While enthusing about the whole experience, he admits it was tough going, taking on the role of mother and father to some of the 200 youngsters who spent their summer holidays at Camp Thoreau in the state of Vermont this year.

While some people in this country might find it unthinkable to farm their child (some as young as seven) out for eight weeks, it is the done thing in the USA.

There are hundreds of these camps littered across America, and they don’t come cheap. An eight-week stint at Grant’s camp would set you back £7,000.

However, it seems that these camps can have a very positive effect on the youngsters, who learn independence, team work, additional skills, while also making friends from different cultures.

Grant, who is at Strathclyde University studying to become a primary school teacher, recently returned to Orkney with a wealth of knowledge and understanding of youngsters, aged between 7-15.

He was the only person picked to go from Scotland and his time there was so successful that he was asked by the director of his camp to return next year and to promote Camp America in this country.

Grant is pictured with one of the youngsters he felt particularly attached to – at Camp America.

“I became attached to a lot of those kids which made it really hard to say ‘cheerio’ to them. A lot of them were hysterical when they had to go home. I would love to go back to see the kids, but it will depend on a lot of things. I will be graduating from university next year and I want to be here for that.”

But, while the youngsters at Grant’s camp were from privileged backgrounds financially, that did not necessarily mean they were all well-adjusted or well behaved, he explained.

“A lot of them had problems,” Grant said. “Despite being rich some were from bad family backgrounds, in that they were not shown any love and affection. When they arrived they were amazed when they got a hug.”

He continued: “It was my job to teach gymnastics and there was this one wee boy I was trying to get to do something. He turned to me and said there was no way he was going to do that if he didn’t want to. He told me I wasn’t his mum or dad and that I couldn’t touch him. He said his parents were multi-millionaires and that he’d sue me if I made him. That was his attitude – what can you do?”

Grant flew out to New York on June 10. He and the other summer workers were put up in a hotel overnight and spent nine hours on a bus the next day getting to the camp.

The first week was spent training to become what the Americans called “counsellors”.

One activitie was to make a plaster of Paris waste bin – an idea thought up by Grant Thomson.

For the first four weeks, Grant looked after a group of seven to eight-year-olds and for the last four weeks it was nine to ten-year-olds he found himself in charge of – and it was by no means all fun and games, as Grant explained that racial tension reared its ugly head at one stage.

“Two boys were physically fighting – one was white and one was black. The white boy was really racist and decided he didn’t want to be here. I went through to the cabin at around 6am and he had packed his bags in all seriousness and was going to go.”

He set off with his bag and ran into the neighbouring woods which surrounded the camp.

“It was really dangerous for him as the woods seem to go on forever. I had to go and run after him and eventually caught up with him. I told him not to give up and after some persuasion he did come back.”

A lot of the youngsters suffered from what Grant called ADH – an attention deficit disorder – and were on medication to keep them calm.

“A lot of the time they didn’t take their medication,” Grant explained. “They were high and could be difficult to control.”

A bell would ring at 7.30am to signal the start of a new day at the camp. Another would ring at 7.45am, as a gentle reminder. It was the job of the 40 counsellors to get the children up and dressed for breakfast, between 8.15 and 8.45am.

After that, the children were required to tidy up their bunks and given chores to do.

There were three activity periods in a day and the kids had the choice of what they did. On offer were a variety of activities from gymnastics and volleyball to horseriding and jet skiing.

“The day for the kids ended at 9.30pm. We then had to get them settled, but, because the days were so exciting, it was really hard and usually took about an hour to get them settled. You don’t have a lot of time left in the day to relax, although you get one day off each week.”

Grant and two counsellors at Warner Brothers theme park. Left: Louise Warren, England, Grant Thomson, and Robin Dunnett, Australia.

Grant used his day off to explore and would go off on trips with other counsellors for the day. They spent three hours travelling, so they could cross over into Canada on one occasion.

The living conditions were very basic and we must remember that these kids were from well-to-do backgrounds and used to living in luxury.

Many of the log cabins were without electricity and there was no privacy in the bathrooms – no divides between the showers or toilets.

There was also a warning to be on the lookout for bears and snakes.

“The bears had been known to come into the camp, so we had to make sure the doors were locked at night. Thankfully, I didn’t see a bear. It made you think about things that you take for granted ,like having carpet under your feet, turning a tap on and having hot running water.”

The first three weeks or so were often the hardest with children terribly homesick and crying a lot of the time, he said.

“But by the time their parents came for them to go home, they were greetan’ to stay!”

If you want a summer job to make lots of cash, then this is not the choice for you, according to Grant, and he recommended that you apply early if you do want it.

“You get paid $600 for the eight weeks, but my company director gave me an extra $200 tip. You do not make much money, but it is worth it for the experience. Do not put it off. I had been wanting to try it since 6th year at school. That is my only regret, not doing it sooner, because then I could have gone back and done another summer.”

The weather was also a bonus, as Grant demonstrated with his bronzed look. Often temperatures reached 41 degrees – too hot for any activities, as it was dangerous for the children to be out any length of time in the sun.

“A lot of the time was spent in the lake; we had a private lake and had to put sunscreen on from head to toe. The safety was unreal, everything imaginable was covered.”

It’s obvious that the experience of Camp America is something that Grant will never forget.

“Doing Camp America has helped in the preparation for teaching, all the experiences you get with kids are good. It is weird the amount of trust they put in you. Just things like washing their hands and tying their laces and making sure they had not wet the bed. It has opened my eyes – they can be so demanding and so loving as well.”

Grant plans to keep in touch with some of the youngsters via e.mail and letters.

“I have already heard from some of them, to say they are missing me – it’s nice to know you’ve made an impression in someone’s life. It is the best summer I have ever had – I will never, ever forget it.”

If you are interested in a summer with a difference you can get more information about how to join up via the website – www.campamerica.co.uk.