Most if not all of us will have some memories of going on school trips with our friends. Visiting local places of interest, whether for fun or for cementing or enhancing learning, was always exciting, even when given a clipboard, pencil and worksheet!
Memories from my own school days include fun trips to Hotham Park in Bognor, to the Weald and Downland Museum with its hilarious (to us children, at least!) medieval toilet in Bayleaf Farmstead, and to the South of England Show at Ardingly. There was even an exchange trip to my pen pal Andrea’s house in Germany in high school which firmly imprinted very happy memories of new experiences on my mind.
It wasn’t until I was a teacher myself that I had any idea about the work involved in taking children out of the classroom, but it remained a priority and I was fortunate to be able to take children to nature reserves in the heart of London, to Warwick Castle, to Chichester Cathedral, and sailing in Chichester Harbour, among many other places.
Now that my son is at school, I love to be asked to accompany classes as a volunteer as they explore new places and try new activities. It is so good to see them break through fears and anxieties or find joy in experiencing fresh perspectives.
School trips- learning outside the classroom
Fortunately, school trips are not just a nice idea; there is solid evidence supporting their place in the school calendar. And while there is a fair amount of preparation to be done ahead of a trip away from the classroom, you can expect some payback in terms of benefits. For example:
- Relationship building: There is nothing like a school trip for children to see their teachers and teachers to see their children in fresh lights. Trips away from the classroom offer all kinds of opportunities for children to shine in ways they don’t necessarily have the opportunity to back at school. The conversations that are had can also build relationships that support the smooth running of the classroom when back at school. You will also have some fabulous, shared memories!
- Consolidating learning: When school trips are linked to specific learning, they can greatly enhance understanding, and may even make it easier for children to retain that knowledge. Being able to see the learning they have done in the classroom in context, or doing extension work such as experiments at a science centre, adds such depth to their work.
- Adding cultural capital: Not all children get the chance to explore museums or visit castles and galleries. But accessible school trips can really boost their experience of the culture in their communities and beyond. This not only helps them to gain a greater depth of understanding of the place they live in, it also helps to inspire them to see themselves as playing a key role in that community.
- Having fun: Yes, I used the “F” word, but why not? School trips can be immense fun in a safe, supportive and ultimately educational way.
It’s not just children who benefit from school trips either. The improved relationships that can emerge as a result of a trip can greatly support teacher wellbeing. School trips can also lead to professional development and may even result in a greater sense of job satisfaction.
Specifically with regard to residential school trips, Learning Away, an organisation with the aim of “encouraging schools to make a significant shift in their commitment to providing high-quality residential learning experiences for their students” has undertaken an action research project which gathered “powerful and compelling evidence about the transformative impact school trips with an overnight stay can have on everyone involved.” It found that such trips can encourage enhanced relationships, improved engagement with and confidence in learning, and new and developing skills and understanding. In the longer term this leads to improved achievement, progress and attainment, improved knowledge, skills and understanding, improved relationships, improved engagement, improved behaviour and attendance, more successful transition experiences at all key stages, raised aspirations, greater cohesion and a sense of belonging, and enhanced trajectories to work, sixth form, and further and higher studies. The report, Brilliant Residentials and their impact on children, young people and schools: Making the case for high-quality residential learning is well worth a close read (see below). It makes a number of important recommendations which will be useful for schools seeking to develop their trips and residentials.
If your school is not yet offering a residential, a day, morning or afternoon trip will be beneficial to children and young people. They can help to develop vocabulary, open up career possibilities, and inject some fun into learning, and after recent years, that might be just what the doctor ordered!
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About the author
Elizabeth Holmes
After graduating with a degree in Politics and International Relations from the University of Reading, Elizabeth Holmes completed her PGCE at the Institute of Education, University of London. She then taught humanities and social sciences in schools in London, Oxfordshire and West Sussex, where she ran the history department in a challenging comprehensive. Elizabeth specialises in education but also writes on many other issues and themes. As well as her regular blogs for Eteach and FEjobs, her books have been published by a variety of publishers and translated around the world. Elizabeth has also taught on education courses in HE and presented at national and international conferences.
