We round up school trip ideas to enjoy the summer term and beautiful weather, both in the UK and abroad.
Although the school year may be coming to a close, there’s no reason not to use the weather as inspiration for planning your next summer trip. Here we round up some ideas to turn the sunshine into a great school experience.
Gardens
A school trip to a garden is a great way to get pupils outdoors and interested in the environment. Many gardens offer school tickets and packages as well as workshops where students can learn about plant life and the environment.
The Eden Project in Cornwall is an attraction that is bound to inspire, with a variety of different zones featuring exotic plants and blooms. Workshops on offer include Rainforest Ecology and Adaptation, Photosynthesis - life support, Art and Design at Eden, and Packaging Patrol. It also offers residentials meaning your class can stay at the site for more time to explore.
Birmingham Botanical Gardens is a great choice for those in the Midlands looking for a day trip. Educational visits are welcome, and a variety of teaching sessions are available for Key Stages 1 to 4. The gardens contain more than 7,000 types of plants, come from all around the world, and pupils visiting will get to learn about the ways they grow and adapt.
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) include several gardens across the UK including Harlow Carr, Hyde Hall, Rosemoor, Wisley, and Bridgewater. All educational visits to RHS gardens are free, and guided and self-guided visits are available as well as facilitated sessions.
Pictured: A water activity with YHA (photo credit: YHA).
Residentials
An end of term residential is a real treat but can also round up what the children have learnt during the year. Depending on what you want to get out of your residential, there is a variety of operators and attractions which offer an ideal location for your pupils.
Youth Hostel Association (YHA) has hostels all over Britain, giving pupils the opportunity to see the countryside and learn outdoors.
PGL is another organisation which provides activity trips and residentials at a variety of locations. Suitable for Primary and Secondary groups, children can enjoy being outside, building relationships and gaining confidence through activities such as abseiling, rock climbing, canoeing and skiing.
Abroad
If you’re after a more exotic trip, or fancy broadening your students’ horizons even further, then a trip overseas could be an option. Although these may take more organisation, there are many operators which aim to make teachers’ lives easier by helping with each stage of the process.
Glo-Ed offers trips all over the world tying into a variety of subjects, so that whilst fun your trips are still educational. Glo-Ed features a dedicated teacher’s area on its website called the Departure Lounge which aims to cut down the organisation that teachers have to do themselves.
From skiing to touring the USA, Select School Travel also offers a multitude of trips and tours to cater for each school’s requirements. Also fitting in with curriculum studies, a trip abroad can be a summer treat as well as a way of tying a ribbon around the topics taught during the year.
Looking for somewhere to take your Primary pupils? Read our recent article with eight fantastic ideas for Key Stage 1 and 2.
