there's Camp Five Ways at Five Ways Primary School in Heath Hayes, and Camp Littleton at Littleton Green Community School in Huntington, which offers funded Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) places. In Stafford there's Camp Parkside at Parkside Primary School and Camp Oakridge at Oakridge Primary School in Walton-on-the-Hill and In Sutton Coldfield there's Camp Coppice at Coppice Primary School

Children help shape their own day at the camps. They choose from sessions such as football, painting, LEGO building, science experiments and dancing, and quiet spaces are always on hand for those who need time out. Families regularly praise the team's support for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Alongside the holiday camps, JC Academy runs after-school clubs, PE and school support for local primary schools, home education sessions at JC Arena in Lichfield, and coaching courses that give young people aged 14 and over hands-on experience at the camps.

Jaime Craven, of JC Academy, said: "We're so proud to be named a finalist. JC Academy has always been a family business at heart, and this is really down to our brilliant team and the families who trust us with their children every holiday. Being recognised alongside small businesses from across the UK means a lot to all of us."

The team's next camps run during the October half term, from Monday October 26.