Compass has been offering warm hospitality for over 40 years to schools, families and groups of all ages. We are confident that your stay with us will be an unforgettable one. Set in the Cairngorm National Park in the midst of rolling hills, clear lochs and rugged mountains,
Key Stage 4 (15-16)
Key Stage 4 (15-16)
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.
Suitable Venues
The ruins of an Augustinian priory founded by the Bruce family, afterwards Kings of Scotland. They are dominated by the dramatic skeleton of the 14th century church's east end.
Adventure Scotland Ltd is one of Scotland's leading providers of outdoor activities, team and personal development. We offer tailor-made and off the shelf events to the corporate sector, appreciating and organising to their high expectations. In addition to this, we also offer a range of activities and adventures for discerning individuals and groups.
Carol and Richard run 'carolclimb' from Buckbarrow, Wasdale, Cumbria. From a 18thC farmhouse in the beautiful Wasdale Valley in the Western Lake District. We run Skills Courses and Adventures throughout the Lake District, Northern England and Scotland for all ages and abilities.
Established in 2001, Can You Experience Co. Ltd has quickly become a reputable and successful outdoor activity operator and provider, situated at breathtaking, world famous, Loch Lomond in Scotland.
Boots N Paddles offer adventurous days out & weekends, adventure holidays and activities throughout Scotland, all year round. As a fully mobile outdoor activity provider we can bring the activities to a location near you.
Founded in 1786 this restored cotton mill - now a UNESCO World Heritage Site - was powered by the river Clyde and is situated close to the Falls of Clyde.
We offer tailor made programmes for groups from across central and southern Scotland either at our James Hamilton Heritage Park watersports centre or via our peripatetic service at the Outdoor Resource Base.
EBO specialise in outdoor pursuits, extreme sports, military adventure training, team building and outdoor instructor training courses. Outdoor activities are available in Cornwall, Devon, Wales, and Scotland.
James Hamilton Heritage Park is a 4 Star Visit Scotland accredited activity centre. The park features a 16 acre loch which provides beautiful and tranquil surroundings for our exciting range of water sports, from canoeing to windsurfing. The distance around the loch perimeter path is 1.2 kilometres (3/4 of a mile).
Caring for young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties
Wilderness experiences has been registered with Ofsted as a provider of education for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) since 2001 as a mobile children's Home, based in Carlisle, Cumbria on the edge of the Lake District National Park and just south of the border with Scotland.
We are situated in the seaside town of Portrush located in the beautiful and scenic north coast of Ireland and is easy to get to whatever your means of transport. Portrush is 60 miles north of Belfast, 50 miles east of Londonderry, and 160 miles north of Dublin. If you are travelling from Scotland there are numerous ferries to Larne and Belfast.
Wild things! is a Scottish environmental education charity working in Moray, Grampian and the Highlands. Since 2003, Wild things! has enabled over 7,000 children, young people and adults to learn from and be inspired by their local natural environment and the remote wilderness regions of Scotland.
Whether it’s a half day rock climbing for the first time with your family or a week learning to lead an ice climb in Scotland, we aim to make your experience both personal and challenging, safe yet exciting. We enjoy our work and hope we pass this enthusiasm on to our clients
Our philosophy is simple enough... beautiful locations, fabulous walking, companionship, and time to discover a deeper self-awareness en route. The remote landscapes of Scotland offer peace, beauty and relaxation; we offer journeys through these stunning landscapes, with the additional benefit of time for personal reflection and self-discovery.
Thee Visitor Centres and Country Parks provide a great place to enjoy ‘wonderful water, walks and wildlife’ all year round in the ancestral homelands of the Clan Semple at the gateway to Scotland’s largest Regional Park.
Abacus Mountaineering provides skills training and mountain guiding in Scotland and the Alps. Our select group of instructors will guide you in new skills on real, adventurous and challenging routes so you can reach your potential and achieve your mountaineering dreams.
A leading Outdoor Learning Centre in Scotland, we strive to inspire maximum personal growth in thousands of visitors every year. Our experienced and qualified instructors are passionate about developing self-awareness and confidence through challenging individual and team experience in an exciting, enjoyable, yet safe alternative environment.
Enjoy the wonderful settings of our sites based in Moray in the Scottish Highlands, school groups are welcomed to experience the stunning rivers, lochs and coastline of our corner of Scotland.
Experience inflatable kayaking or canoeing on the River Spey which flows through the heart of Moray and Speyside for your introduction to quiet and moving water with fun rapids.
Inspiring Future Engineers and Scientists
The EDT is the largest provider of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) enrichment activities for the UK youth.
Our range of work related learning schemes provide opportunities for 11-21 year olds to enhance their technical, personal and employability skills through industry-led projects, industrial placements and specialised courses.
Highest Go Ape in the country at 360 metres above sea level.
It’s so high you can see all the way to Scotland. Enjoy a Tree Top Adventure with us in our beautiful forest, riding zip slides through skies, over water and in England’s only true mountain forest. We’re sure you’ll love the spectacular views of the Lake District.
Our outdoor activities and schools programmes offer powerful and meaningful outdoor learning experiences for school children. We understand the importance for children to be exposed to, and enjoy, outdoor environments and no one can underestimate the effect it can have on our young people.
Venture Scotland UK runs an outdoor-based personal development programme for young people aged 16-30, who face complex and difficult problems.
We build the confidence and skills of young people and aim to empower each individual we work with to make positive and lasting changes in their lives.
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Featured Provider
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.
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Latest News
Schoolboy Falls From 60ft Cliff on School Trip
A 15-year-old boy fell 60ft over the edge of a cliff whilst on a geography school trip, miraculously only suffering minor injuries.