At KS4, there has been a gradually burgeoning number of types of educational visits – foreign language school exchanges, cultural visits all over Europe and further afield, sports competitions, youth conferences, winter sports and adventurous activities in more extreme environments. The Duke of Edinburgh Award becomes available at 14 years old and continues to be offered for those up to 24 years of age, and pupils of many ages start work on specialist awards in areas such as mountaineering, sailing and river sports. This increase in venue variety has led to a proliferation of specialist companies catering for these activities.
The aims of history trips tend to be more focused in KS4, with study trips to the 1940 Dunkirk evacuation and the 1944 Normandy Landings often proving popular along with the 1815 Waterloo battlefield. Venues of this type are often catered for by specialist travel companies to ensure participants get the best experience available.
A lot of schools have a tradition of school trips with their choirs, orchestras and musical/theatre students. There are specialist companies that can help any school wishing to explore this possibility, and many venues have tailored activities for groups that can help improve performers’ confidence and motivation.
British schools have been the forerunners in Europe for undertaking challenging outdoor activities both at home and abroad (you can visit here for good list of activities and gateway sites) but there is a notable increase of interest at KS4 in science-based trips – most notably the Science and National History museums in London, the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, the National Railway Museum in York, Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre in Macclesfield, Techniquest in Cardiff, and the Bristol Science Centre, all of which have reported an increase in visitors in recent years.
The Churnet Valley Railway takes you on a journey back to the classic days of railway travel on a rural line that passes through beautiful countryside known as Staffordshire's "Little Switzerland".
Our picturesque stations offer lots of interest with a complete range of visitor facilities, and there's plenty more to see and enjoy along the way.
Two porticoed Classical towers, which stood at each end of a grandiose but highly unconventional Georgian church, designed by Robert Adam in 1776.
Mistley is a building of considerable architectural significance – one of only two churches designed by Robert Adam, whose client was Richard Rigby of Mistley Hall.
The Museum is run by Mortehoe Heritage Trust, a registered charity managed by local people. It is situated in the heart of the cliff-top village of Mortehoe, 1.5 miles north of Woolacombe on the coastal road. Entry is through the village Car Park opposite Mortehoe Post Office.
Glenside Hospital Museum is located in Bristol within the grounds of the old hospital. The Museum aims to inform, educate and de-stigmatise mental illness and learning difficulties.
The Museum is housed in the original hospital chapel, a Grade II listed building.
It is open free to the public every Wednesday and Saturday morning from 10.00am–12.30pm.
A place with an unusual story, told by graphic panels. The small Norman chapel here stood on the site of an earlier timber church, probably the Saxon cathedral of East Anglia. In the 14th century it was converted into a fortified manor house by Henry Despenser, the unpopular Bishop of Norwich who brutally suppressed the Peasants' Revolt of 1381.
Saint Asaph Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Diocese of St Asaph, one of the six dioceses of the Church in Wales. Many of our Visitors describe the Cathedral as a ‘Hidden Gem.'
Originally the Police Station and Courthouse, the Museum is opposite St. Mary's Church in the centre of Axminster. Visitors may discover the old police cells which have now been incorporated into the Arts Cafe adjacent to the Museum.
St. Coleman's Cathedral is a Church of Ireland cathedral in the Irish town of Cloyne in County Cork.
Freestanding double-height Church of Ireland cathedral, built 1784, with four-bay nave elevations, pedimented aedicular entrance projection to front with three-stage spired clock steeple above added 1812, and bowed chancel.
St. Carthage's Cathedral, Lismore is a Church of Ireland cathedral in the Irish town of Lismore, County Waterford.
Ruins of the late 12th century church of a small nunnery of 'white ladies' or Augustinian canonesses.
The first reference to the Priory of St Leonard, now known as White Ladies Priory, is a grant of land dated 1186; the architectural evidence also suggests a late 12th century foundation date.
St. Paul's is a famous, busy place. It is often described as "the Nation's Church" and is the "Mother Church" for the Diocese of London. It is the seat of the Bishop of London and a centre of prayer, worship and debate for the people of the city and its surrounding boroughs. It is also used annually as a venue for concerts, productions and celebrations of all kinds.
The Cathedral Church of St Columba in Oban is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Argyll and the Isles and mother church of the Diocese of Argyll and the Isles. The cathedral is located on the sea front at the northern end of Oban.
The stately Gothic Revival Cathedral of St Patrick and St Colman, which is situated in the centre of Newry, is proudly regarded by all sections of the community, as the city's finest building. It is the parish church for Newry and the mother church of the Dromore Diocese.
The most famous and intensively studied of Britain's 3,000 or so deserted medieval villages, Wharram Percy occupies a remote but attractive site in a beautiful Wolds valley. Above the substantial ruins of the church and a recreated fishpond, the outlines of many lost houses are traceable on a grassy plateau.
St Eunan's Cathedral (also known as Raphoe Cathedral) is a cathedral church of the United Diocese of Derry and Raphoe in the Church of Ireland. It is located in the Irish town of Raphoe in County Donegal.
Although used as a barn for the last three centuries, this fine medieval chapel was originally constructed by the lord of Chisbury Manor to assert his high social status. It allowed the household of the manor, as well as local people, to attend services and pay their taxes without having to travel to the parish church at Great Bedwyn.
St Fethlimidh's Cathedral in the Irish town of Kilmore is a cathedral church in the Diocese of Kilmore, Elphin and Ardagh in the Church of Ireland.
St Muredach's Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killala, located in the Irish town of Ballina. The cathedral was built in 1834, in a Victorian Gothic style. It is also the parish church of the parish of Kilmoremoy.
The Cathedral Church of St Mary and St Helen lies in the town of Brentwood in the county of Essex. Since 1998 the Cathedral has been linked with the parish of Holy Cross & All Saints, Warley with priests from the Cathedral serving both parishes.
An imposing landmark, the twin 12th-century towers of the ruined church stand amid the remains of an important Roman 'Saxon Shore' fort and a Saxon monastery.
The most dominant features of this site are the 12th-century towers of the former monastic church, which stand out on the skyline for miles around.
The Diocesan Cathedral of Meath is situated in the historic town of Trim, 25 miles north/east of Dublin. Because of its close proximity to Dublin, the town and surrounding area is seen as part of the commuter belt. The surrounding countryside is probably made up of some of the best agricultural land in the country. The present Church was built in 1803.
The home of the Venerable Bede, chronicler of the beginnings of English Christianity, Jarrow has become one of the best-understood Anglo-Saxon monastic sites. The Anglo-Saxon church - with the oldest dedication stone in the country, dated AD 685 - partly survives as the chancel of the parish church.
St. Eugene’s Cathedral is the Mother Church of the Derry Diocese, which stretches from Malin Head to Omagh and from Killygordon to Bellaghy.
Covering as much as 2,000 hectares (4,942 acres) of heather-covered hills with stunning views of the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Welsh hills, this is an important place for wildlife, geology and archaeology.
The Bushcraft Company offer residential school trips with a difference, taking students into the wild and giving them real back-to-nature experiences they will never forget.
A 15-year-old boy fell 60ft over the edge of a cliff whilst on a geography school trip, miraculously only suffering minor injuries.