Lighthouse is a holiday club for children run by Christians from local churches. We aim to introduce the children to God, explore the Bible with them and help them look to Jesus as their special friend - all in a fun-filled week with sport, craft, performing arts and music.
Lighthouse began in Great Missenden and Prestwood in 1987. There are now 15 Lighthouses - Beaconsfield, Burnham, Cressex, Derby City, Haddenham, Hazlemere, High Wycombe, Loudwater, Mansfield, Marlow, Princes Risborough, Safe Harbour (was Bourne End), Shelswell, Water Eaton (was Bletchley South) and of course, Great Missenden!
Whilst Lighthouse is staffed and run entirely by volunteers we do have costs involved in putting on this event, mainly hiring the marquees and tents we use for the week, insurance for everyone on site and materials for the activities the children take part in. We strive to keep these as low as possible, however it costs us around £15 per child per day.
We depend entirely on donations from parents, helpers and others and in some years these have not been sufficient to cover our costs. We do want to be in a position to be able to continue to run Lighthouse each year.
Our stated mission remains that we will never charge for a child to attend Lighthouse and we will never exclude a child due to financial constraints, however, in order to keep Lighthouse running for as many children as possible we would ask you to please consider making a donation to Lighthouse of £15 for each day your child attends, or however much you feel you are able to give.
Lighthouse Great Missenden runs on the Buryfield, Link Road, HP16. The Lighthouse day starts for children at 10am when they can begin to come on site and ends at 3.30pm when they should be collected.
LHGM runs a separate database to the Lighthouses that are part of Lighthouse Central. All the information is here:
Lighthouse is run entirely by volunteers. Children are organised in age groups from Reception to Year 6 and are further organised within those age groups into smaller groups, called Lighthouses. Each of these Lighthouses has a 'Lighthouse Keeper' (leader) and 'Lamplighters' (teenage assistants). Specialist teams help organise the craft, drama, games and teaching sessions. We take up references and DBS checks for all helpers with child contact.
Any child who is currently at primary school can apply to attend Lighthouse Great Missenden.
Young people who are at secondary school can apply to be a helper at Lighthouse.
Lighthouse Great Missenden recognises that every child is an individual and aims to accommodate all children whenever possible and this includes children with physical and/or other special needs who may require reasonable adjustments. However, it is important that you know that we do not have any specialist carers, designated special needs facilities or access to specialist equipment on site which might be essential for your child’s particular needs and well being. We are entirely staffed by volunteers and we cannot match the level of support provided for children with particular needs in school.
To ensure that your child can gain the maximum access to our activities, it is essential that any children who currently require additional support at school, who are on the School Support Register or who have a Statement or EHCP are highlighted to us at the point of registration. Please ensure that you complete the relevant section of our registration form with sufficient detail to help us assess if Lighthouse would be able to provide the support your child would need to enjoy the week.
We will look at each child’s needs on an individual basis and advise you as to whether Lighthouse Great Missenden would be a suitable environment for your child and if we can make reasonable adjustments to facilitate your child's participation.
It takes over 350 volunteers to put on Lighthouse Great Missenden - and there is almost certainly something you can do to help. In 2019 we welcomed over 400 children on site, and still had to turn some away. We are limited mainly by the numbers of helpers we can attract so think about signing up to help in 2024 and please tell your friends about us too.
Lighthouse is a great place for children and volunteers alike to make new friends and meet up with old ones. Many people describe Lighthouse as 'the best week of the summer holidays'
Lighthouse is a registered charity and is run entirely by unpaid volunteers from the local churches and community, many of whom take time off from work to volunteer for the week.
Lighthouse is financed entirely from donations and fund raising. Part of the cost is covered by donations from parents and carers of children attending the week. We do not charge a fee to attend Lighthouse, however it costs in excess of £15 a day to run Lighthouse for each child who attends and we offer this as a guide for parents and carers who wish to donate to the running costs but we ask they donate whatever they can afford. We would never deny a Lighthouse place to a child if cost is an issue, however donations are essential to enable Lighthouse to continue and to be open to everyone.
If you have a specific query about Lighthouse Great Missenden which is not answered here please contact us via the contact form.
Lighthouse Great Missenden is a registered charity No. 1071892
