If your children are of a certain age, you may feel a break away over the May half term break is out the question, thanks to the hours they’re expected to revise for upcoming exams. Surely studying by the pool or expecting any reading to be done beachside is out the question? Well, maybe not.

Thanks to its new partnership with innovative mentoring and private tuition company Oppidan Education, The Peligoni Club’s stunning Greek surroundings will serve as a classroom so you can enjoy some much-needed sun and a family holiday totally guilt-free.  Oppidan’s team of mentors will provide fun group seminars and one-to-one tutoring sessions to students preparing for common entrance and summer exams, so you can read by the pool knowing your children are, in fact, studying. They’ll, in turn, thank you for their new found friends and a break from the confines of their bedroom.

The Peligoni Club itself is on the Greek island of Zakynthos, where it has established itself as a leading lifestyle club. It’s a small, family-owned place and the accommodation is villa-based rather than defined by hotel rooms, but that only makes it more inviting for family holidays somehow. With everything from a kids’ club to a creche, endless water sports activities to a spa, gym and on-site restaurants, there’s also plenty of reason to book in when not on studying, too.

So, how does all this work exactly? Well, though their ‘invisible learning’ approach, Oppidan will swap desks for sun loungers, hone trigonometry formulas around the tennis court, refine ebb and flow understanding on the beach and challenge students to scrabble by the pool. And this does, before you scoff, yield impress results. Oppidan boast an impressive 95% success rate at placing children in their first choice of school, so even the most panicked of parents will be able to relax and take a break themselves.

And once the studying is done, what better way to celebrate than with London’s infamous, pint-sized party goers, Sharky and George, who will also be taking up residence at The Peligoni Club for the first time this summer. Guests aged 4 – 14 will be able to enjoy activities including treasure hunts upon the club’s Odyssey boat, building a lookout tower, Sharky & George’s own version of Battleships with boats, raft making and water sports which, for those who have been studying with Oppidan, will be particularly appreciated.

And where will you be? Relaxing in the sunshine, congratulation yourself on having achieved the ultimate in multi-tasking – holidaying and studying all in one hit.
http://www.peligoni.com/
http://www.oppidaneducation.com/

Like many of you, my television is awash today with images of Her Majesty the Queen, adorned as she so often is in peony pinks and sensational, headline-grabbing hats. But, while you may be neither willing or able to hop flights quite as often as she has done in her decades on her throne, the new Pink Princess Tea at the Lanesborough Hotel will delight princesses and queens of any age.

The Lanesborough Hotel

The Lanesborough Hotel, if you aren’t familiar with it, sits adjacent to Number 1 London on the edge of Hyde Park and punctuates the area surrounding Buckingham Palace itself. A stunning, seriously luxurious property that we highly recommend for stays in London, it’s also a gorgeous and often lesser thought of afternoon option in the capital. And now, to celebrate Princess Charlotte of Cambridge’s first birthday in May and Her Majesty The Queen’s 90^th birthday, The Lanesborough is launching a Pink Princess Afternoon Tea. The hotel’s award-winning Head Pastry Chef Nicolas Rouzaud has personally created the tea to include entirely pink patisseries that are offset by glimmers of gold, white and silver decorations, all topped with delicately iced butterflies, flowers and petals. Served in the hotel’s Regency period dining room,  Céleste, (May 1^st to June 12^th 2016), this is a gorgeous way to make memories with your own little lady (the mass of pink will no doubt delight) and celebrate the Queen’s next decade.

And aside from the pink aesthetic, there is plenty to please adults, too. Traditional fresh baked scones with jam and clotted Devonshire cream will be served alongside finger sandwiches and a choice of 38 teas (that include Rose of the Orient, White Rose and White Peony infusions presented by The Lanesborough’s in-house tea sommelier). This is the quintessential Englishe tea served in the most beautiful of surroundings, all to be finished off with either the ‘Flower Dome’ rhubarb cheesecake, strawberry mousse ‘Rocher’ or cherry cream éclair and raspberry sablé biscuit. We could finish up with puns about this being fit for a Queen, but would rather not. We just recommend you get booked and check it out for yourselves. If you’ve never had the joy of experiencing the Lanesborough Hotel, this is the perfect excuse. And, if you have, you’ll know why we are such big fans.

Available May 1^st to June 12^th 2016 The Lanesborough’s Pink Princess Afternoon Tea will cost from £48 per person or £62 per person with a glass of Champagne Taittinger.