A new brand of super camp is giving children skills they can use at home, in school and in later life, while still having fun. Food Active camp for instance, which is running all summer from tomorrow, teaches young people to cook up home-made meals such as puttanesca pasta and lemon meringue under the watchful eye of some of Ireland's top chefs.

"Food Active is all about getting kids to enjoy good quality food and giving them a good understanding of nutrition, " said Paul Quinlan of the camp, which is based in St Conleth's College in Ballsbridge. "Derry Clarke from L'Ecrivain and Paul Kelly from the Merrion come down to give a demonstration, there's a class on tasting and developing the palate and of course, a lot of cooking."

At the end of the week, parents are invited to come and sample their children's cooking for themselves. "It's great for the kids to gain confidence in their skills and just have a good time, " said Quinlan.

For the more technological youngsters out there, Whizzkids summer camps offer children and teenagers from 9 to 15 the chance to make short movies, design their own website and become au fait with spying techniques, amongst other things.

"It's a really interesting course that is both challenging and very creative, " said Garry Lowe, camp director.

"The kids get to make their own short movies or music videos and appear in them, they get to use digital cameras and PDAs, test their memories in spy academy and design their own website. Everyone loves it."

The camp is taking place in University of Limerick (UL), University College Cork (UCC), University College Dublin (UCD), Dublin City University (DCU) and NUI Galway at various times throughout the summer.

"This year, for the first time, we've introduced a residential camp for 13 to 17-year-olds in UL, " said Lowe. "It means the kids will have a much longer time to really get into all the technology."

Surfing has become increasingly popular in recent years, with surfing camps being set up all around the west coast for children and teenagers who are eager to learn. At Lahinch surf club in Clare, children of all ages can take part in a week-long session of lessons which will leave them competent at the sport.

"By the fifth day, everyone is very confident in the water, " said Mark Wankel of the club.

"The kids love it. They get to try out this new sport as well as making new friends and getting to socialise a bit. It's good fun."

In Cork, a unique camp is kicking off this week for teenagers who are in a struggling band. Band Camp for rock lovers teaches young artists to arrange their songs, record their own music and make the most of their rehearsals.

"A lot of young bands get no help along the way and often have no idea of how to work best together, how to set up a gig, how to make the most of the instruments you have, " said Marcus McCarthy, camp director.

"A lot of young bands might be good at playing their instruments, but they don't know much about working together. This is what the camp will show them. I know I would have loved something like this when I was young."

Food Active camp: open to children aged 11 to 17.

295 for a one-week day course, 495 for two weeks, www. foodactive. ie Whizzkids summer camps: 49 per child for a one-week day camp, 350 for one-week residential. www. whizzkids. ie Surf School, Lahinch: 100 per child for "ve two-hour lessons, www. lahinchsurfschool. com Band Camp, Clonakilty, Co.

Cork. 200 per person for one week. Call 087 9818389 for more information.