No school, obviously; the prospect of odd jobbing to bring in a bit of cash to fund the essential social life; a few parties; maybe a stolen week in luxurious foreign climes if you're very, very lucky....
But for one Benburb lad, the summer of 2008 is going to be very special indeed. And cold.
Kevin McCool is heading north to the Arctic to be exact.
Not really a typical summer holiday getaway, he readily agreed, as he prepares to swap the rolling fields of his home for the altogether more frozen wasteland of Svalbard, Europe's most Northerly territory.
He leaves Northern Ireland on July 15th for one month and travels to an archipelago east of Greenland and north of Norway.

Exploration

With a troupe of 89 colleagues and fellow intrepid explorers, he's off as part of the British Schools Exploring Society initiative to carry out a range of bafflingly scientific experiments investigating the effects of global warming.
Wouldn't it be easier to stay at home and have a barbecue in the rain? Possibly, Kevin acknowledges, but not half as much fun.
The team of 90 in total will be split up into groups, each one studying a specific topic, ranging from metereology, to climatology and glaciology.
Kevin and his teammates are off to the island of Spitzenberger, where they'll get to grips with glaciers.
So what's the attraction?
"Glaciers are not one big solid thing. They're blocks of ice topped with snow but made from solid rock underneath. I wanted to go for the sheer fact that it's the Arctic", he said.

Selection

The selection process for the programme is arduous. Kevin had to endure an interview and write letters explaining why he wanted to take part in the venture.
He has a genuine interest in environmental issues and is keen to broaden his knowledge.
"You can see the effects every day in the weather", he said, and he hopes this trip will help him learn more about global warming and what can be done to combat it.
Kevin acknowledges the adventure is a 'huge undertaking' on behalf of the BSES.
There's been a phenomenal amount of training involved, in terms of fitness and learning survival skills.
"Where we're going to you can't call for back up and there are signs saying 'watch the polar bears'", Kevin said.
"You have to take precautions."
The project he and his teammates are embarking on is he notes, 'quite scientific'.

Mapping

The area around Spitzenberger was last mapped in 1974. 34 years on, the group will take new readings and draw maps which will help illustrate precisely what changes have taken place. And their findings will be put to good scientific use when they return home.
Despite the fact he'll be walking up to 30 kilometres every day on ice, carrying a backpack stuffed with rations and a stove, and faces the prospect of finding out if polar bears really ARE that white up close, Kevin remains undaunted.
So is he looking forward to it?
"Oh definitely", he replied.




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