From pottery to CrossFit: trendy activities for London's kids

Get their hands dirty

Get them into pottery (and art) at the Islington Arts Factory which offers a range of classes from ‘ArtStart’ (the first level) – where little kids can discover drawing, sculpture and college for the first time – to classes where teenagers can work on GCSE projects.

£60 - 75 a term (for 11 classes)

Ski on real snow

Little ones can learn to ski or snowboard in Milton Keynes – which is just a half hour train journey from Euston – with classes running in their real-snow dome in Xscape on Saturday/Sunday mornings, as well as after school.

Single private lessons for kids aged 3-15: £79.99

Become master of the circus

Learn to juggle, spin and balance as well as any circus performer with the National Centre for Circus Arts in Shoreditch. They offer 12-week courses in term-time for 2-18 year olds. Book quick as Term 1 booking is open from 10th September – 16 December (with a break at half-term).

£97.50 - £138.67

Time to climb

Climbing and bouldering has been enjoying a renaissance among grown-ups, with snazzy new climbing facilities opening all over the place. We still adore the The Castle Climbing Centre in Stoke Newington, which runs a weekly climbing club for for a number of different ages, after school and on weekends. Kids can work up towards climbing certificates or just have some fun bouldering around.

Taster sessions for under-15s only: £20 for 1.5 hours

Make a bomber jacket

Children aged 6 – 13 years make a bomber jacket at the Chelsea fashion school on this two day workshop over October half term, learning to use a sewing machine, draw like a fashion designer and pin, cut and sew. And then take the jacket home, of course.

£135pp

Learn how to make a film

The BFI Film Academy is running a ten day filmmaking course for the 20 most 'passionate and promising young filmmakers' between the ages 16 – 19 who apply before 11 October. This is a chance to learn the ins and outs of professional filmmaking, and quite a good boost to the UCAS application we should imagine.

Volunteer in the great outdoors

The Conservation Volunteers run volunteering activities across the capital. Lean new skills, meet people across different age ranges and spend some time making the great outdoors somewhere everyone wants to be. A good reason to get kids outdoors and learning to give back (before the Duke of Edinburgh Award forces them to).

Become the next Anna Wintour

Teenagers aged 16 –18 join the London School of Fashion and perfect the art of writing about new trends, designer collaborations and quizzing fashion's most thrusting icons about their looks. New dates are not yet announced for the course, so add yourself to their mailing list now so you can be among the first to book when places become available.

CrossFit for kids

If you haven't heard your most ripped and attractive friends talking about it down the pub, CrossFit is many things. It's an American brand, a competition to find 'the fittest on earth' and a cultural movement attempting to redefine our ideas of fitness. Fundamentally, the idea is that neither strength nor stamina alone is enough to be 'fit', but that bodies are designed to run, swim, carry weight, and we need to do everything in between to be truly fit. It's all about promoting that 'healthy lifestyle'. Here, your children learn the basic moves for core strength and get them doing some Olympic style lifting. Trust us, it's the cool new thing.

Single Session Pass: £20
10 Session Class Pack: £140